Saturday, March 23, 2019

Evie Speaks at 1 Year Old

My name is Evelyn Kessler. I'm a German Shepherd and I just had my one year birthday. My human dad named me after his mother Evelyn. She used to tell him that after she died she wanted to come back as his dog, It was a dig about how well he treated his dogs. Maybe he thought naming me Ev was cute. It really doesn't matter what they call me as long as they say it nice.
Lately, I feel myself maturing. I am starting to give what my mom and dad want, but I am still a puppy at heart. I'm easily distracted and impulsive. I am prone to jump on people if they pay too much attention to me and chase things like people, cars or bikes if they run or drive too closely to me. On a walk, if something moves, I will focus on it. If it's more than the greenery, I will stare it down to see if I can get it to run so I can chase it. Especially dogs, rabbits, and squirrels. I'm pre-wired to focus on prey. My prey drive tells me to find, observe, chase, bite, (kill), consume and then bring back what I don't eat to my home or den. Sort of like a wolf, but better for humans in that my breeding and training has tamed most of my wilder inclinations. I sort of understand when my dad either says "leave it" or changes our direction. I now know that he wants me to ignore what I want and not do what I naturally want to do. I still like doing what I want to do though, so when I’m distracted or too focused, I still don’t hear or notice him.
Dad tells people it’s been so long since he had a German Shepherd puppy, he forgot how hard it can be . He also says I’m peculiar. If not being food motivated and slightly obsessive is peculiar, then I’m peculiar. Don't get me wrong, I like chicken and steak now and again, but when I came to him at 2 months old I had giardia. Giardia is a parasitic condition which results in an upset stomach and diarrhea. I had it undiagnosed for months. I did not eat my meals, nor accept treats as a reward for cued behavior. Everyone told my dad I was too skinny. I’m just starting to eat more regularly now and have filled out a little. I still don't care much for treats. They’re not worth working for though. I spit them out just to show Dad. I do like praise and toys as a reward when we train. When I'm distracted I tend not to listen or even hear what Dad wants me to do. There are times when I do hear what he says and know what he wants, but I don’t care. I just don’t want to listen even if I know what he wants.
A few months ago Dad brought in a trainer he knows. The trainer told him he should use “corrections” (punishment) and a pronged collar on me to make me listen better. Dad bought the collar but never used it. He sent it back and fired the trainer. He stopped using leash and verbal corrections. Instead, he bought an Easy Walker harness and tries real hard to be positive all the time. The harness goes around my chest and stomach instead of my neck which means I don't pull much. When I do pull, I feel a little tightening around my shoulders and chest so I usually just let up and stop pulling when I feel it tightening. When I can’t stop pulling, we usually change direction or Dad says,“leave it” or makes me sit. I sort of like it when he makes me sit. I started sitting without him telling me and now just lie down when I see something I want. Today there were a lot of dogs around waiting for their owners to stop talking. Usually Dad goes in the other direction when he sees other dogs. Today we were able to go over to them. Little Vito bit me on my long snout, but it didn’t hurt. I just laid down like a couple of the other dogs and we stayed there for a while. It was good.
It’s obvious Dad works with other dogs. When he comes home I can smell them all over his body. Right now he's training with a Golden Retriever (7), a Nova Scotia Duck Trolling Retriever (3), an English Cocker Spaniel (8 months), and a Havanese ((5 months). I can tell a lot about the dogs from their smells. Their age, sex, and even their disposition. Dad smells happy when he comes home from training. His breathing is relaxed and his heartbeat is slow and steady. I can smell his happy hormones and pheromones. He always says how well his doggies students do. He tells me I do good too.
I am old enough now to evaluate my life, my owners and to tell you more about them. So far Mom and Dad are trying hard to bring me up with positive rewards. It takes a little longer for me to learn things though. It seems like he is being more patient with me. His good friend Kim lets us come over her house and play in her corrals. She lives about 15 minutes from our house and Dad takes me there almost every day. I can play in the corrals, explore her yard and she even comes out to see me some of the time. I really get to do a lot every day. I will tell you more as the days pass.

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