I'm five years old, and I've been living with my owners Tori & Steve (Mom and Dad) since I was two. I was scared and shaking most of the time when they brought me home from the shelter, and even though I didn't want to, I peed every time I got excited or scared......which was, to tell the truth, pretty much any time somebody talked to me, spoke loudly, waved their arms, moved too quickly, or any unexpected noise or event occurred. Also, I tried to hide a lot but it didn't work out so well since I don't fit under or behind many things. Much to my surprise, Mom and Dad didn't yell at me, or hit me, or lock me up in a crate (where I spent a lot of time in my first two years). It seems kind of silly to me now, but I'll admit that I was especially scared of Dad, who is tall and has a deep man voice that sometimes sounds like yelling. He didn't even get mad at my peeing and hiding though. Mom asked him just to ignore it and to spoil me! So every day when Dad came home from work he got a dog treat, then squatted down to about my height and held it out for me. It took a long time until I was brave enough to go and get the treats. After a while I even got brave enough to let him pet me after I took the treat. Now when Dad comes home I have to work for that treat, but I'll tell you more about that another time. It took me about a year to stop the peeing and gain trust for people again. During that year I was also learning new things that built my confidence, and I now know how to do many jobs and a few "tricks" too. It makes me so happy to be able to help!
I wanted to blog about all the stuff I've learned over the last few years, and about cool and interesting things I find on the web. I hope I'll be able to help other dogs and their people by talking about how I overcame my fears, and issues that concern dogs (especially dogs like me - black, and part pit bull). Did you know about Black Dog Syndrome? Mom and I didn't know about it until a month or so ago when she was looking for information on how to take pictures of me. This week I've seen a couple of posts saying it is BDS Awareness month, so here is a link to some information:
http://www.startseeingblackdogs.com/bdsyndrome.html
Well I think this is probably enough about me for today, and I have to go out, so I'm going to post my first video and show you the cool gadget Dad made for me so I can let them know when I've gotta go! It is by the back door through one of Mom's studio rooms where I hang out (see my nice comfy cuddle bed in the corner!) All I have to do is hit the button with my paw and somebody gets up to let me out. It took me a while to train them so well.
Love n' Slobbers,
Cody
Notes from Mom:
Cody might not know why he's so awesome, but I can tell you. He's awesome because he has overcome his abusive past to become an exceptionally helpful and loyal friend. I began by teaching him the basic commands. I was told that he had been to "puppy school" early on, but by the time I got him he was too afraid to perform any of the tasks except for "sit". He was really good at sit, except that it often meant he would run away and sit far away. I used positive reinforcement training methods and LOTS of encouragement and once he started gaining confidence it was easy to see how smart and willing to learn he is. In addition to the basics (sit, down, come, stand, heel, stay) he knows "brace", "hold", "go", "get it", (and specific items to get, such as get your leash or your basket) "paw it" "nose it" "close" (the door) "shove" (for when the door doesn't close all the way the first time), "up", "paws", and....probably a bunch more. Some silly ones too "meow" (for those times when he has to speak to cats), and "roll over". I hope you will join Cody and I as he continues to learn new things.
P.S. Cody's button is an old Radio Shack recording device - we attached rubber feet to the bottom so it wouldn't skid, and a wood panel on top held in place with 2 screws and split-lock washers (used for springs). The underside of the wood panel has a tiny screw that presses on the device button. I'll post pics if anyone is interested. Sorry the vid is so jumpy, normally he heads for the back door so I started walking that way then he got distracted by my holding the camera.
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