Nika on Wheels

Nika on Wheels by Frances McCormack | Learning with Nika 45 minutes in the car, hairpin bends and mountain roads. She sat on my lap, at first curled in. But her posture slowly stiffened and I spent the last 15 minutes of that journey with a sleeve full of whatever she’d eaten for breakfast. Sick as a Dog T never travelled well. Wet with his own hypersalivation, car journeys were uncomfortable for him. We’d make sure not to feed him before he travelled, but that only prevented the need for clean-up and not the nausea he experienced. He refused ginger biscuits, a purported remedy. We explored every area of the car: front passenger footwell, back seat, front seat, boot. We sat in the drive with the engine running. He travelled crated and crateless, on laps and off, with various combinations of windows opened a few inches. The conflicting messages from his muscles and joints, inner ear, and eyes result in the symptoms that are visible to us – increased salivation and emesis. But this doesn’t mean they’re the only symptoms present: in humans, dizziness, headaches, and even post-travel tiredness are frequently reported. By the time we had found a solution, he was no longer enthusiastic about getting into the car, and although I thought I’d done all I could at the time, there was more to learn Isn’t there always? I experienced my share of travel sickness as a child. I never left my breakfast in anyone’s sleeve, but my mother does remember a long walk with a full plastic bag after I wordlessly objected to continuing our journey on the number 17… Stalled For Nika, some subsequent journeys were non-eventful, but others caused her to whimper in discomfort. Travelling seemed to be easy and even relaxing for her if her head was elevated, either on T’s flank or on the arm of a passenger for a while, but the power of that position evaporated, perhaps because of the anticipation of feeling unwell. Before travelling became overwhelmingly unpleasant for her, we stopped journeying out. Afternoons in a parked car in the drive. Both dogs sleeping in the back; me reading a good thriller (the butler was stitched up!). A rare 20 minutes of calm and quiet in the early days of puppy pandemonium, between play and the opportunity afforded by a napping youngster to attend to other duties…like…eat, clean, shower. The car became a place of rest, not a shaking box that predicted discomfort. From time to time, once she was sleeping, I’d switch the engine on briefly; I’d take off the handbrake and roll a foot or two; drive a few feet and reverse; or just steal an extra few minutes to rea

d just one more chapter. Bye-Bye Boy Racer The first time we left the drive, Nika was asleep and I made it my mission to keep it that way. Which, to be honest, is a challenge in a 20-year-old car whose shocks and struts aren’t particularly daisy-fresh! This meant creeping around corners and going at a speed that would prevent the multitude of potholes that had sprung up over winter from rattling the contents of the backseat. To the guy in the white Audi behind me on a single-track country lane, I’m sorry. I hope the hand gestures you made brought you comfort during that trying time. She woke up just as we climbed a steep hill (crawled up a steep hill, rather), sat up, gave a single whimper, and lay back down again. And thus I learned the fine art of puppy-driving. My Formula 1 ambitions are thwarted, but on the plus side, I now have a medically-mandated reason to lock myself in a parked car to read… It’s Not Training A carefully planned learning pathway, paced to suit that particular learner for their life ahead. Read More Be-toothed Learning Machines The thing they don’t tell you is that raising a puppy is DANGED HARD WORK. Biting everything, peeing everywhere, eating anything; not for the faint hearted. Read More A New Puppy. Oh Joy. Impulse buying the wrong sofa can be rectified if you swallow the expense. Impulse buying a puppy can result in personal grief for you and your family and quite possibly result in a very unhappy future or end the life of that puppy. Read More A Road to Nowhere When familiarity is stripped away we seek recognisable signposts that will take us back to comfort and security. This is survival instinct. It is worth listening to as it keeps us alive. Read More A Day of Learning A no-training day does not mean he gets a lazy day lying idly in the sun. Learning is still happening and this is significant and important for his development. Read More Surprising Puppy Surprising Puppy. With obnoxious moments. After introducing the obnoxious puppy as a youngster I am knocked over by the Delightful Young Man he is turning into…… Read More The Experienced Dog Knowing your dog has receive sufficient preparation does not mean every eventuality, but a range of different conditions so that when the unexpected happens they will draw on their skills and solve the issue. Read More Dogs are Born To Learn We can build tremendous learners when we get beyond the idea that “dogs are trained”. Read More Obnoxious Puppy The delight of your new puppy is probably going to last a few weeks, maybe four if you are lucky. When 12 weeks old hits, and you will

feel a slam, the Delight is going to demonstrate ungrateful, obnoxious traits. Read More Building A Generous Future Maybe it feels like a doddle because my life with her wasn’t one of competing against who she is, trying to mould her into something else, or even just worrying about the potential fallout of every decision I made. Read More Don’t Let Them Learn Becoming aware that we share our lives with premier learners, dogs, is about saving you frustration, despair, anxiety and endless hours further down the road. Read More What We Get Right About Dogs We can learn from remarkable people who have worked with remarkable dogs: training and learning are not the same thing at all. Read More Do you see what I see Doing better is the reward from doing the work. This work needs to be the right work at the right time with the right intent done in the right way. Read More Evidence of learning When we use the words “teach” or “train” child, person or dog, the operative term implies that the process is under the ownership of the teacher or trainer. What your teacher thinks you have learned may not be what you actually learned. Read More Stop doing that …. Can we teach an effective Cease That Behaviour? Absolutely. We can teach that positively, without harm, and we should teach them the skills of stopping that and doing this instead. Read More Cognitive Approach for the Dogs Training is something done TO the dog. Learning that is something done FOR the dogs. Read More The choice of lure Luring teaches trainers essential skills: how to use suggestion and guidance, explain dynamic movement in the cues from our hands. Read More Submit a Comment Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked * Comment * Name * Email * Website Δ