Rocky's first campung trip/Greeting from Atwood

jkjenn

I picked up my T@b from the factory today and decided to camp at Atwood Lake and take advantage of the full hook ups to dewinterize.

Rocky is doing quite well, but he seems a little confused. He is happy to have his crate to retreat to.

I will post more on my warranty work and axel upgrade later.

 

Nomad

Crate?

BBchBum

Rocky is one handsome guy!
One of my dogs loves her crate (portable kennel) - the other views it as something to be avoided at all costs. He'll go in if I put him there with no complaints but given a choice he would avoid it.
Looking forward to hearing how he likes traveling around.

jkjenn

PXLated said:

Crate?

Crate training can give dogs a sense of security, which is nice for travelers.

Nomad

Never heard the tern crate before - kennel of course :-)

Rad

jkjenn said:

PXLated said:

Crate?

Crate training can give dogs a sense of security, which is nice for travelers.

Well, use humans are not much different as your photos indicate, the dog crate and the human crate

jkjenn

Well, use humans are not much different as your photos indicate, the dog crate and the human crate

So true!

Verna

Rocky has grown, Jenn! 

DurangoTaB

Yo Rocky!

jkjenn

Verna said:

Rocky has grown, Jenn! 

Yes, indeed! He weighed in at 11.2 lbs last week and my brother's full grown Shih Tzu is much smaller now. I obviously didn't get the runt!

Nomad

Shin Tzu's sure are cute little buggers. My dad had one and she was the best little dog. You couldn't get her to bark unless you just teased the heck out of her then she'd let out a couple soft ones in frustration.

Verna

My Sunny Day, 5 yr old Shih Tzu, is the best traveler. As long as she's not too hot, or as long as she's not getting shocked by static electricity, she just rolls with everything. She's only growled at one person, and he deserved it. She barks sometimes when playing, but knows the command "no bark" when she gets a bit rowdy. When I got home from my 3 month trip, she ran to the sofa, jumped onto it, dug into "her" afghan and I could almost hear her sigh of relief. 

tpurr02

Both Rocky and your T@B are so cute!

jkjenn

Thanks, tpurr02!

Verna, we are working on the "Quiet" command. He did better as the weekend went along. It was a packed campground and everything was new to him. I also observed how people come right up to him, which is scary to him still. I can usually pick him up and he relaxes significantly.

RZRBUG

Jenn, I'm no dog expert, but if you act nervous when someone approaches, or even if that feeling of dread or apprehension comes over you, dogs can sense that and it will reinforce their own nervousness.  I try to force myself to act nonchalant, even if I think the situation might not turn out so good.

I camped alongside a dog last week whose owner would always say things to his dog like, "Now, you be nice," or, "You need to be a good dog."  All that did was cause the dog to bark and overact whenever someone came around.  A firm, confident command is good.  It's all in how you say it and how you act yourself.

jkjenn

RZRBUG said:

Jenn, I'm no dog expert, but if you act nervous when someone approaches, or even if that feeling of dread or apprehension comes over you, dogs can sense that and it will reinforce their own nervousness.  I try to force myself to act nonchalant, even if I think the situation might not turn out so good.

I camped alongside a dog last week whose owner would always say things to his dog like, "Now, you be nice," or, "You need to be a good dog."  All that did was cause the dog to bark and overact whenever someone came around.  A firm, confident command is good.  It's all in how you say it and how you act yourself.

Yes, agreed! I think it is more a matter of socialization. It was a hard winter to socialize a puppy.

I have been following the Zak George positive training techniques and found them to be quite effective. He is big on giving them commands, especially, "Look at me" to get them to focus on you, but you have to give them the chance to experience success in less distracting environment before putting them under pressure.

People tend to just walk up to him without giving him the chance to check them out first. I need to go rematch the video that covers that.

Nomad

Never met a chihuahua that wasn't a yapper or a quiverer.

BBchBum

my vet had a very social quiet chihuahua, Carmelita. She would go around and visit everybody - very sweet.  She changed my opinion of chihuahua's ;-)

Nomad

I haven't met one of those yet :-)

jkjenn

Rocky would like to wish you a Happy Star Wars Day.

Kats

We have a Catahoula leopard dog. We don't dare take him with us. We'd come back and find he had sold the trailer, bought a bunch of bones for himself and pocketed the cash. He'd probably be sitting in a recliner, wearing a smoking jacket and drinking a glass of scotch, looking nonchalant. Someday, we will have retired racing greyhounds, a little less predisposed to petty crimes.