Boggie 4/28/11

Boggie's substitute forgot something important yesterday, so she worked hard on remembering it today. She did pretty good, although I had to remind her the first few times. We had a good walk, and started to watch a movie, but we couldn't find the remote. Boggie wad good.

Boggie 4/27/11

Today was pretty hot. Summers are good for walking dogs because they get tired quicker. My substitute-in-training was good today. Boggie had fun, too! We walked for about half an hour. My little trainee is going to come let him out around three, because I will not be home until six. This is a good opportunity because she will be able to try by herself before I leave. I'm getting a new haircut today if I can! Yaaaayyyy!!! ^.^

Boggie 4/28/11 (4:30)

I did not walk Boggie very long, because we have company over, and I'm not sure we're even supposed to walk him when we come over in the evenings. I took him to my house, kingdom of the cat as he thinks, and brought him inside. I had him sit by the fridge and I gave him some cheese for being such a good boy and to associate my house with good things. Then I fed him an. Let him go potty. Bye, Boggie!

Boggie 4/26/11

It's my brother's birthday today! Yay! ^.^ He's seventeen now! Anyways, my review of Boggie's substitute walker is this: B. She is very good, but she forgets things sometimes, although that is expected, and she let's Boggie go ahead of her a little more than he should. That is fine with a dog like Boggie, though. He is very calm and knows his boundaries. He doesn't respond to her as well because she is very laid back and doesn't know/remember all the words for the commands. Overall I'd say she is the perfect girl for the job! She is going to let him out to go potty all by herself tomorrow at three because I will not be available till five-ish. She will not be available for the four-thirty thing on thursday. Bye, Boggie!

P.S. Boggie's owner: my bro will be home soon and I know he'll love the card you gave him!

Boggie 4/25/11 (4:30)

We went back today and walked Boggie for fifteen minutes, then we made him lie down whilst we put two half cups of dog food into his bowl. I mixed it with my hands to make it smell more like me, then he ate it and we left.

Boggie 4/25/11

Today was fun! I got my neighborhood friend and "trained" her in the way of the dog walker. =p She is very good and Boggie really likes her. Tomorrow she will try walking him without my help. I'll just watch and give her a grade! ;3 We walked for half an hour then played DS and then went home. We will come back at four! Bye, Boggie!

Boggie and Penny 4/21/11

Today was an utter fail walking to Boggie's. I was almost there when I realized I was walking there in my slippers! I wasn't about to go back, so I got Boggie, who was playful, and Penny, who was wagging her stubby tail really hard, and went on a walk in my fuzzy slippers. I passed by the house and changed into my flip-flops. We went by our friends' house and while Penny was pooping, Boggie peed on her leg! I have no idea why. Maybe he just missed or something. They were good on the walk, although I tripped on Penny a lot. I do that frequently. We walked for an hour then came back. Would Penny's owner like me to teach her any tricks?

Boggie, Penny and Hope 4/20/11

Hope the Walker Hound (I keep calling her Lucy) was at Boggie's today. She is the cleaning lady's teenage-ish puppy. Penny did not seen to want to walk today. She pulled backwards a little on our walk. Boggie pulled forward a little. Hope was great, but he got distracted some. I walked Boggie an Penny on one side, my left, and Hope on the other side, my right. We walked for about half an hour before they were tired and hot. They were awesome! It must have been so funny to see a thirteen-year-old girl walking three giant dogs who stayed by her side! Anyways, bye, Boggie! ^.^

Boggie and Penny 4/8/11

Penny was happy to see me today. Her little stump tail wagged! Today I decided to use Boggie's nose to trigger him out of his fixation. We walked for half an hour and Penny's allergies fired up. Then when we came back I turned on my music to relax me and I got out my special dollar tree treats and takins the flashlight across the room. Then I took the smelly treats and called the dogs. Whenever they came I gave them a treat. Boggie stayed near me so I had him do some tricks like a training session like the flashlight wasn't even there. Boggie seemed much calmer because Penny was there and I had him lie on his side. He did pretty well and he trembled a little when we were done but that's normal. He did well. It was a good day. Bye, Boggie!

Boggie 4/14/11

It was soo pretty today! We walked for an hour and Bogie enjoyed it. He is making great progress in his tricks! He is a heavy boy and so needs to hold on to my arm when he begs but he does good anyways. Nothing much to tell. He is a blessing to walk! ^.^ Bye, Boggie!

