Moku's Challenging Thursday

Daily CHALLENGE & ACTiViTY Summary

Dog’s name: Moku

Date: Thursday, October 22, 2015

Physical Fitness

Moku was a machine today! First, he jumped into the car on the first attempt, absolutely no problem. Then, he swam like a crazy-dog! You’ll see in the video…he just plowed through the water after one toy and then the next, and then the next, really pushing himself to swim faster and harder than usual! Next, he jogged for twenty solid minutes on the treadmill without so much as “breaking a sweat” (meaning his breathing was barely labored at all, much less heavily, as it usually is). We walked for a good ten or fifteen minutes through Home Depot, and did another ten to fifteen minutes of walking at the Mission. Not to mention his little “sprint” at the end of our session. His endurance and strength are definitely improving, which is a wonderful thing to watch happening! I can tell watching him – especially in the pool – that he just feels better. He can propel himself farther, faster, and harder, which I have no doubt also improves his confidence and overall happiness. Might I be anthropomorphizing a tad? Maybe. But honestly, who doesn’t feel great – physically and otherwise – after they’ve kicked butt in their workout?

Cognitive Fitness

We worked on commands today (in “real world” scenarios at Home Depot, which included a parking lot littered with cotton candy, cigarette butts, and a Slim Jim wrapper; and the entryway (to Home Depot), complete with a pregnant Chihuahua mix parading around off-leash inviting Moku to follow). While Moku did relatively well “leaving” things outside, he went completely bananas as soon as he saw the other dog in the store. It was all I could do to simply keep ahold of him, let alone keep his attention.

Based on this episode, and his behavior at The Mission later on, I believe that he simply knows he has more physical power (and that whomever is holding the leash is therefore not in as much control) as when he is wearing the pinch collar. Ultimately, it is very important that he is obedient with or without any kind of collar or harness. But it might prove to be a rough transition. Either that, and/or he is indeed going through the post-adolescent, young-doggie “teenage phase” I alluded to in yesterday’s post. As he was virtually out of control on leash – both when the other dog was present at Home Depot, and when the other dogs and people were around at the Mission. He was just completely over-excited, and unable to contain himself. Unable to listen or focus or stop pulling. It was a quite challenging day, to be honest.

I definitely feel we need to put Moku in a front-clip harness (Easy Walk brand, not Halti). And fron now on, not rely on the extra control we get from using a pinch collar. I know at times, we will need to create a slip lead, to aid us and give us an extra boost of power (considering how big and strong Moku is). But ultimately, we need to challenge ourselves and Moku more in the way of managing his energy with commands, with focus, with creativity, and with our own "calm-assertive" energy...rather than meeting physical will with a physically-restrictive tool (the pinch collar). Perhaps it is a blessing in disguise that the collar went missing? Because - ready or not - now is the time to transition him out of it.

Social Fitness

Moku interacted with all of his dog and human friends at my house and at the Mission. Though, as I mentioned, he was not able to be “socially appropriate”, because his energy was way too heightened. In greeting one of the (mid-sized) dogs at the Mission whom Moku has met once or twice before, he was very overbearing – dragging me toward the dog (Finn, an Australian Shepherd), and not listening or responding when I tried to get his attention and lure him back toward me in order to take a more subtle approach. He still goes in to greet dogs at the face, as opposed to “at the butt”, which puts some dogs on edge. He also overpowered a tiny dog named Yuki, barreling into her space repeatedly until she hid under a bench, and Moku’s friend John had to walk him away from the bench so that Yuki was out of his reach. He most certainly didn’t want to hurt her. He just couldn’t contain his excitement.

Emotional Fitness

As is obvious by this point in today’s report, Moku’s excited energy (in other words, his emotional state) dictated the challenges of the day. And frankly, I am at a loss as to why. Unless my assumption about the collar is correct. Or maybe it was just an “off day” for us both. I just don’t know.

Primal Fitness

To end on a high note, I LOVED watching Moku retrieve his toys with such zeal and power today in the pool! As he sheds weight, he grows into the ANIMAL BODY meant to drive him through life as the natural, biological being he is built to be. And THAT is an awesome sight to see!