iluvdogs


4 1/2 month old Taco
November 20, 2007, 12:46 pm
Filed under: Taco, Tiger, beagle, playing, raising, socialization, travel in car | Tags: , , ,

Taco, the beagle puppy, has past the 4 month mark and I’m breathing a sigh of relief (Jack Jack died at 4 months of age). When I returned from New Zealand, Taco was a lot bigger and even more active than I remember. The good thing is that he has more control of his bladder and only occasionally pees in the house now.

Taco is a silly fellow and with Tiger out of the house for a few months, he’s getting all of the care and attention we’d usually give to both dogs. At this age of course, he needs it and I’ve begun simple training and socialization in earnest. Daily we are working on his everyday feeding, playing and sleeping routines and practicing simple commands. A few times a week I try to take him to school or out on the weekends to get used to the car and experiencing new sights.

Last Sunday, we took Taco to visit Tiger at the Air Force dog training center and then to a restaurant on a lake in Minburi. He was so tired at the end of the day from being out and exploring, but this type of activity will train him to be a good dog when we take him out in as an adult. I did have to clean up some doggy puke, but at least Taco’s getting used to sitting in the car, right?



Tiger goes to Doggie Bootcamp
November 3, 2007, 1:36 pm
Filed under: Dogs, Thai dog, Tiger | Tags: ,

We just dropped off our Thai dog, Tiger, a few days ago at the military base near Viphavadi Rangsit Road (past Laksi) to be trained. The trainer is an Air Force dog trainer who lives on the premises with his wife and kids. Most of the trainers also accept dogs to train privately and use the military facilities. This particular man was recommended by a friend of my father who’s dog he is currently training.

We had discussed the logistics of the training i.e. cost, methods, type of commands, etc. previously. The entire course lasted 3 months would cost 12,000 baht. In that time the dog would be housed in the kennels, protected from mosquitoes with mesh-wire. We provided our own dog food and told the trainer we just want the basic commands, especially off-leash commands, as our neighbors are mostly Muslim and feel threatened by our dog.

The trainer said we could come by to check on Tiger’s progress and didn’t make any promises to make her a 100% obedient dog because she is a Thai dog. He mentioned that Thai dogs are more feral than other dog breeds and tend to be a bit more resistant to training and therefore can be unreliable when given the opportunity to bolt and run.

We would come by to see her in a few weeks. He promised to take good care of her and he walked with her away from us. If all goes well, our beagle puppy will be joining her in a month or so to be trained. I couldn’t bring myself to let the puppy go just yet! Perhaps when Tiger is done with her training in 3 months we can do a switch and give Taco to the trainer for 3 months. By then Taco will be 6 months old and I will be off to New Zealand for 2 months. When I come back, I would have to continue working with the adolescent Taco and 2 year old Tiger regularly to keep their training fresh.