New Years Resolution: Part 1: Party in the back

My New Years Resolution (Part 1, there will be more to come) is to teach all of my dogs

to ride in the back of the truck. I bought this truck two years ago today, and the whole reason for trading in my trusty 4Runner for a truck was to get have "human space" and "dog space". I dreamed of having a clean car where I could escape from the dog farts and mud while chauffeuring my beloved pups around town. One by one, I started making exceptions for dogs that were allowed to ride up front. Two years later, I am having to schedule my park trips around the available seats in the front seat of my truck, while the canopy area is nearly empty at times! The dogs have totally won this battle and it's time for me to make some changes.

Life in the 4Runner was good. It was a perfect way to start my business and build my pack and I wouldn't take it back at all. Being close to the dogs definitely had its benefits, I couldn't stand being with wet farting dogs for hours a day. The smell was seeping into my skin and I was coughing up dog hair like a cat with a hairball. Not literally, but I felt like it could have happened any day...  If this business was going to continue, something had to change.

The day I decided to start looking for a truck, my dream truck popped up on Craig's List. It was meant to be, and with the help of the wonderful people at Barrier Audi, I was driving home my Toyota Tundra that very same day. I don't know about you, but when I get a new car, I make all sorts of resolutions to myself... I'll never eat in the car, I'll take off my shoes before getting in, yeah right.... Well my one resolution with this truck was NO DOGS IN THE FRONT.

I think it took me less than a week to go back on my dog free front seat resolution. There are many good reasons for putting dogs up front; new puppies need to adjust to the routine, small dogs (frenchies) may get trampled or upset (see Harley's protest poop story), or sometimes I just can't physically get the dog in the truck. The first two will always be welcome in the front until they are comfortable moving to the back, which may never happen for the little guys and I am OK with that, it's the last category I'm talking about...  This is the main area I am focusing on with my current dogs. I know once you get a taste of first class it's hard to go back, but those guys in back get to party the whole way to and from the park. I need to convince certain dogs that they want to join the party, not be the teacher's pet.

My plan is to work with each of these dogs with an empty back of the truck and deep pockets of delicious dog treats. This is going to take some one on one time, outside of the park, what some refer to as "free time", but it is going to be worth it in the long run. I think with the right amount of dedication, you can train a dog to do just about anything (at least jump in a truck), so I am dedicating myself to helping these dogs get over their fears and join the party in back. Check back to hear about my progress. I am counting on you guys to hold me to this!

The sacred orange Chuck-it ball

In my afternoon trip today, I was down at the water with three ball obsessed dogs equipped with three orange rubber chuck-it balls. We were off in the corner by the big tree enjoying our retrieving relay races. A man standing next to us had a retriever who also had the same orange rubber chuck-it ball. There were a couple times during our rapid fire fetch that one of my dogs would get his ball on accident. He explained that his dog was particular and only liked his own ball so I made sure to always get his ball back from my dogs. It's a bit of work juggling three dogs and four balls but it's not this guy's fault that my dogs can snatch up a ball in .0003 seconds. My dogs were the only guilty ones here, his dog would snatch up any ball nearby but would then immediately spit it back out once he realized it had cooties on it.

After a few minutes of this call juggling I decided it was time to go. I do not enjoy retrieving as much as my dogs do. Just as my last dog clears the gate to leave the beach I hear someone calling after me. It was my ball patrol friend. He told me that one of my dogs must have his dog's ball because he threw the ball out in "the ocean" and his dog refused to go get it. Obviously, the next logical thing to do would be to track down the dog walker. If I had the nerve/time/patience to track down every dog owner at the park that may have potentially stolen a toy of mine, I could have saved literally hundreds of dollars. Maybe even Thousands!

So anyways, to get the taste test of balls set up just right I have all three of my dogs on leash, and managed to have them all cough up at their orange rubber chuck it balls. The guy takes the first ball I hand him and throws it out into the water about 10 yards. The dog swims out to the ball, grabs it, spits it back out. "whoops, guess that wasn't it" the guy laughs. I'm starting to feel like the retriever again. Good thing we have two more rounds to go.

Meanwhile, the ball connoisseur is swimming out into "the ocean" and retrieving the original ball in question. He brings it all the way back to the store and then drops it for another one of the balls that my dogs gave up. I was too preoccupied with that combined 250 pounds of leashed dog who were trying to get in on the ball buffet to notice which ball the dog actually decided it was his. Whichever one it was it only lasted for about 50 yards before he gave it up again and tried to start the whole game over. As much fun as it was, my least dogs and I were ready to move on.

I tried very hard to stay pleasant about the whole situation, reassuring him that this was all a part of the fun of working with dogs. He was very nice and pleasant, and no doubt a very devoted dog owner.

Bottom line, what's yours is yours and if your dog wants his own ball then you have every right to get that ball for your dog. I just wish your dog could accurately detect that sacred ball, and in an ideal world it wouldn't involve 3 other balls. Maybe just one other to narrow it down from would be helpful. And if your dog is able to detect his own scent on a ball so well, couldn't he just go ahead and put some smell on there that will deter any other dog? That would be really helpful. Thanks.