We’re getting into the new habit of leaving the city every week! Below: Game and Grit at a nature park with one of my current favorite songs. The trash truck crew was blasting it full volume in the morning and it made me smile. I asked them what it was called … and I’ve been listening to it on repeat ever since!
On the same outing, we also met free-roaming horses. Chai is curious and neither afraid nor does she see them as prey – perfect!
Like Game, Chai has turned into a dog who LOVES to swim:
New skill: running on a treadmill!
She hasn’t found her gate yet (she is pacing here and ideally, she’d be trotting), but once I let her go a little longer and fade the distracting treats, she’ll naturally fall into a trot at this speed.
My hand stays in the same place to teach her where she needs to be if she doesn’t want to fall off behind or jump off in front. The cardboard on the side helps her stay straight. She can both “fall off” in the back (she lets herself drift there when I say “All done”) and jump out in front without issues. She could also just push the cardboard on the side over. No trapping Chais on treadmills – it’s a game for her, a confidence-building skill and a good exercise for dogs who may navigate airports (moving walkways, escalators) in their future.
Back to positions …
Chai used to be quite good at this as a puppy, but juvenile brain (and lack of working on it) caused her to backslide. So we’re building back up!
… and toy play!
Chai has turned into a great tugger! The video below is not a “perfect” session – but it shows really well how much fun and how fast Chai is! Also, isn’t she beautiful in her shiny coat? Not the fluffy kind of teddy bear show coat Border Collie but lean, slim, slick and shiny! She’s perfect for me in every way.
Dog Friends
After they were both in heat, Chai and Kiba let us know: no more puppy-like play for them! They were two señoras now and ready to do Adult Border Collie Things together.
It’s both sad and nice: I personally really like worky dogs who’ll choose to work with me over dog play and have an easy time ignoring others. On the other hand, it’s been a lot of fun to meet up at parks and watch our dogs play like there was no tomorrow.
Of all the dogs I’ve raised, Phoebe was the only one who stayed playful well into her adult age. Every other one got dog neutral once they “felt” grown up and dog-selective about their friends.
This is perfect for training and competition (no competition goals for Chai at this point, but you never know), but when living in Mexico City, it also takes away one of the biggest morning motivations of getting to the parks early in the morning: the joy of watching your dog play with every dog who’ll have them before their humans head into work!
Keeping up home-alone time
I’ve been following my own recommendations in terms of Chai’s home-alone time: she has stayed home alone without Game for 5-15 minutes almost every day, and home alone mostly with, but sometimes without Game for 1-5 hours about once a week.
It’s not the 1-year mark, but the fact that she is behaving like an adult dog that lets me know that going forwards, it’s okay to just let the home-alone times fluctuate naturally rather than ensuring she practices them almost daily.
I recommend that an adult dog stay home alone for 1-5 hours at least once every month indefinitely. This is easy for me to do because I live alone, but I recommend this for every dog, even if there are multiple household dogs and multiple human family members. Some dogs unlearn staying home alone in adulthood because they never have to. And there will be a day when you have to leave them home alone – there always is. Practice regularly and you’ll be prepared.
Chai completely outgrew her sensitive stomach!
I’m so happy that Chai, by now, can eat big quantities of almost anything and won’t get sick. Whatever caused her stomach to be sensitive as a puppy is gone. Yay for all the scavenging and creative reinforcing that lies ahead! We don’t even have to confine ourselves to tiny amounts anymore!
I did it: a year of Chaiaries!
I posted myself through a year of Chaiaries! The birthday I invented for Chai is December 19, 2022. So with this post, I’ll allow myself to stop posting as much as I used to. I’ve got some serious editing fatigue by now.
Now that Chai is a year old, I’ll probably only post and comment every now and then in bouts, like I do with Game, when I want to share how we progress through a particular skill. I still want to turn my “year of Chai” into a puppy raising video – documenting as much as I did was part of my motivation system to help me generate the video material I’d need. That said, who knows when I’ll get around to that. No rush!
Also, no worries – your regular dose of Chai isn’t going anywhere quite yet: there’s still some tricks posts to come!
Activity level: average (high physical, low cognitive)
The AM
We went to Fresa Parque for 20 minutes and then headed back home – lots of work before today’s afternoon adventure!
Solo adventure: dog/dog play, swim fetch and barrier recalls
In the afternoon, we picked up friends and went to Chapultepec for fun at the lake and dog training and play time.
Kala got to ride in style … no, joking. Her paws get to be on the dashboard and I (the driver) am taking a picture because at this point, we’ve spent 15 minutes in standstill traffic waiting for parking and we’re all getting bored.
We were out for three hours. We humans had hung out before and became fast friends, but our dogs have not met. This was the first but probably not the last time for them – they too were fast friends! Kala and Chai played A LOT, and I did not one, but two recall set-ups … because Chai surprised me and botched the first one!
I wonder if this is a coincidence or a direct result of yesterday’s overconfidence: I used her formal recall to get her away from a brimful food container at Fancy Park I. I also started naming zooming (“Zoom, zoom, zoom,” inspired by one of my wonderful students who uses this cue with their Russel Terriers!)
