If I Were an Alpha Dog, I'd be King of the Hill

Hey Bloggy Friends. I'm in a French mood today. The closest I'll get is talking about Cody, my Border Collie/Aussie mix dog. Cody sings with my Granddaughter (below) when Ashly plays Parisian street music on the accordion. It's hysterical. Guess it hurts her ears. I've had dogs all my life and Cody wins the smartest dog award. She chose me at 7 weeks. Runt of the litter, she sat between my feet and wouldn't budge. She takes commands so well and I've never had to train her. She trained herself!!!

I took Cody to an agility practice course and WOW, Wonder Dog, Star Attraction. She ran through the whole course with me running after her. Funny sight. Except the poles (I don't know the names of any of the equipment.) She didn't get that but I know she'd have it in little time. Below she's on the board that was 5 feet high. She ran straight across but I had to back her up for the picture. She would be a natural at agility but I don't have the time. Poor Cody. There goes her chance at stardom!!

Seventeen years ago , my son got his first dog, a Border Collie named Patsy. Zonnie was a winter guide at Vail so I said I'd spend the winter at the ranch and keep 9 month old Patsy. She thought she was alpha dog and ignored my instructions, in fact she'd actually nip and snarl when I gave her a command.

I thought the gentle method might work, but no, she needed a firmer hand. OK Patsy, I've trained dogs before. I'm going to show you I'm alpha dog. I put on winter jacket, stocking cap, heavy gloves and gave her a command that I knew she wouldn't obey. I wrestled her to the ground, belly up, with her snarling and really trying to bite me. I wanted her in the submission position as the under dog who had lost to the victor dog in a fight. I got on top of her, held her on her back with her paws on the floor by her head. It was a big struggle but she was not yet fully grown and I was younger... tee hee. She kept fighting, biting, snarling at me. I went as close to her jugular as I could and I growled like a dog. We kept locked in this position for at least 5 minutes. Gradually I could feel her giving up the struggle. Thank god. I was sweating and getting very tired. Finally I felt her body completely relax and I let her up. I walked away and called her. She came immediately and flipped on her back and bared her belly to me. Submission. It worked. I became alpha dog and for the rest of her life, she showed submission whenever I called her.

I didn't need any of that with Cody. She recognized me as alpha dog from the start. That absolutely has to be established before a dog can be trained. When you see the dogs that pull the owner on a leash, RIGHT, you know who's the alpha dog. (And it ain't the human!!!)

Do you have any dog training experiences for us?

It Was A Dark And Stormy Night

How Corny Can I Get? Plenty. Keep Reading.

My day had been inhumanly impossibly busy. Plus it rained all day. Kody kept dropping hints at my feet: frizbee, balls, leash. Finally at 9 PM, as twilight gathered from a moist day, I grabbed Kody and the car keys and off to the fair grounds to toss the frizbee.

The fair grounds is a spacious adventure in the daylight with it’s camp grounds, patches of forests, lakes, paths, etc. But, holy moly, I didn’t even recognize it in the heavy twilight. Dark suspicious shadows crowded the roads and heavy roiling clouds suggested more rain.

I was begnning to get spooked. Not one single car did I see. No late night picnickers or last minute dog runs. Zip. I was totally alone. I parked in our usual spot and Kody leaped out of the car with her frizbee. I just wanted to get this over with, but then, a sudden deja vu hit me.

This creepy feeling that I was experiencing was the same mystifying excitement I used to feel when I was reading Nancy Drew stories, as a child. I'd save my pennies and nickles until I had 35 cents and then off to the Ben Franklin store for the latest Nancy Drew book. My hands would tremble with excitement as I cracked the cover on the new book. I welcomed the anticipation of knowing I was going to be scared.

There was never any violence or murder …. just objects or people missing or wrongs to make right. All the little girls who read the books could transport themselves into Nancy’s body and experience the breath-taking thrill of near discovery when hiding in a closet or behind a curtain. It was thrilling enchantment.

That creepy, spooky night at the fair grounds brought back the anticipation that something ominous was about to happen. In spite of the fact I was creeped out to the core, I revelled in it.

Even so, I was happy when Kody caught her 20th frizbee and I could get outta there. Adios

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Speaking of reading, writing and things that fall off the table in the night, hop on over to 12 paws and frogs

(What a punster I am). Kj's got a great fun post going that as writers, we can all sink our teeth into and get some good comments going. It's entitled, "Why Writers Write."

Dogs and Kids Go Great Together

Herding dogs (I just call them cowdogs) and sedentary people do NOT go well together. Dogs and kids could go up and down a slide all day long. The perfect combination. Dakota (Cody) found this adorable little girl at the park. So much energy. Aren't they great together?