Moku's Daily Wrap-Up

Liz R. Kover
Sep 23, 2015
5 min read

Daily CHALLENGE & ACTiViTY Summary

Dog’s name: Moku

Date: Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Physical Fitness

Today’s physical activity was varied, and a little “unconventional”, but burned some good calories nonetheless. First of all, there was swimming – which is actually pretty typical. We had lots of fun and Moku was quite animated and rambunctious in the water. He chased enthusiastically after his toys (and leaves; and a wayward moth that swooped low to the water line, which he did not catch in spite of his valiant effort). Then, we tried something new: we connected ourselves with the bungee leash, and did some syncronized dog paddling. It was fun, kept things different and interesting, and best of all, kept us both moving!

The more ”unconventional” moves we made were:

We went to the Marketplace, and, in the spirit of “using the world as our playground/fitness center”, I had Moku do some “parkour” style hop-ups and hop-downs onto and off of a brick flower garden wall; and we practiced some DOWN/STAND/DOWN action in the courtyard to the delight of several adoring chocolate lab-loving onlookers.

Also: getting into the car became a whole new challenge for Big Bear today. Typically, Moku hops into the floor area behind (one or the other of) the front seats, then sort of hoists himself from there up onto the seat (which, in itself, is hard for him due to his size). Sometimes he just stays on the floorboards if he’s especially tired. But a few days ago, I bought a wheelchair, which I am using with my mobility service dog in training, and it rides behind the driver’s seat now, spilling over a bit into the area behind the passenger’s seat. In other words, Moku had to get ALL THE WAY into the backseat in one fell swoop. This proved to be a major challenge. It’s not that he is physically incapable of making the leap. The challenge was in getting him to BELIEVE that HE COULD do it, and getting him to understand that doing so was his only option. This required major encouragement and heightened energy, some tricky maneuvering that involved my walking across the backseat and opening the opposite side door, and some smelly fish crunchies to lure and motivate. But he did it. Three different times, he did it. In the video, you’ll see a photo of Moku sitting on the curb outside your house (like a person). He was frustrated. We tried a “running” start several times, which didn’t do the trick. But eventually, he did what he (literally) needed to do – as I cannot lift him. And, while this may seem like a minor accomplishment, it was/is a big deal in my mind. The solution to the challenge is not to get Moku a ramp into the backseat of my car. He is a young, healthy Labrador who needs to work those muscles so that they get stronger, and work his self-confidence so it gets beefier; I truly believe that Moku should be able to hop easily into the back of my tiny car (though I realize, of course, that getting into a giant truck is a whole different story). In fact, I see this very activity as a good context in which to “benchmark” his progress as he becomes more physically conditioned.

Cognitive Fitness

Today, we tweaked the second segment of the Dognition Memory game so that we could play it without a second person helping. You’ll see how it turned out in the video. But to sum up, Moku has a good, working shnoz, and uses it well! He went straight to the cup with chicken under it, even when he had seen me put the chicken under the opposite cup (I switched the treat from under one cup to the other behind a trusty wall of cardboard).

We also went to PetSmart for Moku’s weigh-in, and worked some commands in the aisles. For some bizarre reason, my camera suddenly had no video option for a while, until I turned it off and on again (that’s a new glitch. Time for the iPhone 6S!). So from our trip to PetSmart there is only a photo.

Social Fitness

Barks and Books at Beale Library was also quite trying today. First of all, I take the blame here for not altogether “setting Moku up for success”, in that I decided we would try going in without his plastic “link” collar. Rather, I just had the leash attached to his normal flat collar. This was not the right time to test out his leash etiquette, as I knew he would become overly excited when he saw his doggy friends, and all the kiddos milling around in the children’s reading area. Indeed, he got SUPER-DUPER excited. I physically could not keep control of him because he weighs just a few pounds less than I do, and is extremely strong! So I made the leash into a makeshift slip collar for added control. This worked to a degree, but he never seemed to really be able to settle down…until the very end of the session, about 30 minutes later. He was over-stimulated, which is 100% understandable. I always like to make these reports totally positive – but also believe that looking honestly at the weak spots is crucial to the success of the project. Plus, I absolutely look at these challenges as positive aspects of Moku’s growth and learning, because they show us where there is room for improvement! I think it’s important also to accept that we all have limitations, and perhaps simply aren’t ready for some things yet. I KNOW Moku will be a WONDERFUL therapy dog, and work wonders in kids’ and adults’ lives alike. He simply has some maturing to do (of course! He’s still a baby!). That said, these experiences are great for him because they help prepare him for what’s to come! P.S. While I, as a dog trainer, noticed Moku’s restlessness, etc…he delighted the bejeezus out of many kids, who didn’t notice one tiny flaw in our sweet Bear.

Emotional Fitness

See “getting into the car” from before. I think this activity, simple as it was/is, really challenged the part of Moku that can be a bit stubborn, hard-headed, willful – whichever term you’d use. But not letting him give up on this challenge was really important! It let him know that (a) Taking the easy way out wasn’t an option; and (b) that he could totally rock any challenge he set his doggy-mind and heart to!