“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!

“This is a nice pad, but it’s a little cramped for my style. Where will I fit the baby grand piano and the water bed?”

See what I mean about his ears not fitting? Seriously though, airline regulations require a 4″ clearance from the top of the head (not the ears) if the dog is standing normally (not hunched like he his here).  This crate wouldn’t pass airline regulations. Still, we use it to train him and will get him a crate for his size, whether we buy, build or rent one!  At school, Loki stays in a canvas crate while I train Juno so he gets used to being in a closed environment in a public location.  He totally digs that crate.

Here is Loki’s 12 Step Program for overcoming crate fear:

1. Admit that the crate is powerless over me.
2. Believe in a Higher Power, also known as The Salmon Cookie, to get me into the crate.
3. Decide to turn my will over to the Salmon Cookie as I understand it’s deliciousness.
4. Make a searching and fearless moral inventory of myself. (Surprise! I’m perfect!)
5. Admit to myself and the Salmon Cookie that I am not worthy of the Salmon Cookie when I wrongly don’t get into the crate when Mom says “Crate!”
6. Be ready to have the Salmon cookie remove all defects of the crate.
7. Humbly ask the Salmon Cookie to be delicious.
8. Make a list of all the times I did not get in the crate and be willing to be sorry for those wrongs.
9. Make amends to get into the crate whenever possible, even when not asked, to make up for all the times I did not get into the crate.
10. Continue to take inventory of when I didn’t get into the crate and admit it.
11. Pray to the higher Power–the Salmon Cookie–to improve my focus, and for knowledge of its deliciousness.
12. Having been awakened, carry out the message to all crate-o-phobics and continue to practice these principles in my life.

Enjoy the crate-o-phobia bygones video. At the end, there are a few tricks for added entertainment.

“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!

It’s been a mental, physical and emotional roller coaster ride getting here. We’ve had most of the required behaviors for this trial for about a year now, except one–the send the dog to the car. So in April, I signed up for the prep classes to clean up all the behaviors and learn the ”send to the car.” 

We had our ups and downs during training and I remember at one point Loki went through a rough period and I threw a pity party for myself claiming we shouldn’t even try.

“Hey mom, try not to slouch. You’re making me look bad!”

Out of the 11 dogs who took the prep classes, 5 passed the certification, 3 did not and 3 did not attempt it. That in itself is a testament to the difficulty of the trial. On the other hand, just going through the training itself is a testament to how well-trained and excellent all the dogs have proven to be both on and off the field. Loki and I could have just as easily failed as we could have passed. In fact there are a few behaviors where Loki’s success rate is about 60%.

Out of the 4 dogs in this trial, 3 are considered “naughty” (including Loki).  The dog sitting right next to Loki in the above photo is considered not only highly dog-aggressive but people- aggressive to the point that dogs or people cannot get too close. Yet his handler is able to participate in this because this dog’s obedience is so strong. During a prep class, Loki and this dog accidentally came nose-to-nose during a criss cross recall exercise. It took one sniff and Loki knew he did not want a piece of him!

“Yo, mom! What’s the hurry?”

Though the trial and certification doesn’t mean anything in the dog trial world, I found it more fun but just as stressful. Unlike most trials, we were allowed to use rewards at the end of exercises. But on the other hand, unlike most trials, there are at least 4 dogs on the field trialing along with us which makes it difficult. Using rewards for completed and correct exercises relieved the stress I felt about Loki losing focus on me and being too focused on and stressed about dogs working along side him.

“Mom, this isn’t safe for a lady like you! I will rescue you!”

So what are the behaviors for an Iron Dog? Beside all off-leash heeling exercises with turns, sits and downs, the dog is also required to do distance work such as a recall with a down or sit half way to me, one in which there is distraction of other dogs running toward them as well.  Also included are two “down-stay” exercises, one where the dog is required to stay in a down while you are out of his sight for 3 minutes.  Off-leash agility, recall out of “play” and a “send the dog to the car” are also some other required behaviors.  The car exercise and “hand signal/no verbal cues” distance exercises were our biggest challenge.

One day I told Mr. Wild Dingo who was watching us train and fail repeatedly at the car exercise: “See him screw up? We are so not going to pass Iron Dog because of him!”  Ya. I was blaming the dog. And I’m proud of it.

“I’m getting in the car!” 
Just like his mom, Loki’s yapper never stops. Not even when he’s running.

“I sure hope the keys are in it. The beach is only 10 minutes away.”

Below is a video of the distance exercises. The entire trial was about an hour long. That’s an hour of having the dog perform perfectly. The video below is 10 minutes for those who are as weird as I am about watching dogs work. I highlighted only the distance exercise and agility.

Our weakest exercise is now our strongest: send the dog to the car.  We had to not only send the dog to the car from 30 feet away, but call the dog out of the car and send him back in. For some reason, the second part, which is the more impressive of the two parts, wasn’t captured on video, so I filmed it at home. You can see it here.

Update:The commands I give to Loki are in German. I use German because my first language is English, therefor when I give him a command, I only want to give him one word with no modifiers. In English or in your first language, it’s too easy to modify your words, such as “down” to “lay down” or “get down.”   Using a different language makes it easier on the handler and the dog: one word=one meaning. The car command is “gein auto” which translates “get in the car.”

