Ladybug's Dogpacking Summer - Wildcat canyon and ragle ranch

[Cow moos.] Clif: This is Ladybug Dogpacking Summer. Kurt: Yeah, so my cameraman saw the video from Sunol Regional Wilderness and he said "You know what your narration was kind of redundant. You kind of repeated yourself." So Ladybug made friends with these people. So she ran into some people who had some dogs... and those people got ahead of us on the trail. Those people got ahead of us on the trail. Well, you know what? I'm 52. Get used to it. Clif: And I am Clifton Gordon True. Kurt: I also noticed when I watched the video that I said... that Ladybug's behavior was not that great... and I didn't explain what the problem was. The problem was her recall was not very good... when we were at Sunol. And now I look back I think the problem... was probably because it was so windy... and the wind flips her ears up, and she can't hear. So I think the problem was mostly she couldn't hear me... and that I was not making any kind of movement... to recall her. I was just using my voice. With just about every command with Ladybug, I try to use a visual signal as well as my voice. To call her back, I go like this. Come back. Come back. "Sit" is like this. And "Stop" is that. And "Stay" is that. Cameraman: Make her go play. Kurt: Liebchen, go play. When I was first taking Ladybug out hiking... a wise old hiker told me the most important command... you can teach your dog when you're out hiking... is not "Come back" or "Come here" or whatever you call it. The most important command is "Stop." And that's for two reasons. For one thing, you might not always want your dog to come back. For instance, if there's a predator in the area... you don't want to call your dog back... because once your dog starts running back to you... that's a signal to the predator... to pursue your dog. And when your dog weighs 42 pounds... your dog is going to look like prey to a mountain lion, for instance. The other reason that "Stop" is such an important command... is that it's a command that you don't ever want to have to repeat. For instance, if your dog is running towards a rattlesnake... you want to make sure the dog stops when you say "Stop." If you have to repeat "Stop," the dog is going to ... catch up to the rattlesnake before you have time... to say "Stop" a second time. Sometimes people say "Oh, you take your dog... where there's rattlesnakes? Aren't you afraid of rattlesnakes?" No, I am not afraid of rattlesnakes. I have lived around rattlesnakes my whole life. In my experience, they are very timid creatures... and they will just scatter as soon as they sense... you're in the area. They'll go take off and hide. And the few times I've seen a rattlesnake up close... that rattlesnake has been trying to get away... as fast as he can. That rattlesnake doesn't want ... anything to do with you, or your dog, or your kids... or your horse. That rattlesnake just wants to get out of your way. And if you talk to people who work in emergency rooms... in rattlesnake country, they'll tell you that almost always... a rattlesnake bite is on the hand or wrist... because the way people get bit is... they'll reach someplace where they can't see. They'll reach into a hole, or a wood pile, or a rock pile. And that's when you get bit. You don't get bit because the rattlesnake comes chasing you... and wants to jump on you. That's not how it works. So I'm not afraid of rattlesnakes. You know what I'm afraid of? Paranoid dog owners. Man, I will go to Wildcat Canyon anyday... rather than a fenced dogpark. Most dog owners are great. 999 time out of 1000... dog owners at dog parks are great. But you always run into that paranoid dog owner. Like, there's the dog owner who thinks... that every kind of vocalization is agression. You wouldn't know it from the videos... but Ladybug's actually a pretty vocal dog. [Bark.] You know, you rub her tummy and she goes "Rowr rowr rowr." And she barks and she play growls. So if she plays with other dogs, she goes ... "Rowrrr rowrrr rowrrr," which just means "I'm having fun. I'm having a good time." But some paranoid dog owners don't always get that... and they think she's trying to start a fight with their dogs. But what really gets me is the dog owners who think... that the dogs are going to form a dog pack. There is this persistent urban myth that I encounter in dog parks... where people believe you get to a certain critical mass of dogs... and they form a pack, and then they're uncontrollable... and then... I don't know what they do once they form a pack. Do they go hold up liquor stores? Nobody's explained that part to me... but there's people who think you get a certain number of dogs... together, and they form a dog pack, and they'll be completely... out of your control. And you'll see people counting... the number of dogs playing in a group... and they'll say "Five dogs. Uh oh. It's a dog pack now." Blows my mind. So I think the way this urban myth about the dog pack... got started is that people observed that their dogs ... weren't paying attention to them. The bigger the group your dog is playing with the harder... it is to get your dog to pay attention to you. So you might think "Five dogs, that's the magic number. It's a dog pack now. My dog is out of control." Well, no. What's really going on is your dog is dealing... with a really high level of distraction. The more distractions your dog has, the harder it's going to be... to get your dog to pay attention to you. When your dog is just in the house with no distractions... it's very easy to get your dog to obey commands. You take your dog out someplace where there's gophers... and cows and things, it's going to be harder to get your dog... to pay attention. And if you go to a dog park, and there's ... lots of dogs, that's a really high level of distraction... and you just need to work up to that. Any dog trainer will tell you that. You just need to work your way up to getting your dog... to pay attention to you when there's a lot of stuff going on. That's all there is to it. There's no such thing as a dog pack. Your cocker spaniel is not going to join a dog pack... and go hold up liquor stores. That won't happen. If you had seen Ladybug yesterday in Wildcat, you would have thought... she was the best behaved dog in the world. And that's partly because I remembered to use my visual signals... when I was giving her commands... and it's partly because I stuffed my pockets with yams... and chicken giblets. But you do what works. Oh yeah. Remember how I said "Always check your dog for ticks." Completely forgot to check Ladybug for ticks. We got so excited because we found a cherry tree. Out in Wildcat Canyon, there's a place... where there used to be a sanitarium... and so the sanitarium had fruit trees all over the place. It was a sanitarium way back when you had to grow your own fruit. You couldn't just go to Costco and buy fruit. So there's fruit trees, and we found these Ranier cherries... and they were really good. We got so excited... me and the cameraman, we were picking these cherries. So a fruit tree by a creek, obviously the dog is going to ... pick up a tick or two, and then I didn't think about ticks... until we got home, and I said "I forgot to check for ticks." So I got all my tick equipment out of the dogpack... and sure enough, Ladybug had a tick on her underside... by her leg, which is where the ticks like to hang out. So I used my tick puller and pulled it out... and I got that thing just in time. This is my tick puller. I pulled him out. I wouldn't recommend smushing ticks... because if they have disease and you smush them... you're just spreading that disease around. So I always put them in rubbing alcohol... except I didnt' have time to find the rubbing alcohol... so I just ran to the bar and poured a shot of ***... and I put the tick in. He died happy. Clif: The saga continues on the path of Ladybug, Superdog. Kurt: So Ladybug and I are going up to Sebastopol today... to see my dad for Fathers Day. And we're going to take her to Ragle Ranch, that's the plan... where they have a beautiful dogpark. Clif: strike in an instant in case any wrongdoer... comes in sight. This is the saga of Ladybug. Kurt: If you want to find dog parks in the Bay Area... if you're coming to the Bay Area with your dog... I cannot recommend this book highly enough. This is... The Dog Lover's Companion to the Bay Area... by Maria Goodavage, and it's got all kinds of good stuff. I think just about everyplace you've seen me take Ladybug... is in this book. Clif: Stop! This is not any laughing matter. Do you understand?! Clif: Do you understand, Ladybug? Of course you do. Ladybug knows everything. Kurt: Go play.