dog photos Archives - We live in a flat

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Pose, Stay, Say cheese

On May 24, 2014

Dog stay on branch - long shot

I have never deliberately tried to get her to hold a pose (other than sit) specifically for a photo, and certainly never at a great distance away. So this photo is a first time for me.

We were just out for a walk.

Nothing special.

If we took photos, we took photos. If we didn’t, we didn’t.

But I was in the mood, and look at her face. She was in the zone!

She knew she was going to get treats, got excited and started jumping up against the tree. On the wrong side.

It helped that I could direct her to the spot and direction I want her to be with her following my fingers using the Nose cue. That she knows I want her to climb on something when I say Up. We do that a lot for doggy parkour.

There wasn’t a lot of distraction, just a playground with children playing, random joggers and cyclists. They are not strong distractions for her.

She didn’t use to Stay that well.

When we first got her, I couldn’t get her to understand the concept of staying, she wanted to follow me instead of stay. Of course it made sense to her. The treats were with me and they were moving further away from her because I moved further away from her.

But somehow, when I tried to teach her to stay on her bed it helped her to grasp the concept more easily. The bed just had a sort of anchoring effect for her that I couldn’t explain. She mastered stay with phenomenal speed (compared to previously) after that. We practiced it consistently at every meal. I would send her to her bed and ask her to stay before I go mix her kibble and canned food in the kitchen. Nowadays I don’t bother to do that, but she makes a run for her crate anyway.

It sounds quite structured because I basically followed the textbook when it came to positive training.

Set the dog up for success so he will feel confident and find training fun and rewarding.
Don’t scold or punish the dog because make it less fun for him and he could become more hesitant to try for fear of doing wrong.
Keep it short so that the dog looks forward to the next training session.
Slowly raise the level of distraction, so that it doesn’t get too difficult for your dog suddenly. That sets him out for failure instead.

The consistent repetition day in and out started to make following the Stay command a habit for her. It was time to move her to a slightly more distracting environment.

So every morning we went to this fitness corner. It was outdoor but still enclosed by walls up to waist height and seldom used.

Dog stay on step up platform in fitness corner

I would ask Donna to sit on one of these step up platforms and stay as I walk a wide circle around her. She would sit, but her head would follow me as I walked around. And if she couldn’t see me she would stand and peer at me around the board that lines one side of the steps. It mattered to her that she should be able to see me. It didn’t matter to me that much that she stood to peer, although I preferred her to sit. As long as she stayed on the platform step, I left her be.

There were times when I took it too far and she grew impatient as I circled. That’s when she would stand up from her Sit, panting a little, perhaps break her stay. I guided her back and released her much faster after that hoping that that meant the training ends on a successful note. :P Don’t know if that’s really the case. Haha!

I started with small rounds, rewarding her with treats every time I come back to her from my circling.

As the weeks passed, and she got better at sit-stay there, I widened my circles around her.

It took time, but eventually I lengthened the time she stayed by increasing the number of circles I walked around her. It helped me a lot because walking occupied me. I don’t like standing around waiting for time to pass as she stayed. I wouldn’t be consistent doing something I don’t find fun.

More and more, she stays on the step.

Then it was time to go to an even more distracting environment. A nearby park that is quiet but much more open than the fitness corner was. I felt I have less control here because there was always the possibility of someone walking a dog that would distract Donna. I didn’t want her running off since she wasn’t very good being off-lead or having a strong recall then. So I started with her close to me on the lead, until I was comfortable enough to put distance between us.

Dog stay on stool

Around the same time, we start working on off-leash heel and recall again in the same low distraction environments mentioned earlier.

I wasn’t ready to walk her off-lead in the park then, but I felt comfortable enough to have her sit-stay un-tethered to my hand for short periods, knowing that her stay was pretty strong by then.

Dog stay on table

Nowadays, her sit-stay is strong enough that I can finally take the type of long distance photos that Jen K. does with her Newfoundland dogs.

And then I realised, perhaps because Donna is smaller and less fluffy, she just doesn’t have the type of presence that the Newfies have in a distance shot. Oh jeez… :P

Dog stay on wall

Note: The Sit-stay is great at home. She used to run to the front door when someone walks past or rings the door bell. But not everyone wants to be greeted by a dog, even if she is friendly. It was easy enough to practise Sit-stay with her in the crate with zero distraction at first as part of crate training. Eventually, she got good at it so that even when the door bell rings, she would go and stay in the crate when instructed. Nowadays, when she hears the door bell ring, she rushes to the living room in a hurry but heads for her crate.

I am not a trainer. I am just recording what I did with my dog, what worked and what didn’t. It probably also helped a lot that my dog is very food-motivated and has an almost non-existent prey drive.

Do dogs choose who they play with?

By weliveinaflat

On May 1, 2014

In Behaviour

Now and then we bring Donna to a dog cafe to give her more chances to socialise with other dogs outside of walks and the dog run.

