Freya the Office Dog

Freya is a working dog, as in she goes to the office with me every day.  This has helped her grow out of a lot of her shelter dog fears by subjecting her to the friendly pats and affection of many visitors (people in Bentonville, AR LOVE dogs).  While still protective of me, Freya and I have worked through a lot of her fear/aggression to the point that she will stop barking at a visitor when I greet them (90% of the time).

Freya's time at the office has been beneficial in many ways though.  Not only is she a greeter and entertainer for those waiting for meetings, her impact on the staff has been huge.  Her playfulness and wagging docked tail has brought pauses from work that I find personally beneficial.  If I am in the midst of a difficult or stressful project I'll take a moment to run through her tricks with her, reminding myself that the world is much bigger than me, this project, the office, etc.  She reminds me to be happy in the moment, and makes tasks seem easier.

As I prepare for my next career move, there has been a sense of trepidation for the impending change in the office.  While I believe my coworkers will miss my everyday presence as I will theirs, the loss most voiced is that of Freya.  (To the point of business acquaintances asking what will happen at meetings without her.)  I wonder how the office will shift without her encouraging and ever cheerful and energetic presence.

For those who read this and are in a position of office power, I encourage you to allow an office dog.  Not only will an employee be grateful to get to bring their best friend with them to work, but the influence on the office workers can be very positive with a well behaved dog.

Freya the Bacteria Ball

Despite Freya's "hyrbid vigor" there has been one health problem that has cropped up as of late.  I have had to take her to the vet multiple times because of digestive problems that have led to me having to let her out some nights every 90 minutes.  The vet has informed me that this is due to the fact she loves to eat what she finds outside, namely the leavings of others, be it cow, horse, bird, squirrel, you name it.
The vet put her on a strict diet, antibiotics, and a Purina brand probiotic.  She cleared up after a week (and a $200 bill). Not to mention the fact that she refused to eat the healthy stomach cleansing i.d. food, leading me to have to mix it with peanut butter to get her to eat at all...

The probiotics I was given were enough for 30 days.  And I noticed that after I stopped the same problem started up again.  I was advised by a friend to feed her plain yogurt with rice and boiled chicken.  Not only does she LOVE Walmart yogurt now, but the issue seems to be mostly resolved.  I went on to purchase the Purina Pro Plan dog food.  The Chicken & Rice formula is corn and beef free, which apparently are the two most common allergies dogs have.

Freya the Mystery Dog

Full Breed Australian Shepherd

It is a widely accepted fact that pet adoption has many positive reactions.  1. One is able to give an animal love and a better life.  2. One is able to get reduced vet rates and other specials as a result of rescuing the animal. 3. One is likely to get a "mutt" or mixed breed which are more likely to be healthier due to having fewer doubles of breed linked recessive alleles.  (AKA as Hybrid Vigor).

Freya is most definitely a vigorous dog.  I believe she is mostly Australian Shepherd, and I have never spent a lot of time with one (my family adores German Shepherd and Shih Tzus).  She is high spirited and extremely smart.  So smart that she easily gets bored.  Fortunately I have an understanding boss and great work environment that allows her to come to work with me every day.  In addition to keeping everyone's moods up, she naps and watches for visitors through the front door.

I often ask people, what type of mix do you see in Freya?

Dog Training: Roll Over

Teaching Freya Roll Over was the hardest so far.  She still only does it when she feels very inspired.  It probably would help if we reinforced this trick more.

Freya was a very frightened puppy when we first adopted her.  I believe she was 3-4 months, and she was very timid.  She is slow to trust, but then extremely loyal.  Because of her fear she did not submit easily to me in some ways.  Teaching her to lie down was a struggle.  Rolling her onto her side from this position was even harder.  So I gave up for some months.  When she turned 1 I tried again, and she had become confident enough to begin to proceed.

Steps to teach Roll Over:
1. Train to "Lie Down" on command
2. Train to "Play Dead"- my command word is Bang! with a gun hand gesture
3. Train to "Roll Over"- command "Play Dead" and then gently help them roll over while saying roll over repeatedly.  You can also use a treat to turn their head around and encourage the body to follow to other side.  This will help reinforce a circling finger motion later.

I based my simple training off of this website.

Don't forget reinforcement!  Go through learned tricks at least once a day to ensure they are kept up.  Freya does her tricks just for extreme praise (a lot cheaper than some dog treats).  Show her an actual treat and she will do all of her tricks as quickly as possible in whatever order is most efficient.