Recently in cowboy Category

This may be one for the Dog Whisperer. But if any of our readers have any suggestions, I'm all ears.

Cowboy, my border collie-Australian shepherd mix (about 5 years old), has very recently begun balking at jumping into the back cargo area of my Jeep Liberty.



Worried that he was developing some kind of hip or back problem, I took him to my vet. The X-rays and blood work all came back normal. His back, hips, knees are all just fine (and when he does finally make the jump into the car, he does so with ease).

So. The vet said it must be "behavioral."

My first course of action was clearing out the cargo area as much as possible. Maybe some of the "stuff" was making him nervous (especially a baby gate I'd recently used as a makeshift barricade between the front seats and the cargo area). 

I've tried giving him a choice of doors, putting the seats up, putting the seats down. But he's continued to balk -- a couple times I've even resorted, after 10 minutes of unsuccessful pleading, to getting a friend at the dog park to help me just lift him into the car (I take the front, she takes the back).

I've tried putting his front paws up onto the folded down seat, but he strongly resists this and I'm afraid I'm only spooking him more by physically forcing the issue.

Cowboy loves riding in the car, which usually ends in a destination and activity he enjoys -- a hike on the Peninsula or a romp at the the dog park, the dog beach or a rare excursion to the snow in the mountains.

He's a rescue and has always been on the timid side. This issue has cropped up so recently, I just can't figure out what's going on in his complex doggie mind. My next strategy is to use some very high-end treats.

Any other thoughts?? Once he's in the car, he's just fine. Have any of you encountered something like this with your dogs?

Happy Thanksgiving to you all, human and four-footed creatures alike! I trust you're having a wonderful day remembering the blessings of the past year and anticipating the year ahead. 

O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. Yonder is the sea, great and wide, creeping things innumerable are there, living things both small and great. Psalm 104:24-30

Cowboy:

 

 

Handsome

Pensive

Underconfident

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tess:

Sweet

Obsessive

Possessive 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Annie the Cat:

Funny!

Happy

Overconfident

Our old dog door had seen better days -- and about a year ago I'd lost the locking/closure panel and could not find a replacement online (dog door sizes have apparently changed over the past decade and a half). 

So here we are, at the end of summer. Already.

There are a number of events coming up that we'll be posting about shortly. But let us know if you're involved in something our readers should know about, just in case we've missed hearing about everything. One thing we did learn about is a drill by the Torrance Animal Disaster Team on Sept. 18.

And a new beginning dog obedience class starts on Sept. 25. The classes meet at 8:30 a.m. Saturday (first class is owners only, no dogs) for 7 weeks at Dino's Pet Shoppe (formerly Kritter Korral), 1724 Palos Verdes Drive North (at Western Avenue), Harbor City. You can register in advance at the store or on the first day of class.

Some of you have sent me some pictures I'm going to post also. If you have pix of your animals you'd like us to share, send them in to me -- donna.littlejohn@dailybreeze.com. We love seeing and hearing about readers' pets.

Anything new to report about your dogs or cats (or other pets) from over the summer? Did they learn any new tricks? Take any classes? Discover any new canine sports or hobbies? Earn any new ribbons or awards? Training successes? Failures? Goals for the coming year? Special problems you're working on?

In the meantime, here are a couple new photos of Cowboy & Tess.

Yeah. I know. You couldn't wait to see them again.

 

 I'm still thinking about therapy dog work with one or both of them and more herding with Tess.

About these photos: We were visiting a friend last weekend in an assisted living facility, sitting in the building's sunlit library. Tess passed some of the time while we talked by washing Cowboy's ear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I finally was able to get a shot of Tess and Cowboy in the same frame (photo below -- that's just me and Tess at the left).

 

 

 

Cowboy's very camera shy, but I was able to fake him out using my iPhone camera.

He also was quite eager to see that Tess was getting ready to chase the ball. That means that he'll get the chance to chase her, one of his all-time favorite games.

 

 

 

Now all I need to do is figure out a way to include  Annie the cat in the shot next time so I can finally send that "group" photo my vet's office asked me for a while back.

Think I could bring her to the park and maybe toss her into the frame for a flying-cat-with-dogs pic next time?

Perhaps not.  

More scenes from Saturday's dog walk-a-thon: 

On Sunday, it will have been 3 months since I brought a cat (Annie Oakley, aka Border Kitty) into the mix with my 2 border collies, Cowboy and Tess.

We took the introductions very slowly and gradually. And now, it looks like it's all paid off.

I knew we'd made progress last night when I walked into the living room and saw them all, either sleeping/resting and/or hanging out together, within relatively close proximity to each other.

 

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse ....

Annie the cat has been with us now for a little over 2 months (she came home from the Carson shelter on Oct. 10).

And I'm happy to report that the dog-cat tension has pretty much dissipated -- to the point where she and Cowboy were peacefully sharing some nap space on the sofa one night just before Christmas last week. (But you'll notice Annie still likes to be in a "higher" position, where, if needed, she can keep an eye on slumbering dogs.) 

They weren't going to miss Santa, that's for sure.

Read earlier posts on Annie Oakley the cat.

You may remember how my dog Cowboy finished third when I took him through Barbara Millman's beginning dog obedience class a few months ago at Kritter Korral in Harbor City.

We were thrilled, of course, since Cowboy is so laid-back and never really got into the spirit of the class. Third-place (the orange ribbon at left) was really quite good, he seemed to perk up during the final exam.

Last weekend, I finished the same class with Tess who got the first-place ribbon.

Now this was largely due to her being the only grown-up dog in a class of crazy puppies. But still. We're pretty proud.

Both Cowboy & Tess did very well. Barbara takes a break over the next couple months but will start with a new beginning class on the second Saturday of January. And when you take your dog through her class once, you can return for free at any time to brush up and review. Barbara's a seasoned and very knowledgable trainer and it's well worth the time & fee (cost is around $60 for 7 weeks).

Contact:  Kritter Korral, 1724 Palos Verdes Dr North, Harbor City, CA 90710-3641

(310) 514-4924