III cafe

But perhaps on this day, Donna was already tired out from all that excitement at the Pet Expo, so she chose to chill out under our table at III Cafe instead as we had our lunch. (Incidentally, this month’s Pets magazine has a picture of Donna as one of the dogs in the background attending the Pets Expo agility trial lesson!! It’s tiny but we’re there! LOL)

III cafe

At least, that was what I thought at first. But she did seem happy to move around and check out any new dogs that come into the cafe.

III cafe

But pretty soon, she goes back to laying in the middle of the cafe floor like she is the queen of the place.

III cafe

Sure, she takes note of all the activity around, but that’s about it. Seems pretty boring to me :P

One of the cafe patrons was so impressed by her being such a good, fuss-free dog she had to take a picture of her.

III cafe

And still she laid there.

Finally up she goes to check out another dog which turns out unfruitful.

III cafe

She finally turns to check out the little dogs milling around her that she has been ignoring the whole time!! And then turns to me as if to say, “I tried, but they all ignore me!”

III cafe

Seems like same as for humans, it can be hard for dogs to make new friends, huh?

It seems like some people like to congregate around dog cafes with other humans with the same dogs. But for Donna, she doesn’t seem to be particular about just meeting other mongrels.

Rather Donna sometimes seem to be more excited about approaching dog breeds that she had a great time playing with before such as Westies. But more than that, I am starting to think that she has a size preference when it comes to making friends. Donna seems to like to approach dogs that are closer to her size, such as Shiba Inus, Huskies, Golden Retrievers and other mongrels.

Does that make sense? Do your dogs choose who they rather play with? And do you know why?
I would love to hear!

I am a munchkin! – high angle shots

By weliveinaflat

On April 27, 2014

In Photography

high angle shot of dog 1
high angle shot of dog 2
high angle shot of dog 3

High angle shots are typically employed to portray the subject as vulnerable, weak or insignificant in cinema. Literally it achieves the effect of having the viewer of the photo look down on the subject(s).

High angle shots naturally lend themselves to pet photography since our pets are generally way shorter than us. From this angle, pets generally look small and cute because of the bobble head effect.

The dynamic changes and becomes more complex however, with the confident stare if the animal that expects you to do its bidding, her sly peek at you to gauge your reaction when she refuses to do what you asked it to, and her blatant joy looking up at something else besides you. Human, you are just not as interesting as the toy you dangle in front of me.

Here’s a nice sample of high angle shots used in Hitchcock movies and how it diminishes the men in the story.

References

Lone flowerlet of the Ixora

By weliveinaflat

On April 25, 2014

In Dog & You

The result of our evening walk. The dog returned with a flowerlet on top of her head after she inspected the underside of the flowering Ixora bush.

Also called Jungle Gerbera or the Flame of the Woods, Ixora blossoms typically look like big umbrellas of these tiny flowerlets clustered together. The flowers can be red, orange or yellow. Despite the bright colours, the Ixora plant is not toxic to dogs so there was no need to be overly concerned.

I kept looking to see if the flower would drop off her head the rest of the walk. It never did.

It was only when we got back that I realised it was kept stuck to her head because of the sticky sap that has cobwebbed all over the area above her eyes. Right time for a shower, Donna!

References

You are a pain in the nose, human!

By weliveinaflat

On April 24, 2014

In Behaviour

Three facts about your dog’s nose

Dog nose prints are unique like human finger prints!

But unlike human fingerprints, dog nose prints aren’t really used for dog identification as much as the microchip or the dog tag.

Still that hasn’t stopped pet lovers from trying their hand on DIY projects that help them capture this unique part of their fur buddy. There are some webpages that suggest dog nose print projects that can be fun for kids and the dog lover.

But our dog here would likely not take it kindly to have food colouring or china ink painted over her nose and then have a piece of paper pushed into her face to make a unique nose print project.

Nope, those tensed up pinned back ears and that tilt in the head to avoid the human and her camera says it all. You’re being a pain, human!

But even without that wet ink to make a nose print, my dog’s nose is typically wet and cold.

Why do dogs have wet noses and what use do they have?

Because they have wet tongues that lick their noses! Hahaha. Common sense, huh?

Although sometimes, when a dog is not feeling well, he/she may not lick the nose as much so it becomes dry. However, in this Q&A with a Monterey vet, the vet also makes it clear that a dry nose may sometimes be a symptom of illness but that is not always the case.

Brachycephalic breeds with short, high noses like the Pug and the Boston Terrier are also more likely to have dry noses since their noses are set too high and their tongues couldn’t reach them! This also means that such dogs have a higher tendency to suffer from noses that are cracked and dry on top.

Eat your hearts out, snorties! *Now that is just rude, Donna!*

But back to the wet nose, it actually helps the dog to (1) cool down (rather than overheat) and (2) to smell better. No, I don’t mean it makes Donna sweet smelling. (Wouldn’t mind if that were the case.) The wet stuff on the nose is mucus that collects chemicals present in the environment which the dog can lick to aid her in her mission to sniff and process all the different smells she is exposed to on walks, etc.

