Stuff on Blu's Nose
an interview with Morgan Allen
Blu is a five year old American Bulldog + Australian Cattle Dog + German Short-haired Pointer who lives with Morgan Allen in the United States.
About a year ago Allen decided to teach Blu a unique trick; to balance objects on her face and nose! What started as a silly pet trick turned into a great fundraising idea!
Blu was born to an American Bulldog that Allen spent many times pet-sitting for her owners. Allen started watching the Bulldog every weekday and every-other weekend until the puppies were born and 6 weeks old and she brought Blu home! "I suppose you could say there wasn't a day after she was conceived that I didn't own Blu. I've been with her all her life, and prior!" Allen said.
Blu wasn't the first dog in Allen's life, there has been many before her, but Blu was special because she was the first dog that wasn't just a family dog but rather was Allen's very first dog! Two of the first dogs in Allen's life were German Shepherds imported from Europe that were trained in Shutzhund. "They made me fall in love with the breed, and the art of dog training," she said, "[but] these two dogs were not the two that taught me the most about dog training. The two dogs that taught me the greatest lessons on dog training were two unruly Labrador mixes, Shiner and Bock. These two were not carefully selected and they were never neutered, so they caused all sorts of trouble constantly! These two taught me the importance of careful selection, spaying and neutering, plenty of exercise, and adequate socialization. If it weren't for these two, Blu wouldn't be as great as she is!"
Blu knew her basic commands such as sit, stay, wait etc. until just half a year ago when Allen decided to teach her the fun trick to balance objects on her face and nose! "Blu was also trained to wait for permission before eating food, so teaching her ot balance stuff on her nose was fairly quick and easy... it took an hour tops, but it's taken much practice for her to master catching the treat after popping it off her nose".
Allen recommends to anyone teaching this trick to their dog that the number one thing they need to have is patience! "The worst thing you could do is get frustrated and express those frustrations loudly. It's okay to feel upset if your dog doesn't seem to be understanding (sometimes that helps them understand that they're doing something wrong) but never scold your dog if they simply don't understand what you ask from them."
She also suggests to work with the dog slowly. Not all dogs will learn the same way at the same pace. "If your dog has focus issues, start off making him sit quietly and still with his eyes never leaving the treat and progressively expand the time-lapse. After he's mastered that, make him hold the treat on his paw until he's given permission to eat it; holding something on the paw is a whole lot easier than balancing stuff on the nose!" Allen advises.
The command you choose to use for this trick is entirely up to you, but Allen recommends using something short and easy, a one-syllable command that is different from other commands the dog may already know. Allen explained to me the commands she uses with Blu, "I use "stay" for Blu's command to stop where she's at and "stop" is used for when she's doing something that's not necessarily bad but I've seen enough of (like barking or playing rough). "Wait" is used when I want her to stop breifly, wait for her meals, or to be given permission to go outside... I use "wait" as her balancing command because it's closely related to her duty of waiting for her meal. You may choose to use "stop, "hold" or even "there"."
Allen suggests that a release command is a two-syllable command; the one she uses for Blu is "OK", but she suggests if you choose to use the words "Take it". "Say the release command with enthusiasm!" she explains.
"When you later want to teach the dog to catch the treat right off the nose, he will quickly learn if you disallow him to have any treats that are unsuccessfully caught." Allen explains that if the treat isn't caught and is tipped onto the ground instead, pick it up before the dog can eat it and try again! "If this continues, keep picking up the treats but use a (quiet) frustrated voice ("gaaaaahhh...!")".
Along with dogs, one of Allen also loves photography. "I've loved photography as a hobby since I got my first camera; a Kodak; in about 2005. I've since enjoyed capturing nature and animals the most". Allen says.
Allen has never taken photography classes or courses and her great photos are accomplished all through natural talent and self-taught.
Unfortunately, Stuff on Blu's Nose is on hold until next year due to Allen's busy schedule. The blog (which can be found by clicking the title above or referring to the links below) was created to raise money for Allen's local animal shelter; Brazos Animal Shelter to help homeless pets in need. Available for purchase would be calendars, prints, and books featuring Blu's daily photo-blogs.
While the blog is currently on hold, you can still find great shots of Blu (and other great photography by Morgan Allen) on her deviantArt account.
If you would like to donate to the Brazos Animal Shelter you can check out their website to see their donation options!
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