We have a goal to try and teach Zen how to pull a cart by 4th of July. Why? Because we want to be a part of THIS:

photo courtesy of Boulder Creek Insider

There’s a lot to know about teaching a dog to pull a cart but luckily for me there are a lot of educated swissy owners out there who have been doing it awhile. In researching it i came across Jennie Chen’s blog. She has tons of info that for the novice drafter to sink her teeth into. And the local Berner club has a great website, as well as seminars that we could take.

My local club wasn’t sponsering many events, but they just started getting going again. Back in November they sponsored a pack hike/draft dog training weekend. Brian and I have GREAT friends and two of them took care of the kids while we went to Mariposa, CA for the weekend to learn more about it.

It went really well and i learned a lot. I learned that she didn’t mind the sounds and she didn’t mind the weight. But what she DIDN’T like were the shafts touching her rump. She would shy away every time she felt one bumping into her, and after a good session I decided to go slow and not go any further with her training until I got her used to the feeling.

So how do you go about that? Well, someone at the seminar suggested cutting some PVC pipe and using it to get her used to the feeling. They would need to start short so that they didn’t drag at first..and then eventually you lengthen it when she becomes used to the idea.

This was the first weekend we had the time so we attempted to rig it up. I decided to use her pack harness at first, before I invest in the real thing with traces. Brian drilled a hole in the pipe and we attached velcro to the pipes.

She didn’t mind strapping them on, especially since i got a fresh beef bone from the butcher to focus her attention on.

Here’s the rig:

It worked out pretty well! She wandered around the house with them and bumped into objects and freaked herself out. But i calmed her and gave her lots of treats and we ended the first session on a good positive note. I’m definitely encouraged this is the way to do it!

Our suburu was on it’s last legs so we bought a new car. Because we got such a great deal, we decided to upgrade and get a bigger suv; The 2013 Kia Sorento GDI LX with the 3rd row option. Its awesome! Better gas mileage than our 2000 outback and more room to boot!

But it came with one complication which was a higher off-the-ground back end. Not a good combination for a 100 pound dog as it ages. So to save Zen’s knees and hips, we are buying a fold up ramp to carry around in the car, and using a staircase at home. Of course, we actually have to TRAIN her to go up and down a stairs and/or ramp. Thank goodness for tri-tip!!!

Now that Zen is one, she’s old enough to wear a pack. She shouldnt carry weight yet but starting to get her used the it’s feel.

I took her to the dog park and let her run around and get her hums out. Then I strapped it on and walked her down the bike path. We didn’t go a huge distance this first time out… But she did have to walk by geese.

She did great! Once back at the dog park, I took it off and let her run around some more to clear her head. Very successful day.

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I’ve been really bad at updating this blog lately but I have GREAT excuses. I’ll spare you the whining however…

Zen is 6.5 months old and lanky as a newborn colt. She’s probably a little too thin, as people who should know better can’t tell she’s a Swissy. We took her to a drafting trial today to let her sniff carts and see dogs being hooked up to them. Apparently all the Berner folks were trying to guess her breed. (the guess today was swissy and great Dane.)

She’s finishing up her second puppy class this week. Obedience-wise… She’s doing pretty well. She listens 60% of the time. She can get a little too pully, and she’s reDiscovered how to jump up on people. But overall, she’s a really good girl. Everyone remarks how sweet she is and what a good temperament she has. I would say… Score one for Brian and I for making sure we didn’t wreak her somehow.

Today was the last day for Zen’s first puppy kindergarden class. I can’t believe it over so quickly! It was kind of sad for me because I really have been enjoying it. We’ve seen such a difference in her since the first day of class when she sulked around the room, too afraid to jump in and play. Now she jumps right in. She’s a submissive player; she spends most of her time on her back.. but she seems to love it.

She also learned how to run thru tunnels today. Some of the dogs were a little spooked by the things… but Zen had no problem with them.

Here’s a video of the very first one she went through:

Overall, it was a great class today. And at the end we had a little graduation ceremony. Zen LOVES our trainer so she was really excited to be getting attention from Janelle. So much so, that she kept giving her paw and then trying to give both paws.

Next class is not until October. But her quarantine lift is over next wednesday so in the meantime we’ll be working with her on our own.
Congratulations Zen! Well done!