So yah, high five to the wet nose! *thumbs up*

The nose is to the dog, what eyes are to the human
(but sighthounds need not apply, I think :P)

Speaking of sniffing, there’s no looking down on Brachycephalic breeds even if they have to suffer from their funny faces and shorter noses due to humans breeding them to look cute. According to this dummies article, even flat nose dogs ~~smell better~~ ‘detect scents far better than humans’!

It’s kind of debatable if it’s the human’s loss or gain, I mean, considering I am picking up dog poo everyday… maybe not having such superhuman sense of smell is not a bad thing. :P

So stop with that sticking your nose high in the air, Donna!

And yes, I’ll get out of your face now, poor thing. (She’s persisting sitting there looking grumpy rather than walking away because she wants to eat the forbidden ice cream waffle.)

with 2 Brown Dawgs
and Heart Like a Dog.

References

White flowers, with a side of dog

By weliveinaflat

On April 20, 2014

In Photography

Hello! Today, we’ll take you around the block to look at the white flowers growing in our area.

cute smiling dog outside

Take a joyful step with Donna now! LOL

At Donna’s height, mostly she’ll come in contact with the weeds. Here’s my particular favourite, the delicate five-petal Lavender Sorrel. Each flower is smaller than the tip of a finger.

Oxalis barrelieri, Lavender Sorrel, Barrelier's Woodsorrel - small white flowers with yellow center

The leaves are apparently edible in small quantities. They have a sharp, sour flavour because they contain oxalic acid, I suppose hence the scientific name Oxalis Barrelieli. So less concerns if Donna happens to bite off a leaf. Do note that oxalic acid in large quantities can be bad for dogs.

Also named after a French Botanist Jacque Barrelier, Barrelier’s Woodsorrel is not really pure white. Though it appears so, the white petals show pink veins at closer inspection. Its distinctive yellow heart with the white petals also makes this roadside weed easy to identify. You can see more photos of this plant in colour here.

Oxalis barrelieri, Lavender Sorrel, Barrelier's Woodsorrel - small white flowers with yellow center with white weed, Ageratum conyzoides

That little untidy cluster next to the flower (picture above) is a different weed called the Little Ironweed. It is apparently known to have some traditional uses for fever, etc ailments.

Up next the Cupid’s Shaving Brush.

Emilia sonchifolia, cupid's shaving brush

A check across different webpages writing about the same plant concurred that the Cupid’s Shaving Brush can be eaten and has in fact some medicinal uses as well as…

The flower heads are chewed and kept in the mouth for about 10 minutes to protect teeth from decay – source: plants for a future

And guess which part of the plant Donna has eaten before?

Evidence

I suppose she grew impatient with me stopping the walk to take a picture of it, so she decided to stop me by eating it. Not the flower but the seeds.
What’s left after she ate it.

Pictures from this post.

The plant didn’t do her any damage. I wiped whatever I could of those fluffy seed off her tongue, whatever that she hadn’t swallowed anyway.

Alright, wrapping up with white flowers that she can’t really reach. Some Crape Jasmine flowers (pictured below) blooming above her head on walks. These are white with yellow centres too.

crape jasmine
fragrant jasmine flower bud
Another Jasmine on a bush, on the cusp of unfolding.

sitting dog on wall
Donna has inspected all the scents coating the grass and weeds in the grass and has gotten bored, so she sits and waits.

Can we go now, human?

Happy Easter everyone ;)

References
– plant colour photos: lavender sorrel, little iron weed, cupid’s shaving brush
– plants for a future – cupid’s shaving brush, lavender sorrel
– urban forest – lavender sorrel, cupid’s shaving brush, little ironweed

Dog meets ice cream waffle – an unrequited love

By weliveinaflat

On April 18, 2014

In Behaviour

dog begs for waffle

Arghh! She said “Leave it.”

dog begs for waffle

Alright, alright, no poking my nose into the human food. Do I get some if I wait for it?

dog begs for waffle

…. ….

dog begs for waffle

This is more tragic than a Shakespearean tragedy!

dog begs for waffle

I don’t like this, human!

The last photo is interesting for me. I’m not sure yet, how upset or unhappy she is when she turns away her head like that.

with 2 Brown Dawgs
and Heart Like a Dog.

Life gets stressful sometimes…

By weliveinaflat

On April 13, 2014

In Behaviour

Donna has spent most afternoons this week tense and worrying about the possibility of rain and thunder in the afternoons. I said “possibility” because sometimes she stands shivering, with her tail tucked even when it is bright and sunny outside and 2 hours before it actually starts to rain. Does the air pressure change as early as 2 to 3 hours before it rains? Anyway, that’s Donna guarding the bedroom door in case the rain comes in down the hallway. Life gets stressful for this dog sometimes.