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Hundaloo learned about jumping the other day and he has so many interesting ideas about it! You can see in the video how he pokes the bar with his nose when he is on my left. But he seemed happy to try the new 'trick' and he is wanting to work with me more and more.

Liz made a funny comment about his name when I told her it was Hunda she said, "yeah, 'cause that's original" and she paused and she said "Hunda, first name Val" and then she called him Mr. Val the rest of the time I was there. Ha ha ha! I LOVE it! Mr. Val. And Daisy likens Hunda to a chicken, offering behaviors and if not rewarded moving on to something else. Mr. Val Hunda, the dog with the superpowers of a chicken.

Almost half done with Snuff and I love it.

Snuff by Chuck Palahniuk

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE! HEART HEART HEART HEART!

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Found a worm yesterday in some cooked salmon. Harmless but kind of gross. I think there is way more random stuff in our food then we reallly know about or care to know about. I always use the allowed amount of rat poop in cocoa beans when I teach parts per million to my students. But I don't tell them about it until after they have all been offered and are chewing on a nice piece of Dove chocolate...

Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey by Chuck Palahniuk

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
So far kinda creepy, not the thing you want to read when you are camping in the woods! And this book ends kind of creepy but definitely worth the read!

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Some amazing quotes (I HEART Chuck Palahniuk):

"You see, life only turns out good or bad for a little bit. And then it turns out some other way."

"Life's greatest comfort is being able to look over your shoulder and see people worse off, waiting in line behind you."

"Nobody's all that original. Any lone weirdo comes from a big nest of weirdos."

And I HAVE to read his new book Snuff about my FAV subject...yes PORN!!!!

Took the doggies for a long walk today along the Green River. It was nice. Pickle did agility twice today and Hundaloo learned how to do all kinds of stuff he didn't know how to do. I actually worked him today at the KOA TWICE off leash from crate to cone and back again and then from crate to mat and back again. I was a clicker spazz girl and treating the whole time. We worked for a minute or so each time.

Pickle and I went in search of the wild turkeys so I could take a picture/prove to myself that it wasn't all a dream and they do exist. He has to wear a bootie because he got a really bad blister on one of his pads. So we hobbled around the back woods near my cousins house. Of course, the turkeys are all roosting or whatever turkeys do in the middle of the day and I didn't see jack. So I am going back tonight.

Hunda and I did some training at the parking lot near Borders. One thing that I discovered is that his comfort level goes down the farther we get from the car. So we sort of ping ponged around it, playing the give me a break game, hand touch, sit stays, etc. I used food at first and rewarded with a lot of sniffing. By the end we were playing toy and even when he won he would turn around and sit with eye contact to get me tugging again. AND THEN we had a big play session and I released him to sniff which he seemed to want to do but as soon as we got in sight of the bushes he turned around and downed with eye contact!! I have been using a sit but I didn't care! He chose me over the bushes! It was a miracle! So I gave him the toy and we played (it isn't so much tugging as it is jostling for the toy, but it is a game he loves) all the way back to car. And I put him up after a calming "sit in mom's lap" session. This is something that we do almost every time after training. This is one of the only dogs that I have ever know that has a list of most liked things starting with: 1 - being chased and 2 - being snuggled and petted in my lap. If I tried to use snuggling and petting with Pickle as a reward he would freak out and turn into a Shitszu. But hey - I will do anything to let Hunda know that we are doing this for him and if he wants to sit in my lap then he gets to sit in my lap...

After we got back to my cousins house and Pickle and I tired of searching for non-existant wild turkeys I got Hunda out again and he was doing an ok sit stay (5 - 10 seconds) and tugging. So everytime we go somewhere new I have to remember to use the car as home base and work for a little more distance/distration. And watch out for wild turkeys.

This morning I took Hunda out to potty (we have to use the front yard because the back yard has brand new cement that isn't cured). I had no shoes, no glasses, pj's, sleep in my eyes, and I think I was still dreaming about the cute guys from Sex and the City. Hunda starts to go and then, bam! there is this turkey running through the yard. If I hadn't been holding the leash as well as I was I would still be chasing him. I don't think I really understood what was going on at first, being in my half asleep mode. At this point you should be LOL because I am laughing looking back on it! I don't know who was more spazzed out, the turkey or Hunda. At first he didn't know what to do, he just wanted to chase it. And then he thought maybe he should be afraid of it, it had stopped to peer over it's shoulder. And what did I do? I waited for Hunda to sit and give me eye contact and then we were off, chasing this god damn turkey together through suburban Sacramento. Me with no shoes, no bra, no glasses and all the yuppies were leaving for work. It was fun though. Until the turkey flew up (turkeys can fly?) on someone's house. And Hunda still wanted it. So I waited for another sit with eye contact (I wish he would just offer those right away when he wants something...) and picked him up so he could see it better. Hunda hearts wild turkeys! Wild turkeys do NOT heart Hunda. And me? I could go awhile before seeing another one and be just fine.

When Pigs Fly!: Training Success with Impossible Dogs by Jane Killion

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
If you have this book or buy this book or are going to buy this book...see page 11...at the top. STILL LOL!!! Go Hunda go!

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