Patrice's Blog

10 years ago Chance and I said goodbye to Mark as he left for NYC. He was part of a group of volunteers from his Air Force unit being sent to New York City to provide 12 hours a day access point security at Ground Zero.

At that time no one knew what was going to happen next. Would there be more attacks in New York City? Had biological weapons been used? How dangerous would it be for him? My job required me to be surrounded by tv monitors all day. Peter Jennings was in every room talking about the attack. I was very worried.

On some days when Mark was walking nearby he would see a man walking a female Giant Schnauzer and they would stop and talk for a few moments. It was nice that he was able to pet a Giant while he was away from home.

Willie trying on headsets.

We’re having a new roof put on. It’s tough to sleep while this is going on.

We went to the Air Show Saturday. It was a hot day. This is a C5A from Stewart ANG Base, Poughkeepsie NY.

We spent the afternoon with a friend who owns Willie’s brother Turbo. Willie popped out of the car after a four hour drive and our friend was very pleased to see that he had a traditional hard coat. Here they are checking each other out. They sure look different!

I spent a few hours learning how to groom a show dog. It was great fun! Willie and Cassie were off running around in a field and in the woods. They even met up with a porcupine!

Just for fun my friend showed how Willie would look like if he was in the show ring. He looks pretty good to me!

The biggest worry that dog owners have is that their dog will run away from them and not come back. We have been training Willie for months to return to us when he is off leash. Not just when we call him, but just to check in every once in a while for a treat.

Today Mark took Cassie and Willie on their usual very long Sunday morning walk. I get to sleep in. Here is some of the video he shot of them running in a field. Willie blows by Cassie like she is standing still. Isn’t it great that we can let him do this without having to worry that he won’t come back?

Taking my Giants to weekly training classes at a very early age and then continuing to attend them for a year or more is a responsibility I take very seriously. Both Chance and Cassie attended many classes for over a year or more and both passed their AKC Canine Good Citizen test when they were very young.

I started Willie in the AKC S.T.A.R Puppy class when he was 14 weeks old. I am very pleased that he has passed his Canine Good Citizen test today at only 9 months old! This test has 10 skills that demonstrate that the dog can be out in public around people (and other dogs) and be well behaved at all times. You will see some of these skills in the training we do, such as the Meet and Greet.

Neither of us did perfectly, but he is an amazing pup. I am very grateful to our instructor. She keeps classes going at a good pace and always helps us teach our dogs without using punishment. Our success at having a comfortable home life with two large dogs is due, in large part, to her excellence in helping us train our dogs in a loving way.

Here is an advanced level 2 class. You will see that we all use a lot of food treats. Some very experienced instructors actually put the treats in their mouth! This keeps the dog focused on the owner’s face. I am not the best trainer. It’s tough for me because I work late the night before and have had only 5 hours of sleep. At times, it becomes a little too routine for me and that encourages Willie to get bored. But Giants are resilient and he will survive this just fine.

Every Saturday since Willie was 14 weeks old we go to obedience class. Here we are practicing heeling. The leashes are over our shoulders so we won’t pull on the dog and encourage them to follow us without the leash. The goal is to have the dog watching you at all times. It’s no secret that we have to use lots of treats to accomplish this! My fishing vest is full of yummy stuff!

This is the long down stay. It takes a lot of practice and distractions are actually welcomed. It helps steady the dogs into their stay. Here I am challenging Willie by turning my back on him. He is more interested in what the photographer is doing, but he probably won’t get up unless there is a larger distraction.

Stand stay is one of the hardest tasks a dog will perform. They don’t like to stand still. But it is extremely helpful in everyday life such as grooming, vet visits or just putting on a leash. Willie has a hard time with the “stand” command but he does a pretty good job with the stay.

We are almost done with training Willie’s ears. Just a few more weeks. Isn’t this impressive to look at?