While we are not 100% sure, my boyfriend and I are 99.9% convinced that Xena is an Italian Greyhound/Jack Russell mix. The Italian Greyhound came out full force two Sundays ago when she had an opportunity to run around my grandmother's fenced in back yard and she seized the chance by sprinting as fast as she could in giant loops her body close to the ground and long legs pumping her right along. Seeing her full sprint edges me on to get at least part of our yard fully enclosed so we don't need to drive somewhere to give her the opportunity to really get going.
Luckily, her Jack Russell portion didn't result in a high prey drive towards the cats or the rats but we learned after almost two weeks with her that she adores digging. She started out slowing, pawing the ground a bit and sticking her nose into the fresh pile of moved earth but that quickly escalated into her trying to tunnel her way to the center of the planet. While we don't want little holes all over our yard, both my boyfriend and I realize trying to stop her entirely is most likely a futile effort so we are trying to teach her a few spots where digging is OK and letting her go loose. Fortunately, Xena doesn't mind being cleaned up as after she's had a rousing time of digging her usually perfectly white face turns almost black. My boyfriend finds it hysterical; I am not as amused.
I don't like to think of training in terms of a dog's breed(s) alone but also believe it has to be factored in when developing an appropriate training plan. Xena gets distracted SO EASILY (thank you, Jack Russell) but she's also immensely food motivated so Vasco and I are slowly learning how to get her to concentrate using smelly, and obviously tasty, liver treats. Xena being deaf doesn't help, of course, but thankfully her "handicap" leads her to look at us more often than most hearing dogs because she relies more heavily on sight and smell. We are also focusing on a positive reinforcement method of training since my research on Italian Greyhounds leads me to understand that they don't do well to harsh training though I think Xena exudes more Jack Russell in her attitude (she's a tough cookie) think the clicker training (done with a thumbs up instead of the noise) will produce some amazing results with our smart girl.
Usually the first question I get from people when I mention Xena is deaf is "how can you train her?". If not that, it's usually them wondering if she can bark (the answer is yes and very, very loudly when she desires). When I respond to the training question I tell them using hand signals and a specific hand signal in replacement of a clicker (will go into this in later blog posts) and tend to follow that response with the fact that I think our bigger challenge with training is the terrier in Xena versus her inability to hear.
Xena has two states of consciousness. Bouncing off the walls and sleeping. That's it. She shies away from any happy medium and just goes full throttle until her eyes can't stay open any longer. Evidence is to the left.
When she is firing on all cylinders it is nearly impossible to get her to focus thus my concerns with training. She is smart, sometimes too smart for her own good, but getting her to sit still to try to teach some commands is a challenge especially if the cats are nearby daunting her or she spots one of her favorite toys from the corner of her eyes.
We have learned in her short time in our house that she is extremely food motivated which we hope to use to our advantage during her training. Unknowingly she does an action we want her to eventually do on command (stand on her hind legs) when she thinks you might have a treat for her. Even though she loves food she hasn't quite grasped that she needs to not be zooming around the person with food if she hopes to munch on the item.
Our first private session with a dog trainer is this coming Thursday so my boyfriend and I hope to kick start Xena's training, and keep you all posted, soon!
Once I decided to purchase my own home after becoming frustrated with the entire renting process my boyfriend and I knew we wanted to add a dog to our already eclectic array of pets. My boyfriend, Vasco, has wanted a dog his entire life and as I start leaving my early twenties behind the commitment of a dog didn't appear as daunting as it once did. We discussed what we wanted in a dog - older, medium energy, house broken, and good with cats.Little did we know then that we'd be bringing home a 8 month old, deaf, semi-house broken, terrier mix.
I first met Xena (formerly Callie) voluntering at an adoption event for Last Hope K9 Rescue. Was assigned to the big dog room but about halfway through the day one of the volunteers walked in with a small, almost pure white, shaky little pup. Gave her a quick pet and shortly afterwards heard the volunteer holding her tell someone else they thought she was deaf but needed a vet to confirm. Didn't think much of it at the time and was quickly pulled back into the chaos of a room filled with rambunctious dogs.
Weeks passed and I saw pictures of Callie pop up on my news feed. More time passed and I was astonished that this adorable puppy, now confirmed as being deaf, still hadn't been adopted. One day, I finally broke and commented on a picture of her snuggled up with two other dogs inquiring if she was alright with cats. After a confirmation from the rescue, and her foster mom, I had essentially set my mind on applying.
Of course, my "go for it" attitude led me to forget about my boyfriend's input so that evening we talked about the possibility of bringing a deaf dog into our home. To say he was reluctant at first might be a slight understatement. Understandably he was concerned about the challenges associated with a deaf dog while all I could see was a pup who needed our help. After further conversations, we agreed to apply to adopt and well, the rest of it will soon tell itself.
Luckily, her Jack Russell portion didn't result in a high prey drive towards the cats or the rats but we learned after almost two weeks with her that she adores digging. She started out slowing, pawing the ground a bit and sticking her nose into the fresh pile of moved earth but that quickly escalated into her trying to tunnel her way to the center of the planet. While we don't want little holes all over our yard, both my boyfriend and I realize trying to stop her entirely is most likely a futile effort so we are trying to teach her a few spots where digging is OK and letting her go loose. Fortunately, Xena doesn't mind being cleaned up as after she's had a rousing time of digging her usually perfectly white face turns almost black. My boyfriend finds it hysterical; I am not as amused.
