Shayde's College - First Session: Successful

Stace, Rodney and I all made it to Shayde's first class. I have questions about the trainors experience and qualifications. Apparently at PetSmart, the trainers are only paid minimum wage...I find this hard to believe, but the source is reliable. Beth, the trainer, seemed all over the place, which was tough for me, because I know most of the terminology and philosophies of learning. Anyways...
There are four other dogs and Beth bring her big cute doggie to demonstrate. One dog is really shy, from the shelter, cute and very friendly. (no interaction with Shayde yet) Another dog is a puppy, looks like a husky, friendly and frisky. (Shayde isnt thrilled with her) Another dog is a small little yappy SheDevil. (no direct interaction with Shayde yet) The last dog came in really late, straggely looking dog but seems ready to take anyone on. The SheDevil and this dog barked hysterically at each other, almost fighting words. Shayde got sooooo scared and hid under Stace's chair. By the end of the session (1hr) Shayde was pretty comfortable with Emma (trainer's doggy)

So in the first hour, it was meet and greet. We also worked on massaging our puppies. Shayde did remarkably well with this. I expected him to loose his mind. I have tried it a few times since, once a day as directed, oops...I missed last night. He is more hesitant at home. But we are working on it. Lots of treats. The first command we worked on is "Look at Me" Shayde is good at this. Its a useful command/cue to grab your dog's attention. On walks it'll be effective if I see a squirrel before Shayde. That rarely happens!
We also worked on what to do when your dog jumps up. Although this is totally cute and I love being greeted to excited Shayde...its apparently NOT acceptable behavior. HUMF.

So we are working on all of this, keeping with the other things she suggested. Although I understand and agree with 99% of it...its overwhelming. Especially when Shayde growls and the water bottle is on the other side of the room. ARGH

We just have to remember to be consistent!!!

I am so impressed with Rodney! The trainer recommended that Shayde have a bed or a blanket in every room, basically the bedroom and the living room. From the get go, Rodney insisted Shayde sleep on his old body pillow, and Shayde seems to like it. Before I could even say anything last Thursday, he flew upstairs and got an old blanket put it in the living room. IMPRESSIVE!!! Ah he is a good man. :)

Im looking forward to this Thursday!

Really Not Impressed

After being with Rodney for a while, I purchased a yellow ribbon magnet that says "Support Our Troops"...because I always have...and am now dating a soldier. Ah shaddap all of you about my fetish with uniforms!

So the magnet and the mini insert had both been on my car for almost a month. The ribbon the the driver's side and the little triangle thing on the passenger side. On Saturday, I had read that FOUR more Canadian soldiers died overseas, and knew that Rodney would be really upset. I was going to pick him up for dinner (to meet my parents) and as I was walking around the back of the car...NO RIBBON ON MY SIDE!!! The little triangle is still there...but no ribbon. I immediatly looked on the ground (nothing) and then over to my mom's car, to see if Stace had taken it. (nothing) I scanned all the cars around me...nothing.

Now come on...who steals these things. Even if you are anti military...leave my property alone. It was obviously out of the Runnymede building parking lot. Im suprised a stupid Leafs fan hasnt broken my Sens Flag off my car.

Im so pissed off at people in general about this. I wonder how many other people have had this problem. I want to buy another one, but if it gets stolen, I will loose my mind. Id really hate to think that I will have to take them off every time I leave my car unattended!!!!

Alright, my vent is over. Ill buy another one this week.

Behavior Therapy for DOGS!

My dog, Shayde, has been a central part of my life for 6 years. Through some readings of where he might have come from, its very possible that he was taken from his mother far too early. This is one of the leading causes of dominance and aggression...ontop of Lhasa Apsos being mouthy by nature.

After years of tolerating his dominance, aggression, growling and desire to just be flat out miserable with many other dogs...I have had enough. We encounter many dogs on walks and playing the park and with the growing encounters with children, and wanting to have children at some point in my life....its time for some change with this animal.

PetSmart came to Kingston. I went in with Rodney to just ask some questions about what would be the best option for Shayde. Luckily, I found a really motivated and knowledgable trainer. Even though Shayde knows:
- sit
- down
- sit pretty
- leave it
- come
- roll over
the trainer feels that beginner classes are necessary. Mainly for socialization and to learn STAY. This will also be a good option for aggression because some puppies do have aggression but its "zapped" early on. I now have 6 years of aggression for Shayde to unlearn.

Rodney seems quite willing to participate and has agreed to come to all training sessions. EIGHT WEEKS!!!

