“Nothing says “I missed you” like pillow entrails. I cared enough to shred the very best.”

I was in Luasanne, Switzerland house hunting for our move this past week. Loki and Juno’s personal chef, entertainer and companion kept me updated on how they handled being without me. “Loki and Juno are doing so well! They’re so well behaved,”  wrote Diane in her e-mails, “I’m going to miss them and I would love to come to Switzerland just to pet sit them!”

Um, sure Diane. And shredding pillows is considered “behaved” in what universe?  Are you sure you want to pet sit them again? Figures they saved the pillow mess just for me. Nobody ever believes me when I say these two are trouble.

“I had nothing to do with this Mom! Swear to dogs!”

Loki and Juno met Diane the week before I left and hit it off with her just fine. Loki even let her take his leash, something he never stands for when I’m around. Dog-forbid anyone but his Mom be attached to him. When Diane left, I warned her that Loki will definitely appear intimidating on her first day. “He’ll bark and act like a cracked-out Cujo ready to eat you,” I told her. “Oh I’m not intimidated by him,” Diane assured me. “He’s quite sweet.”  I smiled knowingly to myself.

Diane’s first email to me read something to the tune of: ”I must admit, I was quite apprehensive approaching the gate with Loki barking aggressively and was a bit intimidated.” Sigh. Do I know my cracker-dog or what?

Loki  has two greetings: Cracked-Out-Cujo, and “I’m your BEST friend in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD!”  By the 3rd visit, they were best pals and Diane wrote: “Loki and I are buddies. Period. He follows me everywhere and I can play with him quite roughly very confidently.” Sigh. Just as expected.

I’m not sure if Juno ever warmed up to her more than approaching her quickly then bouncing away, but at least she wasn’t rude enough to pull a Cujo on her.

I’ll have more later this week with photos from the trip and of the Wild Dingo Estate Abroad. Regardless of the pillow mess, it was great to be home among the endless kisses. 

In the mean time, which one looks guilty to you, Internet? Let me give you a hint. And another hint. And another hint. And, sigh, another hint.

“SHE started it mom!”
“I resent the biasness I am being treated with. Prior convictions have no bearing on this case.”

Loki and Juno, on the other hand, don’t care what a piece of paper says. They had some choice words for him when he got home:

“Pop! Where the hell have you been?”
“You left us with that Jack-Booted Thug for six weeks! “

“She makes us work for everything.”
  “Yeah, Huskies don’t work, they get appreciated.“ 

“Princess that bag sure looks small for a six-week guilt trip.”
“Deep-Pockets Daddy better not disappoint.”

“Hand over the bonz and nobody gets hurt.”
“Yeah, I’m about to come apart like a two-bit suitcase.”

“Come on Princess lets you and me nibble one.”
“Plant ya now, dig ya later pop.”

“Yowza! Rolf buddy, check out the dame with the long stems who just walked into class. She sure turns my crank.”
“Dude. We’re on the clock. Turn on your German Shepherd switch and go to work.”

“Yawn. If I had a bully stick for every floozie he hit on…”

“Rolf, that sweet thing sure gives me a tooth ache!”
“She’s ok if you like them lanky and daft. I prefer my dames with curves and brains.”

“You called, Rolf?”

It’s rare that Loki can work so closely next to another dog. In fact, it’s probably an accident that he ended up sitting so close to Rolf. Still if I had to choose a dog to sit closely to Loki other than Juno, it would probably be Rolf. Loki totally digs Rolf. While they aren’t play buddies, they work nicely next to each other and Rolf often sends Loki the “chill out dude” vibes that Loki desperately needs. We’re gonna miss you Rolf and your new sister, Zara!

In other news, astute readers will notice posting has been rather light again. I’ll save you the story. It’s boring, uninteresting and has nothing to do with dogs or our move. Unfortunately, it has taken a lot of time and energy and leaving very little left for blogging. But to catch you up: we’re close to finding a place to live and closer to a move. You’ll also note Wild Dingo’s masthead has not been updated for the last two months. Employees are on masthead strike here at Wild Dingo. No new mastheads until we move!

“Hey Big Boy, now that you’re an Iron Dog, let’s see how much Iron you’re really made of.”

“Princess, I’m all Iron. Pop says if you want to do a dog trial like me, you could do the Cream Puff trial.”

“Cream Puff, huh? You wanna find out which is stronger, cream or iron?”

“Boo! What a pansy! Scared of a little cream puff are you?”

“No way sister. You just caught me off guard.”

“Excuses…”

“Who you calling cream puff now, Iron Dog?”

Mr. Wild Dingo has dropped the gauntlet and has declared Juno to be a cream puff. There are rumors at school that another Iron Dog trial could be taking place before we move. If that’s true, Juno is stepping up to the plate (if there’s tri-tip on it of course). We’ll show those boys who the real cream puffs in this family are!

Meanwhile, Mr. Wild Dingo tries to help Loki get over his fear of crates.