Also you’ll note you don’t hear me call him during his off leash recall to down or sit half way. This is because I have a “soft” recall for him. He’s a super fast dog and if I use his “hard” recall, he’ll go so fast that he won’t shut down. You’ll note that I walk further than most because he can be too fast. In my and Loki’s circumstances, being further away works to our advantage than being closer.

Words can’t express how proud I am of  Loki. He completed a nearly perfect trial.   We screwed up one section and needed a re-do because of my inability to follow instructions. But Loki didn’t screw up once. At the end, he knew he accomplished something. You could see it when he jumped with joy. One trainer recently commented, “He’s a lot of dog.”  He was right. He’s an Iron Dog!

 Loki J. Starling, ABC, FeD
Iron Dog! 

Two years ago this weekend, Mr. Wild Dingo and I drove up to the city to adopt Loki. I still remember the mixed feelings I had when I met him. He was much bigger than I had anticipated and he wasn’t even full grown. But his silly personality and his sad beginnings are what sold Mr. Wild Dingo and I on him.

It’s been a wild and crazy two years with Loki.  While many of our readers think Loki is a well-adjusted, well-behaved, easy-to-train dog, I can honestly admit that it’s been a roller coaster ride and I’m still not certain we’re dialed in tightly as a team yet. With all the training and work we’ve done together in the last two years, he’s still challenging me and calling me on my inconsistencies as his handler. And “handled” he must be.

Loki is a wonderfully smart, driven and silly dog. He’s also easily frustrated which can be good and bad for learning new things. Frustration builds drive and drive builds learning. So while it’s pretty easy to teach him new things, on the flip side, his frustration can lead to undesired behaviors. Loki’s also anxious and unconfident.  He’s a not a dog that would fit in with just any family.

Retardo Montelban

Loki’s also sensitive to sound. I mean really sensitive. So much so, I can’t even use the blinkers in the car with the windows open. I forgot to tell Mr. Wild Dingo this while we were driving with Loki last week. Mr. Wild Dingo put on the blinkers and Loki promptly pulled out ear-splitting yaps, giving Mr. Wild Dingo just the jolt he needed. (Ooopsie.)

He also has the most insane pack drive I’ve ever seen which has earned him the nickname “Retardo Montelban.”  His jumping, barking and thrashing about whenever Mr. Wild Dingo and Juno came to class was difficult to ignore by classmates. Heaven forbid I ever hand Loki’s leash to another person. Though he’s people friendly, he’ll raise bloody hell before anyone else but me, Mr. Wild Dingo or a few of the trainers can hold his or even Juno’s leash. Yes, you read that right. He won’t stand for anyone else handling Juno either.

A few weeks ago, I contacted Loki’s foster and asked her to send me digital copies of photos I found in his paperwork. I had begun to wonder a little more about his background and age. These are some of the photos I found in his file that were taken January 2008.  His adoption files had these photos from his first foster in Taiwan, and said he was 1.5  years old and 36 lbs. Based on the January 2008 images below, and his adult weight (67 lbs), I seriously doubt he was more than a year old in January 2008.

Even before he was a year old, Loki nailed down his innocent puppy look.

Back then his ears were so big, they couldn’t stand up on his small head.

Look at the size of those paws!

Not much of his widow’s mark shows in his puppy face, which is all black. But his eyes, tail and ears are so telling. Does anyone want to just salt those ears and munch them up like I want to?

When he came to us end of May 2008, he was 58 lbs, which was about 90% of his adult body weight. According to dog growth charts, that would make him at about a year old when we adopted him. Given all of that, I decided that his anniversary would be the same day as his birthday, which makes him three years old this weekend.

Loki’s US foster mom sent me the above photos with the following provoking thoughts that I think can apply to any rescued dog:

“I learned a long time ago that I do not want to know too much about their previous lives. Sometimes history is best left alone and unsaid. There are things you will learn from him over time when he is ready to tell you. If he remembers. Some things are only bad as we perceive them, not how others see them. It really doesn’t matter how old he is or what his life was like. What matters is how he/you deal with his life now. Remember, dogs are never victims, they accept life for what or how it is and have the best time they can. Give him kisses for me and remind him that is a long way from where he started and very lucky!”

I think Loki knows he’s lucky. But I get the feeling he’s always wondering when he will be forced to leave again (never). He had so much change as a young pup that it seems perfectly natural in his learned behavior to fear being separated from his pack.

Regardless of his anxieties, Loki has for the most part, learned to trust me. And obviously, that is where he’s gone terribly wrong. Just look at the various ways I torture him.

“Hallo. My name is Inigo Montoyo. You killed my stuffie. Prepare to die.”

“Does this crown make my butt look big?

“Does this boa make my ears look big?”

“Is it ok to steal a cookie if I’m wearing a mask?”

“I can’t help how handsome I am. ”

Regardless of all the challenges he has and continues to present, Loki can charm the most unsuspecting person with silly behaviors. The range of expression in his face seems infinite. Every time I photograph him, I’m conflicted in my choice of photos to use for this blog because each expression tells a complex story. I love the fact that he has grown to love modeling. I can litterally put any costume on him and he not only endures it but rises to the occasion and pulls out his own “Blue Steel” for the camera.