One of the techniques that the trainer suggested is the "water bottle" So now I have water bottles in every room. And we have some at Rodney's as well. I also have a bottle for in the care and walks. This trainer wants devotion...she is getting it from this PetParent. I also bought a seat belt for two reasons:
1. Safety. No dog should ride in a car on someone's lap.
2. Aggressive dogs should be in the back seat to encourage that people are the alphas.

I had to buy a new leash for the classes - retrackable leashes are not allowed. It was 10 bucks. Big deal.
I also bought a gentle leader. THIS HAS BEEN TOUGH!!!!!!!!!!
It is basically a halti and discourages pulling and freaking out at other dogs. It certainly does that! Shayde walks on my right side, usually right beside me.
Its getting it ON him that is such a hard task. He never was impressed with this new way of walking. And he would growl but accept his fate that MOMMA was putting this awful thing on his face. And he was always rewarded with a smelly gross treat after it was done up.
All parties that will be directly involved have to be on the same page. Right now, that is me, Stace and Rodney. Stace also said she would try to make the majority of the sessions.
So Stace gives it a shot...Shayde growls, she pulls away. Each time she tried, he would growl louder, start to show teeth and then he snapped at her. I tried encouraging her to just do it and ignore the growling. Of course she doesnt want him to bite her, I dont want him to bite her or anyone else. But the more this happens the harder its going to be for us to train him.
So I ended up putting the leader on and she took him out.
Later last night, I got the leader on and we took garbage and recycling down to the garbage room and at some point on the way down, Shayde got the leader off. Trying to put the leader back on, in the garbage room opened a door of frustration for me. I couldnt get it on him. Right from the first time he was snapping and loosing his mind. After about 5 tries and the super walking in....we had to leave the room. So we just came back upstairs and Shayde didnt go out.

This morning I got the leader on him, took some spraying and lots of coaxing...lots of growling and swearing on my part, but I got the leader on. As much as I didnt want to reward him after all of that, I did. He is a stubborn one.

Our first class is Thursday evening. Wish us luck.

Questionnaires!
-There are many questionnaires floating around on email these days. But this questionnaire came to me from my sister (I believe from her ethics course). I thinks its great! Please...fill it out as a reply to me!


***BELIEFS***

Part One: Complete the following sentences.
1. Most people as essentially:- greedy- materialistic- self absorbed- consciously ignorant- self destructive
2. The key to a good life is:- knowledge/education- finding a balance between work and family- setting goals and working towards them- putting certain others first- finding your spirit- being true to your soul- accepting and learning from your mistakes
3. The key to getting along with others is:- listening- compromizing- being truthful- patience- accepting your own wrong doings
4. A common unethical practice is:- cheating- lying- stealing- child abuse/neglect- sexual assault- greed- power hungry
5. The downside of group work is:- conflicting personalities- not all voices/ideas being heard
6. The upside of group work is:- multiple ideas/views/opinions- diverse backgrounds- diverse abilities for completing projects
7. The greatest evil is:- selfishness
8. The root of all evil is:- money- greed
9. A "good" person has these qualities:- kind- compassionate- understanding- respectful- considerate- honest
10.If I could make one change on the planet it would be:- putting more wildlife, forests and nature back

Part Two: Answer YES or NO to the following.
1. There is some "evil: is most people. Yes
2. We are all bascially alone. No
3. People achieve more as individuals than they do as groups. No
4. There is no God, no Heaven and hell. No
5. All ehtics is relative( what each person believes is ok). Yes
6. Most people are just out for themselves. Yes
7. Life is controlled by luck and fate. Yes (fate)
8. Most of the time, a solution can be found to most problems. Yes
9. Animals are equal in all ways to humans. No (cognitively, developmentally)-but they should have equal rights for exisitence on the earth, against abuse, neglect and survival
10. Sometimes humans are too smart for their own good. Yes

10 Things I love about YOU!

There are a lot of people that mean a lot to me in this world. There are a lot of people that have helped shaped who I am today. So this will be a post that is ever evolving. Im going to list people that I want to show gratitude to and then list 10 things that I love about that person. This is part of my self discovery and ensuring that I am surrounding myself with positive influences and a wonderful support network.

