Welcome Home

We finally made it back to the city on Thursday, clear sailing on the highway south after the "Snowmageddon" on Groundhog Day.  (See my post from February 2, 2011.)

Gypsy was confused.  She was finally adjusting to our new life in the north woods and here we were back in our now-almost-empty townhouse.  I don't think it was the deep snow that made her "hold" herself Thursday evening and most of Friday.  She was out-of-sorts and restless.

FLD Gus, on the other hand, rolled with the change.  He eagerly chowed down his dinner, readily parked, and napped fitfully.  When we went to my sister Anne's house, he wrestled with cc'd (career-changed) Rosie as if he had never been gone.  Trips to the Hometown Grill for breakfast and Loui's for pizza with friends on Friday night were old hat for my Future Leader Dog puppy.

After dinner on Friday we visited some friends, Larry and Donna.  FLD Gus wandered around as if looking for something.  Donna said, "Do you think he wants the mat we used before?"

That was over a month ago!  I don't know, maybe, I said.

As soon as Donna brought out the small, multi-colored rug, Gus went right to it and settled in patiently while we played cards.  Good mat, Gus!

Two quick nights and we were back on Interstate 75.  It felt weird driving north to elude the unpredicted whiteout in the city.  By Flint the roads were dry and we made it home safely.  Gypsy whined as we turned down our road; she couldn't wait to get out of the van.

FLD Gus popped up from his place at my feet.  "What's all the excitement about?" he seemed to say.

We're home!

Just one of our 35 birdhouses, welcoming us home!

  

The Little Brown Creeper

SUNDAY, JANUARY 30, 2011

Jeff caught something out of the corner of his eye bulleting down into the sparkling snow bank next to the back corner of our house.  Gauge instantaneously shot after it, burying his entire German Shorthaired head.  FLD Gus wasn't far behind.

"Gauge, LEAVE IT!" Jeff yelled.  He wasn't sure what Gauge was after, but it was best not to wait to find out.  Gauge lifted his head briefly, noticed Gus about to dive into the hole he left, and plunged back in.

As Jeff struggled in the snowdrift to reach Gauge, I repeated his command to FLD Gus.  Gus.  Leave it.  I was surprised when Gus looked over his shoulder at me and relaxed his lunging black body.  Good boy, Gus!

Jeff yanked Gauge out by his collar and peered into the fluffy snow-hole.  What is it? I asked, struggling over myself to make sure that Gus didn't get any more ideas.

"I don't know.  A bird, I think."

Jeff's bright-yellow-leather-work-glove-clad hand dipped beneath the snow and brought up a tiny brown and white fuzzy bird.  He cupped the barely breathing creature and stroked it gently, saying, "It doesn't look very good."  The bird's eyes were closed and its long, curved beak was just open.

Gauge nosed Jeff's arm, sniffing.  "Let's put it somewhere safe," Jeff said, raising his arm out of reach.

A plethora of birdhouses pepper our yard.  Rustic wood boxes on the top of tall poles; red, white, and blue patriotic houses on shorter poles; houses with peaked roofs and slanted roofs; houses square-shaped and diamond-shaped--one on the side of the "potting shed" sports a painted handprint over the opening.

Jeff carefully carried the little bird to a birdhouse with a glass jar side-room and set it on the jar-lid balcony.  We hoped the bird was okay; Jeff didn't think Gauge got his mouth on it.

Back inside our house, Andy and Jen enjoyed a late morning coffee together while Jeff and I were in the woods tiring out the dogs.

Did you see that bird? I asked when we stomped in.

"Yes, there were two of them right there on that bush."  Andy nodded toward the window facing the yard.

Jeff and I never saw the second one; we explained how Gauge went after the bird that seemed to take a free-style dive straight down into the snow.  "I don't know where it came from," Jeff exclaimed.

View from the window.

Jen jumped in.  "I heard a noise from the back bedroom, like a BANG." 

We decided that the little bird flew from the bush smack dab into our bedroom window, falling like a rock right in front of Gauge's nose.

"We put it on that birdhouse beyond the flower garden there," Jeff gestured.  We all looked out.  The little brown and white poufy bird was gone!  "Guess he just knocked himself out." 

I pulled out my Christmas gift from Jen and Jeff, Birds of Michigan Field Guide, by Stan Tekiela, excited to put it to use.

Jeff rescued a "Brown Creeper."

(Learn more about Brown Creepers on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's website:  "All About Birds.")

Way to go, Jeff, for rescuing the Creeper!  I am proud of Jeff, and proud of FLD Gus for paying attention to "leave it."  (And Gauge, too, for not eating the unconscious bird!)

Jeff and Gauge napping it up on the couch.  Odo gets the floor.

FLD Gus's Trip to Town

GROUNDHOG DAY

(Here's a video of the storm, taken early this morning.)

We won't be going to town today; at least not until the roads get cleared and I can snow blow the driveway.  It's still snowing and drifting, so even if I clear the drive, it will fill right back up.

Andy and I postponed our trip downstate on Tuesday in deference to the "Snowmageddon" that was predicted for last night and today.  We'd rather be stuck up here where the snow is FUN!

FLD Gus snuggled up to me on the floor late last night; I wondered if he was grateful to get a "snow day" from puppy-class at Leader Dogs for the Blind.

LAST SATURDAY'S TRIP TO TOWN

The road west to Rose City.

We had no trouble getting to Rose City last Saturday.  It's nice not having so much salt on the roads...

The hill up to our house.  Dirt is spread instead of salt!

...and NO traffic!

