.For all those of you that have really gotten attached to the Bristol Way Home ,: you can still come here  and catch a ride with Ronnie to the ranch on Mondays , WEdnesdays and Fridays . Call her at 541-610 -7810 and make sure you get to ride shotgun ! She leaves at 8am in the morning and returns around 5:15 pm in the afternoon .

Can’t wait to see you out there – like always you just need to call 541-  385-6278 and let us know that you are coming – we will leave the lghts on for you…and the gate open.

XX Martina and the pups

Kiks and higs till soon

Kindred Spirit Pet Care

Can you answer this correctly? Email me the answer at kindredspiritpc@gmail.com and the first 3 of you for each questions will receive one of these gifts

1

1. Which breed / breed mix is most commonly seen at Kindred Spirit Camp ?

First 3 correct answers will recive a fresh baked bread. (see pic)

2. What would you to recommend doing to shush  a whole room of barking dogs quickly?

First 3 of you will receive a free 2 hours house cleaning by my charming and talented assistant Desi

3. On our daily  hikes with dogs we humans cover 2.5 miles. How many miles fo our off- leash dogs cover?

First 3 to guess correctly will receive $20 off when you book 5 daycares between 1/1/12 and 2/14 /12

EXERCISE # 1

This is a test of problem solving. For this you need an empty can (about the size of a typical condensed soup can), some desirable tidbit of food, and a stopwatch (or watch with a sweep second hand). First, show the dog the bit of food and let him sniff it. Now pretend that you are some sort of silent movie actor, and with a great show put the tidbit on the ground and invert the empty can over it. Now start the stopwatch and encourage the dog to get the bait.

If the dog knocks the can out of the way and gets the tidbit in 5 seconds or less, score 5,

15 seconds or less scores 4,

30 seconds or less scores 3,

60 seconds or less scores 2.

If the dog tries once or twice, sniffing around the can but does not get the bait after a minute score 1.

If the dog makes no effort to obtain the bait score 0.

Exercise #2

This is a measure of problem solving. For this problem you need a large bath towel, a small blanket, or some form of heavy cloth of a similar size. First make sure that the dog is awake and reasonably active, then let him sniff the towel. (This next part may require one or two practice tries without the dog present.) Now, with a quick, smooth motion, throw the towel over the dog’s head so that the head and front shoulders are completely covered. Start the stop watch and remain silent as you watch.

If the dog frees itself in 15 seconds or less score 5,

30 seconds or less score 4,

60 seconds or less score 3, 2 minutes or less score 2,

If the dog has not removed the towel after 2 minutes score 1.

Exercise #3

This next test of problem solving is similar to Test 1, but a bit more difficult. The major difference is that this test demands a bit more cleverness at manipulating objects. The test requires a hand towel or a dish towel (not the large bath towel used in Test 4). Show the dog a tidbit. This tidbit should not be too small in physical size. A dog biscuit is perfect for this task. Let the dog sniff it and make sure that it looks at the tidbit for about 5 seconds. At the end of that time, with great exaggerated acting, place the food on the floor and, while the dog watches, throw the towel over it. Now start the stopwatch and encourage the dog to get the bait.

If it retrieves it in 15 seconds or less, score 5,

Gets it in 30 seconds or less scores 4,

In 60 seconds or less scores 3,

In 2 minutes scores 2.

If the dog tries to retrieve it but then gives up, scores 1.

If the dog doesn’t even try to retrieve it within 2 minutes, score 0.

THER E were just 2 dogs out of 30 that scored the total of 15 ppoints. The big majority of dogs scored between 8-12 points  and had a real hard time retrieving treats from under the towl .

HOW DID YOUR DOG DO?

How to get there and what to bring :

Bring Hiking boots  (because you have to hike through small patches of mud and snow),a towel for your dogs( they might want to swim and roll in  the wonderful new grass)a Forest Pass and a leash to use for the first half mile of the trail

Take the Cascade Lake HWy  , turn off at the “Todd Lake” sign , hike from the parking lot . You will round the entire lake in about 1 hour…and have a great experience.

Please be aware that it is o.k. to have your dogs off-leash only  as long as the snowy trails keep the meadows from being swamped  with tourists who don’t understand  a dog’s need to run free!

If they don’t  do so , we have to put up with quite a bit of unrest on our little pack . The intact  dog feels the need  to mark his territory  with urine- and suddenly all the other males seem to feel the same need( lots of clean-up for us- but I would not mind  so much if it stayed at that )

What is most troubling is the power-play that comes up between the males . It is often , but not always , initiated by the intact male and shows it self like this: suddenly it is a big deal who goes through the open door first. It is a big deal who gets to lie down first, talk to me ( the female ) first , etc.

Last not least there is a lot of humping going on ( yes, even the neutered males seem to suddenly need to hump each other and all pillows around)

The whole issue of who has balls or not makes the whole pack suddenly insecure of their place in the order of thing.

There is one intact male who is an exception to this rule: Zeke, a Irish Setter , who belongs to Tom Sims and has been superbly trained by his dad. Zeke seems to feel sure of his place int he order of things and doe snot need to dominate others. When he comes first, the other guys seem to want o play the power- game , but as he does njot engage in this, they settle down quickly.

So : if  you  don’t mind spending lots of time connecting with and training your dog , you might not want to neuter him- if you can’t do that , pleas eleave your intact dog at home or send him to a kennel.

Thanks ! XX Martina

After I had watched her shake and pant for 2 nights, I decided to try one of Royce’s family- recipes: give the dog a spoon full of honey.So: I spread hony on a dog biscuit , had Shana lick it and added Rescue Remedy to her water. And It worked: Shana was made thirsty by licking the honey , drank a lot of water ,paced a bit and to my surprise, lay down  to snooze . Hurray! I

I had tried just  water with Rescue Remedy before and also those expensive Calming treats from the pet store . Nothing did the trick as much as the honey/ Rescue Remdy combination !

Try it yourself and let me know what you think! Thanks ! Martina