I’m grateful Loki came into our lives because he’s taught me a few things about myself. For one thing, I’ve learned more in the past 2 years about training dogs than I had ever planned. When I adopted him, I foolishly thought we’d go to one or two obedience classes and be done with it. But his own drive to work and my own need to handle his anxious behavior kept us in school.  I’ve also learned that working with dogs is far more fascinating than I anticipated. It doesn’t matter if temperament is born or learned, it’s obedience training that builds confidence. And while his temperament may never change, obedience and consistent handling will be his saving grace. I’ve made my share of mistakes with Loki but luckily for me, he’s been forgiving. I’m still learning. Unfortunately for Loki, he’s my unwitting experiment.  Booowhahahaha!

“Oh crud Big boy. Why do we ALWAYS have to pose for the camera before we eat our pupper-versary cake?”
“Princess, just do what she says. Really.”
At home, Loki is the picture of perfect.

The husky in Juno comes out and she jumps the gun before we release her. Loki is the ever attentive soldier and will only eat when told. I told you he has “issues.”

“Happy Anniversary Big Boy. I’m glad you’re my pack mate.”
“Thanks Princess. I’m glad you’re my bite-toy, err… my pack mate too.”

Happy Anniversary Loki. We love you more than you know.

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!”

“He’s mental,” said my trainer, Lance, about Loki during SAR training on Sunday. Images of Loki’s cracker-insane behavior flooded my mind: the motor mouth in class, jumping wildly in the air for a tug or the panic attacks. “Yeah, he’s mental,” I agreed. “No, not that kind of mental,” Lance laughed.

Just moments before, I released Loki down the isle of a warehouse to search for and find a hiding person. This was our first search training inside a building. Since December, we’ve been training search outside, first in a confined environment, like the training field, then at parks and in forests. At the end of each semester of search class, dogs and handlers are tested to see how much we’ve learned and are progressing.

“Yah Mom! I’m ready to go find someone! Let me go!!!”
Loki isn’t shy about talking when he’s excited to work. His tail wags as his mouth motors!

During the first semester, Loki tested very well on the field. He showed to be a very methodical searcher, and did not get confused by planted human objects, such as a jacket. He moved from object to object down the field until he found his target. In the forest, he looked much more random and chaotic in his search, but there were times I observed him making very specific decisions about losing the scent and turning around and choosing a line directly to his target.

Searching inside a building was a whole new ball game for the training dogs. For one thing, there’s no wind. For another there’s usually some sort of ventilation or air condition that causes the scent to bounce around and confuse the dog. It’s a true test of the dog’s continued drive to find the target when frustration sets in.

Above, another dog, Rolf makes the same decision most of the dogs including Loki make and follows the scent down the left isle.

When Loki set off down the isle, Lance noticed he was making logical decisions, he went down a left side isle where it was obvious the scent was bouncing off a wall and going down that isle. But he came back and circled some boxes where the scent was heavy. “This dog is a thinker. He’s making choices based on what is going on in his brain. He’s mental.”

“Wait a dog-pickin’ minute! Something here doesn’t smell like jarred pickles or canned beans. It smells like a bi-ped!”
Just moments before, Loki had circled the boxes to the left. The scent must have been lingering there heavily.

To tell you the truth, it felt really good to hear our trainer say Loki was a thinker. Usually he only observes Loki working obedience where his confidence is low and his anxiety is high and exhibiting a different kind of “mental” behavior. (Not the good kind.)  I have always known Loki was a thinker. He loves guessing games and even chaining behaviors together.  In fact, I leverage that thinking brain and make him guess whenever I teach him a new behavior.

“Mom! Come on over here and check this out! It’s Debbie hiding in these boxes. She sure is weird!”
I made sure to shut my mouth and go to him to praise him this time so he stays with his target.

Unfortunately, Loki’s confidence can get the better of him and his biggest issue in Search is being too locked onto me. He relies on me for help when he’s uncertain and I’ve too often caved in to help him.  He’s also not confident enough to stay with his target until I get to him. If he hears me praise him from a distance he’ll unlock from his target and return to me too soon. As his handler, I need to stop helping him make decisions so he can start trusting his nose.

“Good boy Loki! You found the lost person and the day is saved!”

After Search (SAR) class, Loki and I headed to Article Search for an another hour of training. This type of search is searching for human scented objects. The object is generalized and not specific. For example, we’re not training him to go find my keys and give them to me, instead I’m training him to go find some human scented object that is probably lost in the woods or on terrain. Loki wagged his tail the entire class and was too happy to play this game.

When I got home, Mr. Wild Dingo, the skeptic, asked why we bothered training in SAR and Article Search. He doubted Loki was any good at either.

“Are you kidding?” I exclaimed. “These are great party tricks! Just think: we can take $5, $10, $50 bets on Loki finding anyone’s keys, wallet or object hidden on our property.”

“Well, I’m glad to hear you finally have a viable business plan,” he replied.

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.”