Except for a few days before when we had to slow for three four-wheel-drive pickup trucks stopped in the middle of the road, men in camouflaged, insulated gear milling about.  I was sorry I didn't have my camera that day (and wished we had stopped to find out what was going on).  As the men maneuvered their vehicles out of our way, we saw what we thought was a massive cougar carcass strapped on to the bed of one of the four-wheelers.  Its head seemed to be the size of a volleyball!  Researching this later, I realized that the creature was most likely a bobcat, caught by these local trappers.

This picture on the Department of Natural Resources and Environment's website page, "General Fur Harvest Information" is close to what the carcass looked like, but BIGGER.

OUR VERY OWN WINERY

(We can't be too far back in the woods!)

Andy tasting wine.

FLD Gus experienced his very first wine tasting at the Rose Valley Winery, but I don't think he was impressed.  We took home a very nice bottle of "Summer Trails" (an interesting blend of 14 different varieties of grapes "left-over" at the end of summer) and "Clear Lake" ( a "light and fruity" white made from Edelweiss grapes).  Who knew that northeast Michigan is an up-and-coming wine community?

GREEN ACE HARDWARE

Of course, no trip into town is complete without a visit to our friendly neighborhood Green Ace Hardware!  Andy found what he needed to hang the stained glass that my Uncle Tony made for me years ago.

Me and FLD Gus trying to leave the hardware store.

I paused at the door so Andy could take my picture with FLD Gus, who was once again very well behaved.  

When Andy took a second shot, Gus looked up at me as if to say, "Well, are we going or not?!"

FLD Gus wanting to make sure we are leaving.

Tuesday's Training TIP: IMPROMPTU TRAINING

In puppy class at Leader Dogs for the Blind we learned that one problem for dogs-in-for-training is dog distractions.  As a puppy-raiser, I must help FLD Gus learn to ignore dog distractions while he's working.  Having two high-energy dogs visit for this past weekend gave me a perfect opportunity to practice.

Andy's daughter Jen and her husband Jeff came to visit us and they brought their two German Shorthaired Pointers, Gauge and Odo.  FLD Gus was in doggie-heaven---FINALLY, fellow-canines to play with!  (Gypsy thinks her role is "Drill Instructor.")

Odo tolerated (barely) Gus's insistent come-on-let's-play tongue-slapping, but eight-year-old Gauge would have none of it.  I knew I had to do something to calm the crazy energy in the house so we could enjoy our morning meal in peace.

So, I took advantage of the potentially frustrating situation by turning it into an impromptu training session.  And ended up with two dogs and a six-month-old puppy settled and relaxed while we ate breakfast.

I decided to work on FLD Gus's self-control by making him hold his position "on mat" (a command he knows well) while the other two dogs (and Gypsy) walked by.

Watch how I did it:

PREREQUISITE

FLD Gus on his MAT.

FLD Gus knows his "mat" is a fun place just for him.  He frequently goes to his mat on his own, and when I tell him.  Often I practice moving his mat around the house; it is fun to watch him search for it, first at its usual place between the kitchen and living room, and then to the last spot I placed it.  When Gus "finds" his mat he leaps onto it and spins around to a DOWN.  (For more information about the MAT command, see my post from August 10, 2010.)

SOLICIT HELP

FLD Gus on mat with dog distractions.

Once FLD Gus was on his mat I ask Jen to get her dogs to mingle by him.  In this picture you can see that Gus is looking at ME, and not the other dogs.

DON'T EXPECT SUCCESS AT THE FIRST TRY

FLD Gus getting up from his mat.

As the two dogs get closer, FLD Gus cannot contain himself any longer and gets up to join the fun.  (If you look close, you can see the level of excitement in this approaching-adolescence male!)  I say nothing to Gus, but immediately go to him and physically put him back on his mat.  This happens several times.

PUPPIES LEARN BY MAKING MISTAKES

FLD Gus trying hard to ignore the distractions.

You can see in this picture (after I put FLD Gus back on his mat) that when the dogs come close, Gus averts his eyes in an effort to maintain his self-control.  ("What I can't see won't bother me!")

FLD Gus lying on his mat.

FLD Gus slides into a DOWN when he realizes that I will put him back on the mat every time he leaves it.  Here you can see that while Gus is lying on his mat, his attention is not on me, but on the activity around him.

FLD Gus still on his mat, watching Jen and Gypsy.

Actually, FLD Gus seems to have lost interest in the two big dogs and is concentrating on Jen and Gypsy.

BE PREPARED AND PERSISTENT

FLD Gus sits up on his mat.

FLD Gus sits up when the two big dogs join Jen and Gypsy.  I anticipate.

FLD Gus attempts to leave his mat.

As Gypsy walks by, FLD Gus cannot contain himself and starts to follow her.  Now I use NAME RECOGNITION and LEAVE IT (in a calm and assertive, but quiet voice):  Gus.  Leave it.  He sits back down, and now he is looking at me again.

READ THE PUPPY

FLD Gus lying down on his mat again, with dog distractions.

FLD Gus is lying on his mat with his attention on me, but he has started to pant.  Can you see his tongue and slightly open jaw?  This is evidence of stress.  Gus is "getting it," but I've been pushing him.  We've only been at it for about five minutes!

RELEASE WITH "OKAY!"

FLD Gus asking the big dogs to play.

FLD Gus holds his position on MAT when Jen's dogs walk by once more.  I release Gus with an exuberant GUS, OKAY! and let him play a bit.  You can see how he asks the boys to play by using his tongue; Odo ignores, but Gauge still insists NO!

SUCCESS!

FLD Gus and the Pointers at ease.

After a few minutes of play, I send FLD Gus back to his mat.  Jen commands her dogs to lie down and stay.  Here they calmly remain while we enjoy a wonderful breakfast together!  Thanks Gauge, Odo, and Jen!