Chai also had two water fetch sessions and did GREAT! I ended both when she still wanted to keep going. Kristen bought Kala a squeaky donut at the pet supply stand at the lake, so Chai – who really wanted it – got one too. Lucky girl! Kala’s is pink and Chai’s is blue (unless we mixed them up … let me see. Nope, took the blue one home! And accidentally stole Kala’s tennis ball as well … oops!)
The donut is popular! I’m turning into one of these people who buy dog toys only to have them destroyed. Dog toys aren’t cheap and as far as I was aware, I’ve stopped spending money on anything that isn’t a training toy or indistructable YEARS ago. Most non-training toys we’ve had over the last 5ish years have been gifts. Not anymore, apparently: I am now getting joy out of buying toys. I asked Chai, “Do you want one too?” when Kala got her donut and it felt good to spontaneously get my dog something overpericed that would make her happy. This is something I only used to do for people. You know, the little things? Apparently, I am now doing them for my dogs.
Wrestling with Kala! The two of them are a good play match!
Water fetch!
A snippet of water fetch! I built back up from only throwing the ball in a little ways so Chai had to get her feet wet until I had her swimming again. She seamlessly completed every rep! We played both 2-toy and 1-toy fetch, with and without treats in the 1-toy version:
Leash walking
Chai got to practice walking on her back-clip harness behind Kala right after getting out of the car. It was only about 50 meters or so and then she got to be off leash, but I am very proud of how well she did after the car ride: hardly any pulling!
After 2.5 hours, the dogs’ brains were fried, we entered sleep-deprived-toddler territory and I put Chai in her front clip harness and a long line. We walked back to the car that way too: pulling or no pulling – no need to think anymore, puppy. It was a long day in the sun!
Home alone
When we got back, Game and I went on an hour-long walk while Chai stayed home. Good girl! Game very much enjoyed HER solo adventure and Chai finally got another decently long home-alone practice session in.
House training
Cruising along our streak.
August 21, 2023
The AM
Activity level: somewhere between low and average
We started out with 30 minutes at Fresa Parque. Chai got to play with two morning park friends and gave me a fake pee on cue (squatting without peeing when I said the potty cue). She makes me laugh so much!
Solo adventure
Chai and I went on a brief solo adventure to the Toy Play Plaza. There was, of course, squirrel chasing! On the way back home, we stopped for groceries and she patiently waited for me outside the store for a few minutes. I was planning to do some collar walking later but the rain and work kept us cooped up inside for most of the rest of the day.
A little training
+ We did two frogs on the mattress! Still using the pillow under Chai’s belly, but not forgetting our stretches!
+ I also did one rep of “shoulders” (lifting her up and carrying her wrapped around my shoulders).
+ I finished with luring a sit-up behavior on the couch a few times, using the back rest of the couch as support for her back. In the next session, I’ll try it with her 2-paw target (plate).
House training
We did it again despite the fact that today was on the lazier side! Woohoo! It ended up being a tie, but the amended rule states that ties count too.
That said, today’s tie reminds me of the bigger picture. I haven’t graphed my graph yet, but I don’t think I’ll get the downwards trend I’ve been hoping for: I suspect I am not going to see progress over these 4 gamified house training weeks. That said, I’ll only make a graph on the last day of the game. I don’t want to discourage myself while the game is still ongoing. It’s not just my game, but I play together with a group of amazing students and colleagues (everyone is gamifying something relevant to them and/or their dogs).
August 22, 2023
Activity level: low average
The AM: marker cue experiments and Chai’s new favorite
I got up 15 minutes earlier to add to our morning park time: SO many appointments and things to do today, and I don’t want the dogs to get too bored! Chai kept being drawn back to a pile of swept-up stuff. There were for sure yummy pieces of something or other mixed up in the leaves and twigs! I could scatter her away from the pile but she’d race back twoards it after every scatter. I experimented with different marker cues and couldn’t “Get it!” her away from it, which means her favorite marker has changed from chasing treats to eating a scatter! Game’s favorite is still chasing a single treat. What’s your dog’s?
Solo adventure
We went on a mini solo adventure to the Toy Play Plaza and played fetch and a little tug with two balls on strings. I tried implementing “Bump” (the cue I changed Chai’s touch cue to to make it different from Game’s touch cue), but it was hard for her, so I only asked for it once (I needed to remove and re-present my hand 3 times before I got an open-mouthed semi-touch). I took that one and we continued playing.
Then, Chai stayed …
Home alone …
… with Game for about 3 hours.
Shaping
Chai had 8 short sessions refreshing her 2-paw target on a plate and then working on the first steps of a sit-up (from Silvia Trkman‘s class). Now she’s conked out on the couch – and so is Game who did some great mat work around flying cookies!
House training
Celebrating that today wasn’t a tie – and, if all goes as planned, only one more check mark to the next brownie!
