Ready for a Hammer Race

DuPont came into my life at kind of a perfect time.  I'm training for this mud run/race type of deal and it's on Saturday.  Like, this coming Saturday.  Yuck.

It's five miles long and there are twenty obstacles that I need to conquer throughout, including two river crossings, and all the while I will be toting 'Rhino', my 9lb sledge hammer.  Hence the name of the race: Hammer Race.

Having DuPont around has forced me to go out and run almost daily.  It's safe to say that I feel like a bit of a bad ass hoofin it down a country road while the sun is setting, Rhino in one hand and DuPont's leash in the other!

My training partner

For as asinine as this guy can be on a leash, he really is a damn good running/walking buddy.

Oh, and since I'm supposed to be informing you, let me take a moment to explain his head gear.
DuPont is wearing a head collar. Specifically, a Halti.  There are a few different styles/brands of head collars (ie: Gentle Leader, etc)  I prefer the Halti myself because I feel like it offers better control should the dog get the gear off.

With a puller like DuPont, I pair the Halti with a 26" chain collar (choke chain).  The chain collar never actually tightens around his neck though. 

The way a head collar works is by clipping it to the dog's regular collar where you clip the leash.  Then you clip the leash as normal and when the dog pulls, some of their power is taken away because the Halti will pull their nose around towards you.  With most dogs this is enough.  But, DuPont is not most dogs.  There is still pressure that he can put into his collar and he hardly acknowledges the head collar, so it's moot.

That's why I add a long chain collar to it so that all of DuPont's pulling momentum is put into the Halti, preventing him from getting any pulling power. It just pulls his head around.  This makes for a much more pleasant road experience with The Pont.

Happy Trails!

Chillin'

I have an itty bitty confession to make. 

I let DuPont up on the couch with me.  And no, that's not the confession.  The confession is, the reason that I originally began allowing it is because if he was up on the couch with me, that meant he wasn't somewhere else wreaking havoc. 

The first few days that DuPont was here, he was a tornado.  He tore around the house, pecked at every being within the house (furry or human) until they would interact with him.  I ran him every single day those first four days and it only vaguely wore him down. 

The only problem with him being on the couch with me is that he would start packing at me!  Trying to grab at my hands, trying to crawl into my lap (he's way too heavy to be a lap dog, it just hurts), licking at my face and my arms and my hands, chewing on the survival bracelet I always wear, etc.  It was annoying.  Really, really annoying.  Oh, and when he was really hyped up, he would drool a little.  So I had to spread that awesome purple blanket over the couch that you see in some photos.

Over the weekend I cleaned house and folded the purple blanket.  DuPont wasn't having to come sit next to me as frequently so I put the blanket up. 

Last night, the next season of 'The Voice' premiered and it's admittedly one of my favorite shows.  And I like it quiet and calm when I watch it because a person just can't get all the way into a show if there is a red tornado flying around the house.  I had taken DuPont out for our daily run right after I'd gotten home from work and within about 10 minutes of returning home, he wasn't even panting anymore.  (I was still panting, he could at least have stuck his tongue out just to humor me) 

So imagine my surprise when I settle onto the couch to watch my show and DuPont politely climbs up next to me, circles and plops down with his shoulder leaning against me.  He's not chewing on me, he's not licking me, he's not trying to steal the remote... He's just... chillin'. 

Chillin' like a villain

The Blue Dog Tells A Story

Frankie is one of my rescued Australian Shepherds. She's beautiful. She's the boss wench, queen bee, ruler of all beings who live within our home.  We are of one mind.  She's my soul mate dog.

Frankie is a quick study and quicker judge of character, so when I bring a new foster dog into the house, I often look to Frankie to help me out with breaking down what that dog needs.  For the first five days his stay, I had a pretty good idea about DuPont already, and Frankie confirmed it for me with impressive regularity. 

By the end of the fifth day, I had thought that I could sense a change in DuPont, but Frankie did not agree with me yet and I was stumped. Then it happened, the turning of a corner, and I managed to catch it on video.

To the average person, this is just a crappy night time cell phone video of two dogs playing tug.  But to a dog person who is in tune with her dog, it's incredibly telling. This is when Frankie told me that DuPont was going to be okay here. 



In the less than 48 hours since this occurred, DuPont has made some tremendous strides. It's like I've suddenly got a different dog. Oh, the old DuPont pokes his head out now and again, but for the most part, things have gotten so much simpler!

I Don't Know, You Tell Me

Being that DuPont thrives on activity, we have had (and taken) several socialization opportunities since he came home with me.  When we're on the road we often pass by a human or two, and sometimes they even have a dog with them.  These are great opportunities to teach DuPont that strange dogs and people don't mean that he needs to bark or pull me towards them.  It also makes him more accepting of stranger beings approaching him. 

