Special Anniversary ~ Mimořádné výročí

According to the Czech law, when you adopt a dog, you become a temporary caretaker for six months. If the original owner is not found in that time, you become the dog's owner. Today is the special day, Charlie and I are now official. Thanks to the Troja dog shelter, I have this super dog to make me happy every day.

Podle českých zákonů se stáváte převzetím psa z útulku na šest měsíců dočasným majitelem a po tu dobu se může o psa přihlásit původní majitel. Dnes je to půl roku, co jsme s Charliem jedna smečka, takže ode dneška už to máme oficiální. Děkuji psímu útulku v Troje, že mě každodenně může těšit tenhle superpes.

Can't Help not to Brag ~ Kačka vytahovačka

diplom_agi
Originally uploaded by capovak

So this was the best birthday present, as the day before Charlie and I participated in an unofficial agility competition (our second) and won a second place in our category (of seven dogs). This is Charles's first diploma and my, I think second, the first being also for second place in a school carnival type competition in 1982.

Nejlepší dárek k narozenám - Charles a já jsme se poprvé umístili na agility, i když neoficiální soutěži, ve štěňátkovské kategorii. Druhé místo ze sedmi psů :-P. Charlesův první diplom a můj mám pocit druhý. Můj první diplom byl za druhé místo v soutěži masek v roce 1982.

The Water Resistant Dog ~ Vodotěsný pes

Charlie Mini Clip #1
Originally uploaded by capovak

Especially in this weather, it is impossible to get Charles out of the water. He swims, jumps in - all four legs in the air and he dives his head under, while his fur changes into a wet-suit. I've seen dogs love water, but never really quite like this.

V tomhle horkým letním počasí je skoro nemožný dostat Charlese z vody. Plave, skáče šíbry a potápí hlavu pod vodu, přičemž se jeho srst změní v neoprén. Už jsem viděla hodně psů, co milujou vodu, ale tohle je opravdu speciální případ.

The King of Liben

Charlie is now 6 months old and I his personality is showing. He is quite independent and energetic, loves discovering new things, meeting new people and learning new tricks. He has quite a lot of energy and basically, he goes and does everything with great enthusiasm, until exhaustion. He goes and plays - in the daycare, then we have dog obedience training and agility and at home we learn and practice dog dancing tricks, then we play some more and then he (and I) sleep through entire Saturday.

As far as obedience, he's actually quite good (compared to other dogs his age/not size), but I have to be stricter with him, considering his size (he know weighs over 30 kg!). I have recently taken away his privilege to go on any surface in the household (see above) as he may have felt that he can do (play, bite) whatever he pleases in the apartment. My authoritative position has been somewhat strenghtened by implementation of this new rule, but I've realized that I will always have to work on applying authoritative excersizes with him, as the power struggles come in waves as dog grows older.

Recently, I've been asked by a friend of what is the most valuable thing I've learned at the dog trainings we go to. Firstly, I have learned that whenever the dog is being bad, it's not his age, or not his breed predisposition, it's usually something the master is doing wrong (consistency, not enough patience or not enough praise!). The second thing I've learned, or am in the process of learning, is the fact that after every command there should be a releasing command (the Go Play! command, Volno! in Czech), so that the dog knows, the command has ended.

So have a great weekend everyone and go play! And remember, your dog will do, what you allow it to do!

The First Dip

Originally uploaded by capovak

This Sunday, my dad and I took Charlie on a nice walk, all the way from Liben through Troja to Cisarsky Ostrov and back. The weather was quite nice despite the morning hours in early spring and we all enjoyed the walk.
We walked all the way along the river and I wondered if it was safe to let Charlie off the leash. I didn't know if he could swim and I had no intention of going in in case he needed rescue.

My dad reassured me: "Don't worry, most likely he's scared of water and he's not going to jump in."

Now, look at the picture above; the enthusiasm Charlie has for anything new and the energy he has to do anything should have been a clue.

About 6 seconds after I let Charlie go, I could see almost in slow motion how he fearlessly jumps, all four forward into the river, then a huge splash.

Not sure if his attempt to get back on shore could be classified as knowing how to swim, but he definitely knows how not to drown.