Boggie 4/13/11

Boggie knows what beg and a treat behind his head means. He sits ip and places his paws on my hand to steady himself and takes the treat. I am also adding a hand command to say hi. It is a right-handed "mouth" from my hand moving up and down like barking. He seems to get it. We walked with neighborhood friends for an hour as usual and had lots of fun. I am getting a haircut soon and I'm going to do something I haven't dine before. I am going to cut two strands near my face so it ends at my jaw line and I'm getting side swept bangs and possibly a razor cut (no, not bald!) so it looks kind of choppy. I am also going to create a kind of brand of clothing and accessories that are really bright and fun and funky for daring people! ^.^ I can't wait to get to the craft store! Anyways, Boggie is very good at waiting when I stop to tie my shoe or pick up his poo or something! He is good at high five but does it sometimes when I don't ask him so I'm working on that. Bye, Boggie!

Boggie 4/12/11

Boggie had a good walking day today. I let one of my trusty neighborhood friends walk him. They were very good and Boggie stayed with us the whole time. I walked Susan and she was good at first, but then she started lunging at stuff. She is a small dog, so she didn't get very far but if she was my dog, I would have to fix that behavior. But anyways, we walked for an hour and had fun.

Boggie and Penny 4/11/11

I made a new discovery! A valuable lesson if you will. Penny is usually skittish around me, but today she was actually a little enthusiastic to see me! The thing is, I usually look her straight in the eye when I first come in through the door, but that's not very good. There is a very reasonable rule about how to greet a dog. It's called "no touch, no sound, no eye contact." It means don't touch the dog, don't talk to the dog, and don't look at the dog. Pretend it's not there. That way, the dog won't feel intimidated, and will come up and smell you if it wants to get to know you.
Anyways, I walked in and was saying 'let's go outside' to Boggie when Penny jumped off the couch. I hadn't even known she was there! She was very energetic and did not make me call her to go outside. The con of her being friendly was that she pulled more. =\ Oh, well, she was great anyways! Boggie was his usual calm self, but he gets even calmer and happier when Penny is there. We got our neighborhood friend and walked for an hour. Penny and Boggie were very good at waiting at their house. They sat there during the whole thing even with a dog barking. I had them face away from the house and sit, not looking at the dog so to not look as though they were intruding. The dog, a malti-poo named Buddy, came up and sniffed their behinds, and Penny, having a reputation for not being very friendly, looked a little uncomfortable, but she sat and let him sniff her. Boggie was nice and said hello politely. They were both tired and Boggie was very hot when we went back. I brought my friend inside for a minute to show her around a little, because she's going to be walking Boggie sometimes. Penny seemed much more comfortable around me. Bye, Boggie and Penny!

Boggie 4/7/11

Boggie had a big workout today. It was really warm, so both he and I were lethargic and tired out quickly. I did a little boot camp training with Boggie at the "Dog Academy." =P He knows that "beg" means lift his front feet off the ground while his behind stays down, and "high five" means he is to lift his paw and touch my palm with it. He doesn't do high five to other people yet, I think. We got our neighborhood friend again and we walked around the neighborhood for about an hour. Boggie walked well but he pulled a little. He seems to pull more when I'm with friends. I think if people are distracted when walking dogs, the dogs pull harder. After we dropped our friend off, we dragged ourselves (literally) back to Boggie's house. When I let him inside, he walked slowly over to the cool hard floor and laid on his side. After a little bit, I heard a soft THUMP and looked over to see Boggie's head on the ground. His eyes were half-closed and he looked so cute and tired. I turned the tv on and biked home. I can't wait to drink a giant glass of orange juice! If we still have some, that is.

Boggie 4/6/11

Boggie didn't seem to feel well today. Angel wondered if he had an eat infection because he kept shaking his head. Boggie gets the concept of high five, but he keeps licking my face. =3 He is getting better at beg but keeps getting of his behind, so I have to remind him to sit. He seemed to feel better on the walk. We went and got my neighborhood friend who's going to walk Boggie during the summer. While she was getting ready, I talked to her mom about walking Boggie. She said she was fine with it so I said I'd try to remember to bring her to meet Boggie's owner that evening. I let my friend walk Boggie and she had Boggie stay near us but let him walk in front. Boggie is a very submissive dog so he was fine and did not try to dominate us at all. That's the thing about dogs like Boggie. You can let them in front and it won't matter much. He was very tired when I came back. I did a little bit of obey and high five training and then talked to the lady that cleans the house. Boggie was lying down on his side when I left, perfectly happy.

