Furry Kid " Kodi" Update

I had hoped to write a description of the 63's removal from the mold but our Friday photos from Outer Reef showed that she was still in the mold.  Perhaps next week.

So, I decided to write about Kodi and her adventures in Sarasota.

Story 1: Getting Smarter (i.e. Dog Intelligence):

When we departed Chicago on October 3, 2011, Kodi was 3 years old.  At that time, she could execute 80 commands and understood over 100 words.

On April 6, she turned 5 and a half.  In the two and a half years that elapsed since our Great Loop departure she has both matured and got considerably smarter.  Today she executes 110 commands and understands well over 150 words.

Here's an example.  Our standard procedure for feeding involves the following commands:

1. Come (into the kitchen)
2. Sit
3. High five
4. Down
5. Settle (requires her to settle onto a hip)
6. A question: Would you like to eat? (She will say yes by taping twice with a paw)
7. Stand
8. Go to your toy box (located in the living room) and get your _____ (name of one of 10 objects)
9. (If wrong object) "That's your ______.  Get your _____."
10. (If correct object) "Good get your_____" (and I give her a high value treat)
11. OK, go eat (release to eat food that has been waiting in her dish).
12. (After eating). Get your Martingale (she can distinguish between the Martingale and her flat collar)
13. Get your leash.

Note: She reliably retrieves the correct object on the first try better than 70% of the time.

Contents of Kodi's Toy Box - She knows every toy by nane

On Friday morning I varied Step 8 with Diana watching the action, which I could not observe from the kitchen.  I said "find my shoe."  The "find" command, which also has high reliability, requires her to search for the desired object, which may be anywhere in the house.  In the case of the shoes, it also requires her to discriminate between my shoes and Diana's shoes.  Today, my shoes were just outside the bedroom door.  Earlier I had pointed them out to her (i.e., "that's my shoe).

Here's what Diana observed.  Kodi initially brought me her snake, which she incorrectly obtained from the toy box).  I said "That's your snake. Find my shoe."    She dropped the snake, went back to her toy box, picked up her pheasant, decided it was not the correct object and tossed it in the air.  Then she went directly to where she had seen my shoe and brought it to me.  I acknowledged her success ("good find my shoe") and said "get the other one" (which is one of her 110 commands) and she immediately ran to the bedroom door, picked up the other shoe and brought it to me.  At which point she got her second high value treat (cheese) and was released to eat.

This is complex behavior requiring a high degree of symbolic thinking.  It also demonstrates that, like a small child, she can be somewhat impulsive (grabbing her pheasant) but at the same time aware, without any prompting, that she has made an error and take corrective action (discarding the pheasant) and proceeding with the task (to retrieve the shoe).

Further evidence of symbolic thinking involves cows.  Kodi rarely barks.  However, she does bark at cows.  When she barks at a cow we say "That's a cow."  ("That's a ___ or that's your" is the phrase we consistently use to identify objects and an example of three of her 150 words ).  Driving across central Florida returning from visits with Outer Reef in Fort Lauderdale we pass lots of cows and she barks occasionally.  Sitting in our house weeks later if I say "where's the cow?" Kodi will bark and go to the window and search for a cow.  To date we have not seen one on the golf course behind our Sarasota residence.

Story 2: The Cougar

Kodi has also turned into a cougar (an older women dating a younger man).  She in involved an intense romance with an 85 pound one year old black lab named Doc, a Southeastern Guide Dog in Training currently being raised by Marjorie and Dick Singer. 

Kodi and Doc

Fast background: Readers of this blog know that we met the Singers in December of 2010 while doing the Great Loop.  Marjorie invited Kodi to her home for a play date with her two yellow labs, Jake and Molly.  We've been friends every since and so has Kodi with Jake and Molly.  Enter Doc.  Marjorie volunteered to be a puppy raiser in addition to her other duties with Southeastern.  This involves taking responsibility for the raising of a 9 week puppy and training it for 14 to 16 months.