“What kind of treat did Pop get to go in there?”

“Hey Princess, is this a circus car? How many clowns can we fit in this thing?”
“You’re the only clown around here Big Boy.”

“No barbarians allowed inside.”

“Pop did you get a liver treat to come in here? Do you find they give you gas?”

“It’s a good thing that crate is heavily ventilated Pop. If you catch my drift.”

“Look Princess! Liver treats mysteriously appeared in the crate of doom!”

“Now if I could just figure out how to get the liver treats out of the dreaded crate of doom. Hmm. Must think.”

“Move out of the way Big Boy and let me show you how it’s done.”

“You just go in, clean up the treats and check for more.”

“And that’s how it’s done.”
“Wow! You make it look so simple Princess. Let me try!”

“Hmmm. Now how did you do that again?”

“Now’s a good time for Pop’s 9.5 sized flip-flop to finish the job. It’s a darn shame the shoe gnomes keep eating them.”

The next morning, Loki, still unable to commit his whole body to the inside of a crate, discovers the joys of being limber.

“Must. Not. Let. Back. Feet. Inside!”

Yet, some of Wild Dingo staff seem to be weathering the chaos without too much trouble. Would you agree? 

“What’s all the noise about? Can’t you see I’m working on my tan?”

“Big Boy, you sure are color blind. Can’t you see you’re already tan?”

“Princess, then maybe I should put some sun screen on those alabaster gams of yours. I wouldn’t want you to get burned.”
“Yawn. I wasn’t born yesterday. You’ll have to come up with a better line than that.”

“Hey waitress! We’d like two coconut Pawgeritas and some mixed nuts. Make it snappy.”

“Um Princess, do waitresses normally laugh like that when you order a drink?”

“Only when they aren’t expecting a tip.”

“Oh hey there Pop, it sure is nice to see you. Blah, blah, blah. Yada, Yada, Yada. Moving on…whatchya got there in that cellophane baggie?”

“Now you’re speakin’ our language! Hand ‘em over!”

“Booyah! Dog candy bribes are the tastiest kind of bribes.”

“Pop has my permission to go on a trip every day!”

“I think we need to think about new extortion strategies for the next trip.”

“And now for the toy-portion of our travel bribes.”

“I’m not a patient pup, Pop. Hand over the stuffie now and nobody will get hurt.”

“Pop, don’t make me pull out my mad ninja skills.”

Later, Juno found a way to seek her revenge and show Mr. Wild Dingo what she thought of his travels.

“I can’t help it if Pop doesn’t put his shoes away in a timely fashion, now, can I?”

“Hmmm…a presie from the RH. I can smell his easily-swayed-by-jodhpurs-slobbery-self all over this parcel!”

“Is that for moi? Oh Mango Man! Oh Yeah!”

“Come to momma stuffie. We have some work to do!”

“Oh and he wrote some words. Whatever could his relentlessly large and easy-to-suds mouth have to say?”

“Yup, you’re right Mango. Your momma is visually impaired. It has nothing to do with your easy-to-see self.”

“This cookie is a bit stale. I’ll just stick it on the ‘fridge so I can wake up to his relentlessly handsome mug every day.”

“And it’s mine! Allllll MINE!”

“Hey Principessa, it looks like the RH didn’t forget me either!”

“Oh my dawg! My FAVORITE!  A tug rope!  How did he know?”

“Nee Ner Nee Nerrrr! I got a presie too!”
“Oh no you dit’ent. You paw that over this minute!”

“No way Princess. You have your own.”
“Whatever. At least I have my jodhpurs. And we all know the RH loves him some floofy jodhpurs.”

Ahhh…don’t worry Mango! Two is always better than one! Right?

“Let me show you how to properly play with this toy Retardo.”

“Ditto, sugar lips. Two can play at this game.”

“See you get the plastic part in your jaws and…”

“aaahhh… the sweet heavenly sensation of a good plastic chew! RH sure knows how to make a girl swoon.”

“I’ll work on the stuffie-ectomy in this corner.”

“Big boy, didn’t you read the contract when I moved in? What’s mine is mine and what’s yours is mine.”

And the stuffie lived happily never after.

Thank you Mango for your awesome contest this year and the presies! Loki and Juno had lots of fun. They both felt the contest was not only professionally managed but fun to participate in! They will be back next year!

“Hey Principessa, whatchya doin’ up there?”
“Sitting atop my throne, contemplating how nice it is to be Queen.”

“It looks a little unstable Your Majesty, let me run a thorough security check to see if it passes inspection.”
“If you must.”

“Wow, it sure is dark in here but it appears empty. ”
“Just like your head, big boy.”

“Don’t get any ideas, stud. You’re still my minion.”
“I’m just checking the throne for safety Your Majesty.”

“Wow, can you believe we’re going to leave this plush forest for the land of milk and chocolate?”

“I know. It’s not like we can even eat those things. But I sure can’t wait to get my paws on that cow Pop was flirting with over there, behind our tails.”