Boggie 4/5/11

Today was a rainy-ish day. I brought my food because I didn't have enough time to eat. I slept in today. Boggie was very good at not begging after I corrected him. He had laid down at my feet and was looking up at me so I looked into his eyes. Since he didn't look away, I stared harder, thinking in my mind, "you are NOT getting this food" and leaned forward a little. Boggie looked away and rolled over on his side submissively like a good boy. I saved a little for Boggie training. We went on a walk. I find it is easier to walk a dog if you are not focusing on the dog. Just think about things you are going to do and stuff and it is easier. He was a good walker as usual. When we came back I tried teaching him to bow, but he didn't get it, so I tried teaching him to beg, and it was rough, so I tried teaching him to high five, and it was surprisingly easy! I just squatted next to him and put my hand up like I was going to high-five someone. I said, "high five" and didn't give him a treat until he touched my palm with his paw. I am a fan of letting them figure out the trick for themself, not lifting their paw and whatnot. They learn better this way. I tried teaching him to beg again and it worked better! Beg is still really hard for him because he is so heavy but what I did was I squatted in front of him and put a treat he likes and is smelly above his head and back a little. I said, "beg" and didn't give him the treat until he sat up and put his paws in "beg" mode and held it for a nanosecond or so. He is not able to hold it long but I think if I time it right, he will learn beg easily! =] Boggie's owner put away his makeshift hurdle, but that's okay. I will have to find a better, more light-weight, less dangerous one for him instead. That way it won't have to stay in Boggie's yard and I could use it for other dogs, too. It will take a while to find one, but I will keep a lookout. I found a dog backpack online, but it is like forty dollars, so I will have to see if I can get a sale or something. I will have to go back today because I left my plate there. Also, I checked off the checklist and then let Boggie out and he went poo but I forgot to say he did on the checklist. Sally's owner: Boggie went poo. =]

Boggie 4/4/11

Today was good! It was really windy outside! I went early because mom was doing the hard floors. I bought some yummy treats for Boggie at the dollar store Saturday. He likes them. He was a good walker today and met a dog that was very hyper. Her owner was saying that the dog was always hyper. He said it in a joking way, but I know that a dog like that could hurt herself or stuff around the household. That's why I stress so much about taking dogs for walks. If that dog walked for about 2-3 hours a day, she would be very calm. This is the conversation she had with Boggie:
Boggie: Why hello, there.
Rudy (I think her name was): Hello!
Boggie: Are you having a good walk?
Rudy: Let's play!
Boggie: No, thanks.
Rudy: Oh, come on, come on, come on!
Boggie: I'd rather not.
Rudy: Please please please please!
Boggie: You are too hyper for me. I think I'll go now.
Rudy: Fine. Bye!

As you can see, they were both very polite but Rudy was too outgoing. Anyways, I took Boggie back to my house. My cat had gotten shots Saturday and is just getting over her rabies shot, so she was lethargic. I took Boggie up to the front door, staying calm, and led him inside through the house to the back door. He was nervous because my cat was downstairs watching him, but she didn't do anything. She seemed a bit agitated. Me and Leah filmed a dog training video. I will put it up on my YouTube account soon. My username is rokinjaguar. Boggie was very good during it and did exactly what I wanted him to. Overall, I think Boggie had fun. It was warm!

Boggie 3/31/11

Tomorrow is April Fools Day! Be careful! My sister always pulls pranks on me. I'll have to think of something really good to best her. =] Anyways, I had been trying to get my friend to answer her door because I wanted to ask her if she would walk Boggie over the summer. It was weird! She didn't answer, even though I know she's homeschooled! I also heard a dog bark... Then today I took another look at the bumper stickers on their car, and it said they had two kids! I know they had more! They have six! I was at the wrong house! I scurried off down the road and found their real house. They answered the door and my friend came out. They had a new dog! It was cute and very good at heeling! We walked the dogs together as I asked my friend. She said she was going to ask her mom so I said I'd come get them some evening and take them to Boggie's house to meet his owner. Boggie walked for an hour and came home happy. He was a very good walker today, but he pulled a little because Buddy, my friend's malti-poo, kept "saying hi" or... sniffing his tail... Boggie was a very good boy because I dropped the leash fixing something and Boggie wandered to a nearby ditch and went poo, then came back. I finally got a system ready for the hide-and-seek treat-finding game. First I take a few treats. I put one in my hand and I hide the others while Boggie sits and stays in the other room. Then I walk over, he smells the treat in my hand, I say, "Ok! Go find them," and he runs off. When he finds them all, I say, "Ok! All done," give him the treat I kept in my hand, throw up my hands and walk away. He usually stops looking. If he keeps looking, I take him outside and play with him a little to distract him. Bye, Boggie!