Dog Parks in Prague

IMG_5756
Originally uploaded by capovak
I have recently started taking Charlie to a Dog Park in our neighborhood. I must say that this is a genius invention for a dog owner, as it is thoroughly fenced and decent sized, I can let Charlie go off the leash without worries that his easily excitable temper will lead him into a street. (I do let him go off in the regular "human" parks, too, of course, but there I really need to watch carefully for other dogs, fast moving objects, such as bikes and joggers and little kids. Oh, not forgetting occasional animals.)

Interestingly enough, there is little or no dog poo, as there's plenty poo bags and trash cans and I guess more responsible dog owners come here.

This place is also great for meeting other dog owners and dogs. I wish people in our neighborhood will keep using it and it does not come extinct with the next civic leader.

To find out more about "psi louka", visit http://www.louka.estranky.cz/.

Dog Mark

Dog Mark
Originally uploaded by capovak
In the past four weeks Charlie has been going to obedience and agility trainings for puppies. He has a lot of energy and enjoys the training as much as I do. The courses are as much educational for dogs as they are for the dog owners.

This is what Charlie and I have learned so far (and yes, Charlie "speaks" Czech):
Sit (Sedni) - that is pretty straight forward and the easiest command to teach a dog. You hold a dog treat in front of the dog and then lift it slowly above its head. He will follow the treat with his eyes and automatically sit down.
Here (Ke mně) - Charlie is supposed to come to me and sit in front of me. The way I tought him is I call the command and start backing up, or actually running away. He automatically follows. At home I hide and have him find me. The more fun this command is, the better. Well that goes for any command actually.
Heel (K noze) - This one is more tricky and we're still improving on this one. The trick is to choose one side and consistently use it. With my back turned to Charlie, I clap my hand on the left thigh and hold the treat for him to stop next to it. This is a very useful command for walking and calling the dog to your side.
Down (Lehni) - Once the dog can sit, this one is also quite easy. Just lower the treat for him to have to lay down to get it. According to the trainer, this one is very important for the dog to know well and also from a distance. It's a safety command when dog runs away and you can't follow him and you need it to stay put (for example across the street).

Other fun commands that he has learned or improving: giving paw (Pac for left paw and Druhou for the right paw), 360 turn around left and right, walking in between my legs from dog dancing and some new agility commands, such as jumping over and going through a tunnel. (Watch this video to find out what dog agility is http://www.petside.com/info/m/22006373/the-sport-of-agility.htm.)

The size update: Charlie gains consistently 2kg a week. The last time I weighted him was on Tuesday and he was a little over 21 kg. I can't really weigh him at home any more... :-)

It's All Fun

It's All Fun
Originally uploaded by capovak

Life's become much more fun recently. The not so brutal weather allows for longer walks and more play. In the picture Charlie is playing with Dena, my sisters dog. He doesn't quite ever get the ball (yet), he just follows her everywhere.

We've also started going to a dog training. Our first puppy workshop was last Saturday. Except for obedience training (btw, obedience training really is for the dog masters rather than the puppies), we've tried a bit of agility (running trough twisted tunnels, jumping, climbing, i.e. dog gymnastics) and even dog dancing ;o).

Busy Afternoons

Busy Afternoon
Originally uploaded by capovak
It's been 10 days since Charlie has joined my pack (of 1). In the last week or so, we have become quite close (we're still dealing with some minor temper issues: sometimes he still gets confused and thinks my hands or feet are in fact toys for him to chew on).

Charlie is a quick learner and in the short time he has (almost) mastered or at least gets the concept of the following commands: Sit, Come Here, Heel, Down, and major improvements were made on the leash walking. Commands that I wish he would improve on more rapidly would be: No! and Poop now, please!

Weight update: 17,5 kg.

Charlie's Arrival

On Feb 14, 2010 I have paid a visit to a dog shelter in Troja. One thing led to another and I arrived home with Charlie, a 3-and-a-half-month puppy of a non-specific breed.

Charlie is male, very energetic pupp; he has huge paws so I am looking forward to see him grow up in a big to huge sized dog. On the day of his arrival, he weighs 15 kg.