Big success (for small bribe!)

On our two walks today we had some major success with calmly walking past people in close proximity!! The trick is biscuit bones... As we come up on the people I start feeding Coda and keep feeding him until we are past the people! And he is completely calm!!! I'm pretty impressed :)

England but no Coda...

It is always hard to leave my home and return to England, although I love seeing all of my family and their dogs, but until now I have been separated from Skip and Serenity (& in the past Elgar and Guinness). When I last went to England Coda was a few weeks old and I had seen pictures of him but hadn't seen him yet. I remember getting my weekly photos from the breeder while I was there and everyone was so excited :)

It was hard to leave Coda. We had been together every single day since Thanksgiving 2012! So saying goodbye to Coda was tough and I shed a few tears... (In the interest of full disclosure I usually cry when I leave my cat and husband!!) Would he think I had left him? Would my husband take care of Coda?

I had a wonderful time in England playing with numerous English cocker spaniels, including Poppy-a tricolor (my sisters), and Alfie-a red working cocker (my parents). I even got to see Coda on FaceTime-proof that he was still alive :) He went crazy when I started speaking to him, and barked loudly when he was downstairs in his kennel and Skip was speaking to me... Surprise, surprise-he follows Skip around and wants his attention as much as he does with me, which I suppose proves Dad's philosophy that dogs will follow whoever feeds them!!

During my stay I got to see an agility tournament. It was so much fun to watch... Makes me want to try it with Coda... We shall see!!

Leash training

So I'm working on Coda staying close to me when we are walking, using a flexible leash... Currently, when he gets to the end of the leash I make him come back to me and treat him when he is in heel position on my left side. Tonight there were a few times when he deliberately stayed close after I had given him a treat. I also spent some time in the top parking lot of Union Mill repeatedly doing turns and treating for times when he was close...

Also, new triumph... Am back walking 1 mile :)

Happy birthday Coda - 10 months old!

It's unbelievable that Coda reached the age of 10 months yesterday! He seems really big now compared to the early photos. He still acts like a crazy little puppy though!

Today we worked on our major goals... going to his bed and staying on it, walking "close" on his leash,  having his nails filed and being calm when I'm using the clippers. We also worked on fetch which he gets but does so much better on when being rewarded by hot dog!!! And he also only likes to fetch splash balls... All other balls are ignored :)

Sometimes I forget that he is still so young and I get frustrated. I have to remember that is just a little kid and I need to stay really patient and peppy and keep him enjoying learning :)

What a champ!

There have been some very impressive doggy stunts!

-Coda has caught (in the MOUTH) pieces of hot dog when he's been lying on his bed... And this is after it was determined in our intermediate dog class that Coda possessed NO treat catching capabilities! I guess there is always room for growth :)

-last night I was walking Coda and he's usually pretty good doing a sit/wait at the curb before crossing. He was at the end of the extendable leash and I said wait and his butt hit the cement... When I got to him there was a cat sitting in the road 15ft in front of him and he hadn't moved! Control with distraction!!

It's cool having a doggie!

Like the blog...? Check out Coda in action at "Coda Cocker" on YouTube.

Getting back in the swing of things...

Slowly, as my knee is healing, Coda and I have begun our daily walks again :) Right now I am only doing my evening walk for .64 mile, but I think that I am well enough to add in a short morning walk as well probably starting on Sunday... During the time that we didn't walk Coda and I both got out of shape as we are both panting heavily when we get back to the house each night. It is also in part because it has been HOT! I actually really enjoy going out in the evening. It's part of my routine and Coda seems to just love it.

I'm also getting into the grooming activities again! For the first time in ages I clipped Coda. I did the strip down his back and tidied up his face and ears. I've worked on his nails twice this week with the pedi paw, brushed his teeth and cleaned his ears :) He is looking very spiffy!

I am trying to let Coda be off the leash and able to follow me around the house. He does great when we are in the kitchen... Lots of good smells but nothing is on the ground for him to get into. It is much more difficult in the living room. skip tends to leave his cups and glasses on the floor next to the couch and Coda cannot resist trying to drink out of them which invariably leads to them being tipped over. We have had numerous glasses of water spilled :( I guess because of the smells he loves our shoes. We have never let him play with them but whenever the opportunity arises he is straight on the shoes chewing. He even loves anything in my basket or bags... Is it just because he knows he's not supposed to have that stuff that he goes for it??? After about 5 mins of no's and removing things from him I usually resort to putting Coda on the leash that is tied to the chair leg! I'm not sure what to do??

7/11/13

Time flies when you're.... Having surgery?

So all was going well until Coda had his neutering, hernia, microchip surgery on May 29th. He recovered well but we had to keep him quiet and mostly indoors for ten days. He was not a happy camper! He kept jumping on the sofa and running around like a lunatic. Just as he was getting back into the swing of things, I then had my knee surgery on June 19th and since then I have largely been out of action so walks have been few and far between. Last night was a major victory with a six block walk :) Coda now has so much pent up energy that when we play with toys, in grabbing for the toy he has bit my arm twice (major bruising but no broken skin!).

As I've been largely immobile our training has been confined to what can be done while on the couch so I have taught him "high five" with his right paw and "side" where he lays on his side, the latter being somewhat weak still.