Our AireGirl Has a Name!

After considering more than four dozen names, and trying out more than a dozen for a day or two each, we finally settled on Nona (with a long o) for our girl.  We used it for a day or two, then wondered if she might confuse it with "No" and went back to other possible names.  I realized that we really don't have to use "No" very often and since we hadn't found any other name that seemed right, she became Nona.  Does she like it?  Well, she responds to it, and that's what matters.

On the other hand, Nona has a firm and fixed dislike of cameras--regular or phone.  I have no idea how she knows a phone is a camera, but she seems to.  When she's sitting near me and I call her name, she looks, but when she sees the camera she immediately looks away.

If I call her again, she looks even further away.  Any other least little thing is so much more interesting when someone has a camera pointed in her direction.

What's New?
Nona is learning to play!  Who knew it would be hard to teach an Airedale to play?!  One of the first games was "Where's Nona?"  I put a large handkerchief over her face and said, "Where's Nona?"  At first she just sat there.  I pulled the handkerchief off and excitedly responded with, "There's Nona!"  After a few tries over a few days, she pulled the handkerchief off with her paw, and looked so pleased with herself.  Big praise and hugs for her!  Funnily, she gets excited about this game.

Next, I held the handkerchief up in front of me and asked her where I was.  By then she knew the game, but instead of pulling if down from my face, she went around the side of the handkerchief and stuck her face in front of me.  Smarty pants.  Again, big praise for Nona.

We're working on take it and leave it.  She almost seems offended when I close my hand around a treat when I tell her to leave it, but she's slowly learning.  Of course, "take it" is easy.

And the best fun is that she's actually begun to run after a tennis ball when I throw it in the yard, then she pushes it with her paw or nose to send it rolling again, then runs after it again (and again, sometimes).  It's too hot to play this game for long.

There's one thing I'm trying to teach her not to do.  When she gets excited she gently mouths my arms or hands.  I don't mind it but I don't think it's safe.  If she were to play with grandchildren, it would not be good for her to use her toothy mouth that way.  She's getting better about this.  The thing about teaching a behavior change is that the dog has to perform the unwanted behavior and receive a correction to know it's something not to do.

There's so much for a five-year-old Airedale to learn!

Since Nona won't pose for the camera, I thought I'd share this Airedale. 

It's a cute little book, written to introduce children to the Airedale Terrier breed.  It has a fun layout with lots of photos and is mostly accurate.  (Of course, not every Airedale is the same, so what's true for one might not be accurate for another.) 

I hope you're having fun!
--Nancy.

The Game Hannah Made Up

Besides playing tug with the soft rubber toy and catching it -- after she learned to catch popcorn -- Hannah made up a new game.  Sadly, I don't have a video of us playing her game but I'll describe it.

Hannah would bring the toy to me and offer it to play tug.  We tugged for a bit but if it got boring and she let go first and I got it, I would have her sit and tell her to catch, then toss it to her.

She would await the toss.  Usually she caught it and we'd play tug again.  But there were times when, instead of catching it and playing tug, she would use her nose to bounce it back to me.  The first time it happened I was totally surprised.  Really, Hannah, you can do that?!  She was teaching me a new game.  Her aim was pretty good, too, because I rarely had to run after it.  Sometimes I could predict when she would bounce it instead of catching it -- there would be the slightest twitch of her nose.  Other times I had no idea whether the ball would come back to me or she'd catch it.

Occasionally, once in a while, we would toss the ball back and forth several times in a row without anyone catching it or it dropping to the ground.  I was always surprised and impressed that she was able to do this and that she'd made up the game herself.  We called it bounce-n-catch.

Airedales are so creative!

How I love Hannah and loved having her as part of my life!

--Nancy.
.

What Do You Want?

Early on, when Hannah first arrived knowing no language, I began teaching her words and commands.  Come, sit, down, wait, out, stay, go pee, go poop, etc.  But she learned other words and language, too.  I guess she learned to associate words with what happened when or after I said the words.  She knew what a toe clip and a brush were.  She knew the names of treats she liked such as Neccos and biscuits.  And she knew the names of some of the games we played.

Sometimes when she was bored and I'd been doing something too long (in her opinion), perhaps sitting at the computer or sewing machine, she would walk up to me, sit down, and stare.

I would ask a series of questions until I got a response.
"What do you want, Hannah?" I would ask.
She would continue staring.

"Do you want a toe clip?"
No response.

"Do you want to go lie on the couch?"
No response.

"Do you want to play Hide-n-Seek?"
No response.

"Do you want a Necco?"
No response.

"Do you want to go for a walk?"
No response.

"Do you want to play Find-It?"
She would stand and begin bouncing around as if to say, "Yes, yes, yes, please!  I want to play Find-It!"

We would both go to the kitchen where she would sit and watch me take down the treat box.  I would tell her to stay then go into another room where I would hide 4 or 6 biscuit halves.  Then I would call to her "Come find it!"  She would race into the room with her nose ready to sniff out the treats.  The game didn't last long but she enjoyed it.

To be accurate, her response was never the same from one time to the other.  She nearly never wanted a toe clip but sometimes she wanted a brush or a Necco or to play hide-n-seek or some of the other things I offered her.  What an independent thinker she was!

If only we could play find-it a few more times.  How I miss dear Hannah.

--Nancy.
.

The Games Hannah Played: The Cupcake Tin Game

One of the games we occasionally played with Hannah was the Cupcake Tin Game.   I put treats in some of the cups and tennis balls in most of the cups, including the ones with treats.  She had to figure out which cups had treats and remove the balls to get to them.  The balls were covered by more than half of the tin so it was a challenge to get them out. 

This wasn't Hannah's favorite game but she enjoyed it enough that we played it occasionally.

How I wish I could play any game with Hannah again!

--Nancy.
.

Tug-A-Whirl

When Little Bit first came she didn't know how to play tug. Whenever Hannah and I played Bit became very upset and growly. Hannah eventually taught her that tug can be fun. They don't play often but they play hard when they do. It sometimes becomes energetic, fast, and furious!




Hannah on the left, Bit on the right.













Bit on the left, Hannah on the right.













Bit on the left, Hannah on the right.













Who knows? And where is the tugger, anyway?!

What Do You Want?

Sometimes Hannah gets tired of my doing things without being involved with her. She comes and sits beside me, gazing at me hopefully.

I was at the computer when she came and sat. I turned to her and gave her a hug, and then asked, "What do you want?"

She gazed.

I said, "Do you want to play tug?" No response.

"Do you want a brush?" No response.

"Do you want a toe clip?" No response.

"Do you want your teeth brushed?" No response.

"Do you want a biscuit?" No response.

"Do you want a kong?" No response.

"Do you want to play Find-It?"

Yes, yes, yes! That's what I want! Yes, please, let's play Find-It. I love that game!

And so we went to the kitchen and I took 4 biscuits out of the biscuit container. I told Hannah to sit and stay, and I came back into the room and hid the biscuits. It's getting harder and harder to find hiding places that she doesn't find in a minute. She sniffs out the biscuits but she's learned to sniff all the best places first. After they were hidden, I called, "Okay, Hannah. Come find them."

She bounded into the room, nose in high gear. It took her a little longer than usual because I found a new hiding place. But she'll remember it the next time we play.

Sometimes when she gazes at me for attention, I only have to offer one or two suggestions for activities and she'll choose. Sometimes she tells me she wants a toe clip, or to have her teeth brushed, or some other thing that some dogs wouldn't really be interested in. I think she's just thrilled to have the attention.