I simply ask them if they would be willing to meet DuPont by asking him to sit and when he does, to let him sniff and then pet him on the head if his reaction is comfortable.  It's a good exercise for him.

DuPont's first night w/ us

But anyways, this isn't the topic of today's post.  While I am out with him, I have been asked several times what he is.  Well, I don't really know.  His paperwork has him as a Lab mix.  I only really see Lab in his head and face, and only when I'm really looking for it.  My own theory was Vizsla mix.  A gentleman during last night's outing mentioned Rhodesian Ridgeback mix.  Huh. 

I Google'd them when I got home and I guess there is a bit of a resemblance, if you discount the darkened muzzle of the Rhoddies.  And he does have a ridge line running along his spine.  Interesting. 

His tail curls up over his back when it's not wagging and banging on things.  Sometimes it looks like a Vizsla's natural tail.  It's definitely not a Labrador's tail.  Neither is his body type.  The first time I met DuPont, I briefly thought Lab/Pitbull mix, but he lacks just about any quality that might suggest that.  When I do let him roam freely (not in a heel position) on walks, his nose never leaves the ground, and if a bird or squirrel rustles the brush in the ditch, his reaction is to freeze, which would indicate some sort of pointing instincts possibly. 

DuPont is not a purebred anything, of that I am certain.  But what he is mixed up with is beyond me.  So what is he?  I don't know, you tell me.

**feel free to post your thoughts in the comments section**

Your Daily Dose of Dufus

Snooping around the yard after his daily run

Training Begins

DuPont's party ended last night.  Meaning, the time for all fun and no work is over.  Done.  Time to be a dog, DuPont.
There are a number of things that need work, but we began with basics. 

Impulse Control
DuPont is in a hurry.  All.  The.  Time. Everything he wants to do, he's got to do it right now.  I can't tolerate door rushing, mowing over dogs and humans, stepping on my feet and breaking things to get where you want to go quicker. Not only is it annoying, but it's dangerous.  So after our run last night, before heading back inside, we worked on some impulse control.  The object of the game is to make DuPont realize that sitting patiently makes the door open, thus allowing him to go where he wants to go. 

We stood in front of the door and I put my hand on the knob. Immediately DuPont shoved his nose where the door would open.  I took my hand off the knob and asked for a sit, which he did.  I put my hand back on the knob and DuPont broke his sit and attempted to push the door open.  Repeat appx 15x.
Eventually, we were able to get the door to actually open.  When it did, he broke the sit and tried to go through, but the door was shut in his face.  Start over.  Repeat.

I'm not the most patient person in the world.  But thanks to being surrounded by calm positive dog trainers for the last few years, I've learned that success with these types of exercises only comes if you put aside any plans and dedicate yourself completely to accomplishing the goal, and in this case it was to get the door opened while DuPont maintained a sit.

Fifteen minutes later, I opened the door and even took a step through it while DuPont kept his butt planted on the ground!  It's a big deal, so he got big praise.

The Eye Contact Game
This is actually a favorite of mine.  It's so basic and so simple, and the benefits long term are great.  Plus, you can do it anywhere.  Sitting on the couch, outside on a walk to distract, in the pet store when you need calm, etc. 

I grabbed my bait bag full of treats and stood in the middle of the living room.  DuPont, who always needs to be all up in my biz, predictably came over to investigate.  I gave him a couple of treats so he knew I had stuff that he wanted.  I put treats in each hand and hold them out on each side of my body.  A dog's natural response is to look at either hand, because it's holding what he wants to get.  Sometimes they will jump or stand and lick/chew on your hand to get what they are after.  What I wanted from him was eye contact.  It's a huge feat for many dogs because they are having to make the decision to take their attention away from the source of the food and give it to you.  The dog has to make the decision, and when they do,  it's 'YES!' and he's given a treat.  DuPont figured out the game within about 3 tries, so I moved around the room, sat down on the couch, etc to make it more difficult.  He's a smarty pants.

DuPont playing the Eye Contact Game

This game, over time, will have great effects on a dog like DuPont.  He's always moving around and it's not always easy to get his attention verbally.  He loves to play and wrestle with my dogs, but he usually wants to keep playing long after my own dogs are exhausted.  Often I will need to intervene and try to redirect him elsewhere.  The first two evenings here, I could be hollering, stomping or clapping my hands and he barely gave me a passing glance.  He wanted to keep playing!  After five minutes of the eye contact game, it was already noticeably easier to gain his attention off another dog. He wanted to make eye contact with me and see if there was an opportunity to work for more food. There wasn't always food to be had, but I kept my bait bag close and paid him at random to keep him guessing, and to keep him wanting to come back.

