Look. Good! (Treat). Look. Good! (Treat). Loooooookkk. Good!!! (Treat).

Ah yes.  Focus.  Kimma's lack of such will surely be her downfall.  

Having an independent dog is good, in that they give you space and can play on their own sometimes, but it can be annoying when you're trying to train them.  It's quite interesting, though, because Pentti has become my little shadow, while Kimma just needs to know where I am and she will give me space.  I think it may be one of the male vs. female differences with Finkies.

Anyway, since I've decided to pursue agility and obedience with Kimma, I need to get her focus issues under control.  She's VERY food motivated, so I'm able to use that to my advantage, but since she has been put on an extremely limited diet, it's gotten more difficult.  Alas, her beloved hot dogs are not a part of the "vet approved" treats she can have.  Poor girlie!

So while we're at training, I basically have to be my own one-woman-circus act.  I spit out trick after trick, command after command, but eventually, her nose gets the better of her (and she gets bored), and she MUST go sniffing.  

Things that have worked for us have been a strong "leave it," after which we walk away and do some flatwork training and "follow me" type of games; and of course, the whole "look" command (a la the title of this post!).  

And yes, she's completely different inside, it's just the grass is full of interesting little goodies!  Heck, this girl loves the grass itself.  I think she was a cow in a past life....

It's gotten so bad that she will zero in on a specific plot of grass at agility training and run to it every chance she gets (basically, whenever I actually need her to do something off leash).  

After weeks of frustration, however, I can safely say that she is on her way to becoming a more focused dog.  It all started with making our backyard a place to play AND work, rather than play and sort of-maybe-sometimes work.  I put her back on leash (which hasn't been the case since she was a baby!), and did some flatwork with her.  Any sniffing was met with a firm "leave it" and a treat when she looked at me.  Then we would continue to walk, treating along the way for eye contact.  We did change of sides, turns, slow walking, to runs, normal paced walking, everything!  Eventually there were no attempts to sniff.  So we went inside, and did it all again a couple times a day.  About a week later, and we could do all of that off leash with minimal, and often no, sniffing.  

Next we brought the jumps back out, off leash.  We kept working, never taking a break so that the temptation to sniff didn't present itself.  It was awesome.  One of the most productive training sessions we have ever had.  And we capped it at 10 minutes, played some fetch, and came back in.  This has been repeated a few times in the past week.

At agility class itself, I can say that things are going a lot better.  We have to do a bit of "wait" work, as she doesn't always know what that means anymore, but her latest clean run is a testament to all of our hard work lately.  

Yes, she is off leash, with other dogs nearby, and plenty of yummy grass to sniff!  Though, I will be honest in saying that this is the third time the run was attempted, but she looks like a real agility dog!  

Another positive is that she has been easier to get back after she breaks her wait, as she now tends to go towards other equipment instead of towards a random patch of grass...  Then she walks over to me and stares as if she's saying, "What?  I didn't do anything!  Look, now that I'm here, can you spare a treat?"  What a treat-hog!

Ah well...  At least we know that she's not afraid of any of the equipment!

Our Story.

These are the tales of Kimma: A Finnish Spitz (Fox) and Maui: A Toi Leo (Lion), told from the point of view of their highly strung owners!!!

This is Kimma (pronounced Kee-mah).  She is a one-year-old female Finnish Spitz.  I (Katie) have had her since she was 8 weeks old.  What a cute little thing she was!  Totally quiet on the 3 hour ride home, fell asleep on my lap our first night after a fun play session...  Then BAM.  She gets crazy.

She looks so innocent!

Now, Finnish Spitz are categorized as being a medium-high energy breed, and are bred to hunt birds and small game, though they can also hunt larger creatures, like elk and even bear.  They are very loyal to their "masters" and very intelligent.  The Finnish Spitz is also a sensitive dog, so a positive approach to training is a must.  They can pick up on moods easily, so training while upset/mad will likely be fruitless.  Like most Northern breeds, they are quite independent.  In addition, they are bred to bark and are very vocal.  In Finland, they even "crown" a "King of the Barkers," which is their yearly hunting champion - yes, these dogs can bark like there's no tomorrow!

Kimma is all of those things, and bit more.  After the first week or so, I remember thinking to myself, "What have I done?!"  I have no prior experience with any dogs/puppies (never had one as a kid, and didn't have too many friends with dogs), this girl is insane, and I'm crying basically every day.  She's a barker, a chewer, and biter, and requires more exercise than any dog I've ever heard of!  So we signed up for puppy training. 

It was OK, but there was so much more to this dog.  She NEEDED constant training.  She craved it.  I saw how quickly she picked up on stuff, and I knew that we could achieve some great things.

It was at a dog park where I met Lesley, and her then 4.5 month old Border Collie mix, Tia.  After seeing how well Kimma and Tia played (they are about the same age), and also how fast Kimma could run, Lesley asked if we ever thought of doing agility.  I replied no, as I planned on finishing out our puppy basic training and then maybe doing another training class or two while teaching her some tricks on my own, then we were going to just live our lives.  However, the more I thought about it and watched some videos on YouTube, the more I realized that this could be just what my little reactive/hyper/barker of a dog needs...  Agility it is!!!

Now, as I sit here approximately 8 months later, I couldn't be happier with our decision.  Of course, some additional issues have come up (focusing, more reactivity problems, and some illness), but as long as she keeps loving what we're doing, we will figure out a way to conquer it all!

And if it wasn't for agility, Kimma and I would have never met Margie and Maui (her boyfriend!). 

And this is Maui! He is a one-year-old Toi Leo, which is a hybrid dog breed. The breeders began developing Toi Leos 6 years ago to reduce small dog medical problems such as eye and patella issues. Four breeds create this hybrid: the Japanese Chin, Long Hair Chihuahua, Pekingese and Pomeranian.

Maui and I (Margie) became a team when he was 9 weeks old. What a cute little man. 3.6 pounds and already groomed then with his unfashionable lion cut. Curious, bright, intelligent, affectionate and no barking! I took him with me everyday, everywhere I went so that he would socialize well. Me and my little buddy! As all was going so well it was time to socialize with four legged friends, so Maui was enrolled in Puppy Class. And after learning some basic obedience was introduced to Agility. He loves it! 

It was here that he found his VOICE - and what a voice he has! Really, what did I expect? He does come from dog breeds that all bark... A LOT. First it was just barking at other dogs to get them to play with him. Then it was barking and lunging at them before he even got close enough to smell them. Then barking and lunging on his walks at joggers, cyclist, other dogs, people, deer, squirrels and anything else that moved outside, including leaves blowing in the wind! Oops I forgot! He even barks at things that don't move. With one exception: Kimma. Maui just loves her and like every man in love, he quietly listens and lets her have the last word.

OK... So he has barking issues and currently walks on a gentle leader to reduce the barking and lunging. Although he does resemble Hannibal Lector with this on, I just love the little guy!

Pentti:  "Yes, I know.  I'm so handsome - even with stick pieces in my mouth!"

In addition to following the training of Kimma and Maui, Kimma's 3-year-old Finnish Spitz "brother" Pentti (CH Finkkila's Pentti) will also be making some appearances in this Blog, as he and Katie progress in his conformation career!