August 23, 2023
Activity level: average
The AM
We started the day with half an hour at Fresa Parque – then Chai went from play-with-her-friends mode into ball-stealing mode and we made our way home. Chai is turning into a most excellent toy thief! (Anytime she brings me another dog’s toy, I’ll trade for treats and then return the toy to its human or canine owner. Chai loves fetching and she loves treats, so I’ve been ending up with LOTS of toys lately. Unlike most other toy-thief owners at the park, I don’t have to chase my dog around to get back someone else’s toy – it will be delivered right to me. My ladrona gets praise rather than reprimands for stealing.)
Chai also got to join me on a solo collar mode walk (5-20 steps between treats) to a corner store and wait for me outside.
We worked on the sit up trick in 5 short sessions, and during one of our pee outings, Chai and Game saw the neighbor’s cat in the corridor. I love that Chai didn’t care much at all (while Game, of course, had tacos al gato spinning where her pupils used to be).
Home alone
Both dogs stayed home alone while I went to drop off laundry and ask the sastrero next door if they’d fix the holes Barley had put in the octopus toy (I’d do it myself but I have no sewing kit).
PM adventures
I walked to the Toy Play Plaza with both dogs and we looped around for a while, chasing squirrels (they) and eating tacos (me). Chai found lentils and something resembling grist and had a great time eating both snacks. I tried marker-cueing her out of it but could not while Game definitely found kibble better and only briefly tried the other two options. I am starting to suspect that for Chai, food found on the ground is inherently higher value than food coming from me. Game, on the other hand, assesses the options more objectively.
We were out for about an hour and now both dogs are sleeping peacefully on the couch as I am working again.
House training
We did it! Another brownie for me tomorrow!
August 23, 2023
Activity level: average
The AM
Game, Chai and I spent 30 minutes at Fresa Parque in the morning. Chai found some delicious popcorn (palomitas – little doves in Spanish!) I could “Get it”-marker her away – popcorn seems to be lower value than yesterday’s the snuffle leaf pile! However, unlike Game, who said, “Yes please, kibble is much better than popcorn,” Chai went back to the popcorn after each treat chas, strengthening my suspicion that found food is VERY high value in her book. Can’t blame her. I love street food as well.
I’ve been observing Chai’s interest in playing with other dogs go down. She satiates faster now than she used to even when her friends are around. She’s growing up and probably won’t be the kind of dog who’ll play with any dog for hours as an adult. Today, she’d observe, do her own thing sniffing and exploring holes while the play frenzy went on around her and did frequent drive-bys and check-ins. She participated in play, but only a bit here and there. The difference between a worky dog and a companion-y dog is starting to show!
Home alone
Chai and Game briefly stayed home alone twice today – once when I went to pick up my brownie!
Human motivation
It’s interesting for me to observe that I am less vigilant about running outside today than I would be closer to the end of a weekly streak: if I don’t earn a check mark today, we’ll just lose a single streak day rather than 4, 5 or 6 days. The opportunity cost is smaller, so I give myself a break. It is fun to observe my own motivation fluctuate along with the game and what streak day we’re on! Human behavior is just as interesting as the behavior of other animals.
Rocko and his person joined us a little later. I played with Rocko and his frisbee and Chai got to play with Kiba’s ball (doing beautiful single-ball fetches; voluntarily dropping the ball at my feet every time) for several minutes while Rocko’s human worked with both Rocko and Kiba on paw shakes for food. A perfect park outing!
Alan watering the Border Collie gang: Kiba (chocolate), Rocko (merle) and Chai (b/w).
Apart from Kiba, Chai also briefly played with a new dog we hand’t met before and who was bouncing all over the place – a joy to watch!
On the way home, we walked in collar mode between 5 and 35 steps. Chai, all played out, was brilliant.
Husbandry
+ “Brush!”
House training
Last week of the game, here we come!
August 25, 2023
Activity level: average
The AM
We started with 45 minutes at Fresa Parque and Chai enjoyed playing with Dina more than usual: we haven’t seen her in a few days and she has been missed!
Solo adventure
Chai and I walked to the Dead Poultry Park and started the next step of our distraction recall journey: low-value food (fish treats) on the ground, cream cheese as the reward! We did long line, line dragging and off leash in the same location and Chai did very well. Fish treats are booooring and cream cheese is the best thing since sliced bread! She also got to hunt squirrels (and an informal recall reinforced by “Birds” which she is starting to understand!).
We then kept walking to a new park we hadn’t yet explored, and Chai waited outside three stores. On the way back home, she got to run in both parks again, found something delicious to eat and walked part of the way in collar mode (5-20 steps between treats).
When we got back home, I did some …
Husbandry:
+ cutting fur around both back paws.
… and then Chai fell asleep:
Almost made it up on the couch!
House training
Another check mark! Yay!
August 26, 2023
Activity level: low
I woke up feeling sick and exhausted today. So rather than adventuring with dog friends as planned, I kept it a low activity day.
All the dogs got to do was run around Fresa Parque for 30 or 45 minutes, including 2 distraction recall set-ups for Chai.
House training
The streak continues despite the low-activity day!