Mom
1. your selflessness
2. your ability to forgive
3. the way you listen
4. your sensitivity
5. the things you did for Nanny and Grandpa
6. the way you pushed me and taught me to do my best
7. how you tried so hard to prevent me from failing
8. your constant need to make everyone happy
9. your ambition to do so many things (even if some projects remain unfinished)
10. your need for peace in the world, in the family and with your close relationships

Dad
1. your new found gentleness
2. your stubbornness
3. your perfectionism (regardless of how long it takes you to complete a project)
4. your wierd sense of humor
5. your new found patience
6. your confidence in me that I WILL succeed
7. your interest in my education and knowledge
8. your special relationship with Nanny and Grandpa
9. your strictness about acceptable behavior when I was growing up
10. that you seek and value my advice and suggestions

Stace
1. your need to make others happy
2. your science smarts
3. you believe in me
4. your gentleness
5. your carefree nature
6. your perfectionist personality
7. your infectious laugh
8. your way of looking at things simply
9. your sensitivity
10. your practicality

Nanny
1. your confidence in me
2. your love for Grandpa
3. how you always stood up for what you believe in
4. how you never let anyone push you around
5. your strong ability to raise 5 very different children
6. your ability to forgive
7. your matriarchy
8. your love for the simple things in life
9. your devotion for Grandpa
10. your knowledge, wisdom, instinct and pride

Grandpa
1. your honour
2. you were are a true gentleman
3. your love for Nanny
4. your devotion for Nanny
5. your faith
6. your confidence in me
7. your strong, silent nature
8. your devotion to the Canadian military
9. your patience
10. your support, wisdom, intelligence and confidence

First Step

One of the hardest things for me is eating. I have a huge sweet tooth. Rodney and I both have HUGE chocolate addictions. He is actually worse than me (I think)!!! We also love eating out. So after I mentioned all of this to him, he seems to be willing to eat healthy, at least with me. Which is great! Last night we were talking about grabbing dinner, and he actually was pushing for something healthy! So we got Subway. He got 6 cookies, I didnt eat any of them! I did, however, eat a few macaroons. One negative point last night was that we drank quite abit of bubbly wine - so Im sure that the calories that I saved at dinner I consumed in the wine.
This morning we had some french toast (2 pieces for me) and a cup of coffee. When I came home, I made a salad, huge salad - composed of lettuce, spinach, carrots, celerey, cheese and onions. I packed some into 2 half whole wheat pitas with some ranch salad dressing. Along with that, I had a huge orange. Excellent lunch. I feel really positive about it.
So, I have to stop buying convience stuff - KD is a good example. If it isnt here...I wont eat it.
A very positive thing is that I eat healthy at work. With eating healthy, this will eliminate a lot of spending money that I used on fast food. Double bonus.

I also have to be more conscious about emotional eating. This started about 5 years ago. Chocolate and carbs (pasta, chips and popcorn) are a weakness. Another huge weakness is pop. I love the fizz! So Im liking club soda and lemon juice. Its all about the fizz!!!

I think that I have pretty much decided to join the YMCA. I really dont want the added expense of the gym, but the Y has so many options, gym, swim, classes etc Stace seems willing to work out with me. I need to be honest with myself. I need to do things and not make excuses. I am wondering if I should give myself one month on working out at home - with Tae Bo, Pilates and walking. Ill take walking out! Shayde needs it. Unless its raining. :)

Rodney, dont let me not walk Shayde when Im at your place!!! :)

I have had ENOUGH!

I was in a clothing store (breifly) today...Im trying to find an outfit for this charity dinner coming up at the end of the month. Actually...to be honest...I have some nice clothes that I could wear, but when Rodney and I were in the mall last night...I found an awesome outfit (that I still have to try on) and that got my shopping bug started. So anyways...I was looking at a few skirts and the sales lady comes over to chat and out of NOWHERE says..."have you ever thought about being a plus size model" Talk about a piss off. What pissed me off the most was that a year and a half ago...a sales lady from back home asked me to be in her stores fashion show. It was alot of fun and I did look pretty good...but I swore to myself that I would be that size in a year. Well...guess what I AM! And that woman today reminded me of that...and I cried all the way home.
I think I have hit the wall with this issue. Im really tried of hiding. Im tired of not being confident. I miss the days with Michelle when we went out to bars (often hehe) and I would get up on the speakers, be confident and have a decent amount of men approach me. I dont want the attention from men though...I have a man..who is so damn great. And is attracted to me for what I look like now. But there are many things I shy away from and will shy away from in the future...things that I used to love doing.
I need to find a workout for me. Something I love, will stick with and will see results. I did like Curves in Pembroke. I also liked AquaFit. I have a pilates tape and a TaeBo DVD. I like having a work out buddy...and I think I need someone that will motivate me to go and not let me back out. I love working out with Stace, but she needs the same thing I do.

So...friends...I need some advice. I dont want to hear "you arent fat" STOP SAYING THAT BEN! AND JER!!!