The Dish by Darcy

“Dear Santa, I can explain…. Kent”

Frankie is counter surfing. Oliver has Kent's glove and won't give it back.

Dear Darcie, Would you take a minute to tell me how you taught your dogs to walk into their own collars? You had four dogs the last time I saw all of you together, the three Tervs and Kari, your Golden. You held out a collar, said each dog’s name and each walked right into their collar! How did you teach them that? I’ve been trying with my dog for weeks, it’s not working. I send you my warmest wishes for your Christmas. I pray that your heart is healing from Dancer’s passing earlier this year and that you’re making room for another. Karen

Dear Karen, Just the other day Tilli came to me and as I hugged her close and put my nose into her back for a great big whiff of warm, loving Terv and I started crying. She smelled and felt so much like Dancer that it brought waves of missing my old girl. I know that Dancer is safe and at peace. She was my best dog ever. One of these days I’ll be ready for another. No one could ever replace her of course but all of my dogs have been special in one way or another. Dancer and I had that connection that is simply beyond my understanding, we really knew each other. I’ll love her forever.

Okay, on to a dog walking into it’s own collar. It’s easy to teach. Some dogs will learn faster than others, if you’re consistent and never put their collar on for them, you’ll see quick results.

Practice by yourself first before you start with the dog so your motions will be fluid and easy. It only takes a couple of practices to understand how to do this. The dogs will be fast so knowing what you want to do before you start will help you teach them more quickly.

Hold the collar open with one hand. Reach through it with a treat in your other hand so the collar is around your forearm. Offer the treat to the dog. You might need to take a step or two backward, you want the dog moving forward into the collar to take the treat.

When dog is moving forward to take the treat, slip the collar over your treat hand and onto the dog’s neck while the dog is eating the treat. While he is taking the treat say, “Put your collar on.” Keep a hold of the collar if your dog is one that takes off. Count to three while the collar is on. Without letting go of the collar say, “Let’s take your collar off,” and take it right back off. Immediately praise with pleasure, “Good dog.”

Do it all once again and stop, that’s enough for right now.

Do it again in about an hour. And again in another hour. And every time you need to put collars on to go somewhere. Practice in the kitchen, the bathroom, the bedroom, on the couch, on the floor, on the bed, outside the house.

The reason to practice behaviors in all places and with different people around is that when a dog learns a trick in the kitchen and you move to the living room and then to the yard or street, it becomes a new trick to the dog. The scenery has changed, the people are different, there are more distractions. Make sure that everyone in the family and all of your friends can put the collar on and take it off, giving a cookie when the collar is going on. Soon you won’t need a cookie any more. Fade the treats fast, that means only treat until your dog gets it and then maybe every third time for a while, then not at all. Praise always.

Don’t worry about training perfectly, you don’t have to be a perfect trainer to train anything. It’s all about having fun and getting the job done. I do a lot of laughing to make training fun. See those wagging tails!

Ultimately the behavior is, “Put your collar on.” Dog walks into the collar you’re holding open for them. Very soon the reward will be, put the collar on and we go out! Dogs love to go!

It’s so much fun to watch people’s reactions to this trick. How did you do that?! Stay humble, you really didn’t do anything but hold a collar and give a cookie. The dog did all the work. LOL!

Have fun! Merry Christmas to you and yours, too! I love you all. – Darcie

This was the first time these puppies have trained to put the collar on. Kent let me use his pups because I needed a video for you! (Remember, Kent is training these dogs by himself from start to finish, he’s never done that with a dog before.)

We are supposed to get over 10 inches of snow today and through Wednesday. It’s not unusual for Nebraska to get winter weather so we’re ready for it. What we don’t like is wind with snow. The wind is supposed to blow 30 to 40 miles an hour for a day or so! That’s when 10 inches of snow turns into something other than simple winter weather.

Tilli

I remember real blizzards when I was a kid. The snow would blow and would pile up against the school house, a three story building, and school would be cancelled for days! We’d go outside and play as soon as the wind died down. The best and worst blizzard I remember was 1966. My parents had gone to Valentine for groceries, leaving my little brother, one sister, and me home alone. It was an interesting seven days before they got back. On the first day the power went out and the propane ran out. No phone. We ate eat other. No, that’s not true! But the food did almost run out. We had popcorn, the old fashioned kind that we had to pop, and some potatoes and a little wood burning stove in the cellar under the house. We broke a chair to burn. We had a great time. Eventually our neighbors “rescued” us and made us stay at their house until our parents found us safe and sound. We didn’t want to go. It was my birthday week.

Dancer (1995-2009)

California is having snow around Sacramento, I hear. I have family down there. And my brother and sister in law called from Louisiana to say it was snowing there. They got snow before we did this year. Amazing!

We haven’t had a really strong blizzard for years. I guess we’re due. It snowed about three inches yesterday and it’s still on the ground. It’s so pretty. And so cold! Today we’re up to six inches now.

Oliver and Frankie had never seen snow before yesterday. This is their first northern winter. The snow was coming down and the wind was blowing hard. Both pups went to the door, sniffed, and backed up. By this morning, they were loving the snow. Wait until it gets really deep! Picture time!

Our dogs have always loved snow. I remember Kari, our Golden, playing in the snow on her last day on Earth. It had snowed about 20 inches if I remember right and snow was shoved up everywhere, in the streets, against buildings, in the creeks and parking lots. There wasn’t anywhere left to put it. Kari loved the snow. It was the best good bye. She was almost 18 years old when she passed and she still loved snow.

Bruno. Gone now, never forgotten

Dancer and Bruno loved snow, too. You can see photos of them at the SitStay Forums. Some of those photos were taken in our last big snow fall in 1997. It was October, the trees still had all their leaves. Too much snow weight, we lost 3/4 of our trees in this part of Nebraska that year. One huge ash tree in the back yard came down with a crash. It didn’t hurt a thing, not even the fence. It came down during the middle of the night during a lightning snow storm, you don’t get to see too many of those. Beautiful. And a little eerie.

This will be my first winter without my Dancer. I was hugging Tilli yesterday and all of a sudden my heart hurt, I teared up and started crying. She felt and smelled so much like Dance.

Seasons change and our dogs come and go. I wish they could be with us forever but I think it’s as it should be. Maybe we won’t really know love completely until we’ve loved them all.

Frankie and Oliver

Dogs and snow. It’s a happy life. We’ll have to pull the sleds out soon. We sled off the top of the house.

White Christmas is always welcome at my house. Good thing. I think we’re getting one this year. – Darcie