“Oh Princess, that cow looked awfully big and scary. I don’t think I’d like to get too close to her.”

“Is it too late to exchange him for a real security dog with some chutzpah?”

Rather being instructed for this class, we had only two search opportunities and we were being evaluated with constructive criticism on how we train our dogs in SAR.

Since we haven’t searched in months, and we were in a brand new unfamiliar location, I decided for my first search with Loki I’d put him “in drive” to search rather than have him do a cold search (an unknown person already hiding on the field) right off the bat.  I set up an easy, fast search with a person he knows and has searched for before to let him understand what we were there for. The target teased Loki then ran away to hide. When the target was hidden, I walked Loki  in a circle to disorient him, sat him and gave him the cue. Loki ran 40 mph out of the gate and flew past his target. He then came to a screeching halt as if he ran into a brick wall. It was obvious he lost the target’s scent. Loki then made a 180 degree turn and a diagonal beeline straight to his target. The whole thing took about 45 seconds. Success! It was an immediate find. This is the kind of practice that sets the dog in drive to want to search.

For my second search, I decided to test him on a cold search: a new area (other side of the park), new hiding place, a new person who is already hiding (he doesn’t know who he’s looking for). I took him out of the car, forgot to check the wind (bad me), sat him, put him in drive and released him. A few times he fell out of drive–he would potty or sniff a gopher hole. One time he “found” a person sitting at a picnic table (it’s still a find but not a rewarded find) and I had to move him along and give him his cue. He found his target, kinda-sorta. She was in the woods near a tree. He was 3 feet away and saw her but ignored her. When I saw that, I made the mistake of leading him to her by giving him the cue again and pointing. He eventually went to her. The find should happen without any help from me! 

His cold searches are still not where they should be but then again, I haven’t really worked them as much as I’d like to. When the class ended, a few of us stayed behind and did one more round. This time, I had him smell a scented object from the target before I released him. It took about a minute or two, and he ignored another person hanging out at the picnic table, but he found is target lying on the ground in a playground sandbox and he went right to her on his own this time.

I forgot to get photos from this weekend but below are photos from one of his searches in February.  This was at a high school with a child hiding in some sort of concrete structure. It was a cold search, meaning, the dogs did not know who to look for or where to look. Children are harder for dogs to scent because they are so small. The scent should be coming up out of the structure’s hole. All the dogs in class found the child.

“Mom, what are we doing here and why are all those people up on the hill watching us? Are they here to watch me do zoomies?”

“No Loki, no zoomies. We’re here to find a person who’s holding hot dogs hostage!”
“No way Mom! What kind of sicko holds a hot dog hostage? Lemme at ‘em!”

“I don’t smell anybody down here.”

“Oh wait, there’s a bunch of smells over here.”

And just when I am relieved to think he’s found the person who’s hiding in this structure below…

“Hmm… I smell pee-mail from Rolf and Mika!” 
(Yes, about 5 other dogs pee’d right there.)

“I’d better leave them a pee-mail or they may think it’s rude that I didn’t return their call.”
Sigh. He misses the find the first time.

Loki runs off but it becomes obvious to him that he lost the scent and makes his way back on his own.

“Wait a minute. There’s nothing over there. I could have sworn I smelled something other than pee-mail back there before…”

“Yes, I think I found the hot dog terrorist. But I’m so confused. Where can she be?”

“There she is! Release the hot dogs little lady!”

Yes, sometimes dogs leave pee-mail when they work. Sometimes they go potty. We all have to go potty when we work. It’s perfectly fine. The important thing was that he lost her scent and came back to her and when he couldn’t figure out how to get to the scent, he went up. He made me proud that day!

A few weeks after this search, he had to be tested on a cold search in the woods for a person laying down in some bushes. We had 5 minutes. He found her in just under 3 minutes. In the end, Loki doesn’t have a super high natural drive to search, but the more I work him in it, the more comfortable he gets. I love watching him work. He’s actually an easy dog to train in many ways. But compared to other dogs working search, I can see his drive to do it is much lower.  I still enjoy it because it gives him confidence and as our trainer once said: “I’d rather have a mediocre dog searching for me than no dog searching for me if I were stranded!” Woof!

And Now A Word from Juno

Mr. Wild Dingo has been gone for a while and is on his way now to Shanghi. He has a soft spot for girls who disregard him and has requested photos of Juno. He sent me the photo below of the woman he’s been seing behind Juno’s back:

Mr. Wild Dingo tells me this girl above has a better recall than Juno because she comes running to the fence any time Mr. Wild Dingo approaches.

 Juno is not amused with how and with whom he’s been spending his time.

“Pop, I think it’s time I meet you in Shanghai to reorient you in proper Siberian behavior.”

“For the record: just because I’m getting in this suitcase to meet you in Shanghai does not make it an excellent recall. I’m only coming so I can ignore you face-to-face.”