Paying Good Behavior
As mentioned earlier, DuPont is always on the move.  It's an incredible wave of relief that I feel every time I witness him laying down and doing nothing. (Which is happening more and more the longer he's here, thank God)  Any time DuPont sits calmly next to me, or lays down under the coffee table to relax, we pay him for it.  We do not get excited or loud about it.  Josh or I just calmly take a treat from the bag, reach forward with a soft 'Yes' and give him something good.  Becoming excited or moving quickly will only break DuPont's calm and that's not what we are after.  We want him to remain calm and continue laying down quietly, that's why we are paying him for it.  Eventually, he'll say 'Man, when I lay right here and keep my mouth shut, yummy stuff randomly falls from the sky!' 

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Overall, I was actually very impressed with how quickly DuPont responded to everything I set in front of him.  He's really very smart and he really tries to do what I ask him to do. 

It's important to note that I did not attempt to do any real training with DuPont until after I had taken him out for a run first.  His mind would have been way too distracted to try this stuff this soon out of the gate.  The run is a training session in itself because there are things to work on there as well, but it, combined with the mental challenges he faced while training, made for a pretty well worn out dog by the time we called it a night. 

There is hope for you yet, boy-o.

DuPont's Story

DuPont was already with TRC when I began volunteering with them.  The first time I met him was on my first trip over to photograph the rescue's current dogs.

Based on what I've been told and the paperwork I have in my hand, Dupont was picked up as a stray dog by Animal Control sometime in March.  He was in the shelter for a period of at least a month and eventually, that's how TRC found him.  He made the long journey from Georgia to Minnesota in late April thanks to a volunteer rescue transport.

Upon meeting him for the first time in June, my first and only thought was that this dog needs to run.  My second was that he was beautiful, so I aimed my camera and shot.  Of 100 or so photos, two were of use to the rescue.  Why?  Because DuPont never stopped running.  Back and forth and around and around.  Wrestling with the dogs, grabbing toys and tossing them up in the air, and running. 

This was the best photo I got of DuPont that day.

My second encounter with DuPont was again for photographic purposes. This time I was better prepared and with the help of other volunteers, we got some nice shots!

It was during an August adoption event that I saw DuPont the next time. He was more agitated than I'd remembered and seemed stressed out. The rescue had taken on a couple of newer dogs who were taking up a lot more time so DuPont was not getting out to run as much as he needed to. 

Fast forward. I picked up DuPont two days ago to foster in my home with my hubby and my own pack of yahoos. Which after less than 48 hours with him, I quickly realized I would need this journal not only for your sake, but for mine.

The first couple of evenings, we let DuPont get to know his new roomies and acclimate to things. Tonight, he begins real training. I ask that you please cross your paws and say a prayer for me, because this is not going to be simple. But lucky you, you have a front row seat to this entertaining disaster!

Why a Blog for a Dog?

Let me first explain my reasoning behind creating a blog just for the likes of DuPont.

DuPont is a lot of things.  He's a dog who is going to give somebody a ton of fun and joy for the duration of his lifetime.  He's incredibly charming and he's a show stopper in the looks department. 
At appx 55lbs, give or take a few, he is not a real large dog physically.  DuPont is housebroken, he's magnificent in his crate and doesn't mind hanging out there overmuch.  He's great with other dogs, and while he chases my cat, he displays behavior that can only be translated into 'Oh shit!' when the cat turns around and takes a swipe at him. He's also great with kids, though he doesn't understand personal space so really small children probably aren't a good idea just because DuPont will step on them. Like, literally step on them.

If I am ticked off at DuPont and not allowing him on the couch with me, he will sit down on my foot and lean against my leg, effectively melting my heart into a puddle. Then he will turn his head and look at me like he's never met a woman as beautiful as myself, which of course makes me want to smooch on him, so I allow him back onto the couch for a snuggle. 

He sounds like just the perfect, ready-made dog right?  Wrong.  Very, very wrong.  DuPont is incredibly awesome, let me make that clear.  However, he is going to walk all over anybody who comes in here thinking that they won't have to put much effort into owning DuPont.

So.  In a very real effort to ensure that DuPont finds his soul mate in the person or family who adopts him, I have created this blog, and I'm sincerely hoping that anybody who is seriously considering DuPont as an adoption candidate will read it in full.  The plan is to post photos and videos of DuPont, as well as all of the good and the bad.  There is definitely way more good than there is bad, I promise.

If you have thought about submitting an adoption application for DuPont and this blog deters you from adopting him, then good.  It means that it probably wasn't meant to be.  But if you read this and you begin to fall in love with this obnoxious redhead, then he may just be the dog for you.

So let me begin with...  Have you ever seen the movie "Marley & Me"?   :o)