Zen is 15 weeks old and we have been diligently going to puppy class and socializing her as much as we can. The restrictions have been tough. It’s a huge balancing act to get her out and public with the risks so high in this area for Parvo. But we’ve been doing much more than our vet would like.. and at the same time trying to avoid obvious places where unvaccinated dogs may defecate. If we listened to our Vet, she wouldn’t have even gone to Puppy school until 17 weeks.. which is waaay out of the realm recommended for Swissy puppies.

In Puppy School, Zen has been a lurker. Not cowering by any stretch of the imagination.. but not exactly getting involved either. She seemed much more interested in the people than the other dogs. So i bumped up her dog time by taking her to a puppy social once a week. Its far for me on a Sunday, (all the way in Sunnyvale) but it’s been good for her. I met another Swissy owner there, and she’s been exposed to all kinds of dogs of all shapes and sizes.

Still, she’s hung back and just watched all the fun. So last week, we found out one of the women who attends our class lives “relatively” near us. She owns a 14 week old Viszla pup named Zola. If Zen is the wallflower.. Zola is the popular kid in class. We’ve met up twice this week, and these one on ones have been awesome. Both times, she and Zen just played and rough housed like no tomorrow.

It’s been a busy four day weekend for sure! Not only did we have friends visiting but it was the 4th of July which in our town means PARADE DAY!

Every year Boulder Creek has a big 4th of July parade that the entire town comes out for. There are blaring fire trucks, logging trucks, motorcycles driving on top of cars, crazy cars, floats, prancing horses, costumed dancers and tons and tons of people.

We brought a blanket and had the Pixie out before the festivities so she could meet people.. but when the actual parade started, we kenneled her.

She’s getting too big for this kennel so our vet visit today will probably be the last time she uses it. But she did really well with all the sirens and noise. She even fell asleep for the 2nd half of the parade!

Today was her second vet visit. She got her second round of shots and the once over by her vet. I absolutely adore this man… he is so nice and good with her and really likes the breed. He also was right in line with us in terms of timing of shots and put up with my crazy ideas and questions.

Other than that, we’ve been spending lots of time working with her. She’s a really responsive puppy. She already understands how to go into a sit and stay. She’s getting better at “come” and she’s getting better with “lay down.” Our friend who used to train GSDs saw her this weekend and was pretty impressed how well she’s doing for a 11 week old. I’m most proud of my daughter, though. She’s getting over her fear and she’s really liking working with Zen. She’s been watching me and trying hard to emulate. Here’s a picture of her getting Zen to “stay” and then “come.”

Today we took Zen to Roaring Camp Railroads. It was tricky because as a public place we still can’t walk her around with the fear of Parvo looming. But we brought a couple of car blankets and stretched them out and then carried her to the spot. It worked out well because it was a hot day, a shady spot and there were tons of trains and people to see.

It was a really hot day. So really, she didn’t want to do much except lounge, meet people and watch the trains.

Swissies don’t like the heat and Zen is no exception. But she did like the ice in my snow cone. You can just hear her thinking in this one.. “You must give me the ice.. you must give me the ice..”

Ok. Its too hot. Can we go home?

Back at home, she and the kid are doing a little bonding.

Zen is teething. Big time.
For the past 4 days, the view I often get of my puppy is THIS:

But usually I’m on the other side of the bars and those teeth are trying to sink into ME. Those blue eyes make her look even more fierce. And she IS pretty fierce. We’ve been feeding her from kongs and giving her plenty of chewing devices, but she is a confident puppy and has decided that we make good chew toys too.

It’s making our training regimen pretty difficult and we have to interrupt often to either stop and ignore.. or make a correction. The kids have the hardest time with this and no amount of telling them to “stop and be trees” quells the instinct inside when a 15 pound snapping inferno is charging at them.

This photo makes it look like we never let her out of that pen.. and i’m sure she’s putting that face on just to make me feel guilty.

We keep the kids and Zen separated until zen is calm. When she is, i have maiwenn work with her.. running her through her training poses and petting her. Teaching bite inhibition is going to be the biggest challenge for this inexperienced crew.. and i’m already kicking myself.. wondering what we did to encourage it. Honestly though, i think huge part is just normal puppy behavior and teething.

We are prescribing to THIS METHOD of bite inhibition training but I think it’s a lot harder than it sounds in the article. Especially when you have little kids who are not consistent and the puppy already thinks she can dominate them. I’d be really worried except we are starting puppy class next week and I plan to get help from the trainer and see what her take on Zen’s “fierceness.” Still, we’ll get it. She’s already doing better with me and Maiwenn was able to sit in Zen’s pen without getting mauled today and play with the puppy’s feet. A good sign!