When Kodi met Doc it was love at first sight.  While she is still friends with Molly and Jake, and plays with them, her play with "the puppy" (at 85 lbs) is altogether different.  She gets Doc to chase her, they rough-house aggressively without any biting or anger, share chew toys and, once exhausted, lie together muzzle to muzzle.  This goes on for hours.  We have never seen Kodi involved with another dog at this level of intensity.

Doc and Kodi sharing a chew toy

The lovers resting after a hard play session

Unfortunately, Doc is headed for a big let down as is Kodi.  Doc is scheduled to return to Southeastern in early June to begin his training to be guide dog for a visually impaired person.  That's it.  The two will be forever separated.

Story 3: The Ambassador

Kodi, with a little help from Diana and I, and our friends who generously supported our effort, raised over $6,500 for Southeastern Guide Dogs between December and the end of March for their Sarasota Walkathon.

I also did some volunteer work for Southeastern, which involved writing a training program called "Ambassadorial Answers" to help Southeastern staff and volunteers better respond to commen questions received when people see the dogs on the street.

Due to our involvement, Titus Herman, Southeasten's CEO invited Diana and I to be Ambassadors for Southeastern.  As a general rule, people who become Ambassadors get a Southeastern dog that has been "career changed" (i..e., a trained dog who for some reason is not suited to guide dog work.  The reason can sometimes be as simple has having one to many ear infections).  Ambassadors commit to do various forms of volunteer work in exchange for the dog.  Since we have a dog who is highly trained, a certified Canine Good Citizen (having completed the program with Southeastern last year) and is know to Southeastern personnel, they made a rare exception and made Kodi an official Ambassador Dog.

Kodi receives her Ambassador Dog cape

The "ceremony" took place in February at Southeastern's Palmetto campus.  In attendance were Marjorie Singer, Titus Herman, CEO, Andy Kramer, Director of Development, my sister, Mryna Pitziger, Diana, myself, and of course, Kodi, the star of the show.

Since then Kodi has accompanied me on two speaking engagements, one at a Masonic Lodge and one at a Lions Club.  She is a great ambassador for Southeastern.

Story 4: Sarasota Frisbee

Kodi loves Sarasota and so do we.  Kodi's activities include 4 mile daily walks, swimming in our pool and playing Frisbee.  She loves playing Frisbee.

The process is another example of her intelligence.  It starts with a question: "Would you like play Frisbee?'  To this she always responds with a yes (two taps with her paw).  The game then follows a set pattern in which the only time I touch the Frisbee is on the paying field, three miles from the house.  Here's the pattern:

1. Would you like to play Frisbee? (she counts to two)
2. Go to your toy box and get you Frisbee
3. Bring it (to the car which is in the garage)
4. Forward in (she jumps into the back seat with the Frisbee)
5. We drive to the Frisbee field (she generally moves to the front seat)
6. Get your Frisbee (she locates the Frisbee in the back seat)
7. Forward out
8. Heel (I walk onto the field with her carrying the Frisbee at my side)
9. Drop it
10. Get it (the Frisbee is thrown)
11. Yes! (indicating a good catch)
12. Bring it
13. Put it in my hand
14. We repeat the process until she's caught at least 15
15. Bring it to the car
16. Forward in (we drive home)
17. Get your Frisbee (she locates the Frisbee in the back seat)
18. Forward out
19. Put it in your toy box

Story 5: Kodi' a new title.

The tradition among cruisers is to carry "boat cards," which are given to people with whom you want to have continued contact.  The card also has our blog address

Since we were running out of cards with the 48's photo (the one that appear on our blog) we decided to print new cards with the 63.  My title on the card is Captain, Diana's is Admiral and Kodi's is Skipper (which begs the question as to who is really running the boat).

On our new card Kodi's title is "Social Director," which, in our opinion, more clearly describes the role she plays.  Clearly Kodi has been instrumental in helping us make new friends as we cruised around the country on our Great Loop adventure and we know this will be the case when we start our next adventure on the new 63.

Written by Les.