Rock Solid Dog Training

New content tomorrow!

Sammy B

Okay, I will admit that the title of today's rantings is a bit puzzling. Was our dog Sam called Sammy B? No, our field trainer was the only one that ever called her Sammy but it is not her.

Sammy B was a World War II Destroyer Es**rt (ship) which was sunk off Samar Island in the Philippines. Sammy B (The USS Samuel B. Roberts DE-413) participated and was sunk during the Battle off Samar in which a bunch of smaller US Navy ships took on some of the biggest ships of the Japanese Navy. This is a very well-known event in Naval history because of its heroism with these very small ships attacking a superior force in order to delay the Japanese from attacking the US invasion force going into Leyte.

Is this article about the Sammy B? Well, you know a bit more about where it is now and hoping you may actually go look up the story for yourself. It is a great story of sacrifice in the face of overwhelming odds.

So, no, this is actually about the expedition to find the Sammy B in 2022 or it is at least about the unintended words giving away the true intention.

In June of 2022 Victor Vescovo, a former Navy officer and now super rich guy, and his Caladan Oceanic Search group were searching for the Light Carrier Gambier Bay near the Philippines. They were in very deep parts of the ocean (6840 meters) and started to see debris. The debris however was not that of the Gambier Bay but it was of the Sammy B.

Caladan has made a vessel that can go deeper than anything before it and has amazing technology in it. It was built for this specific purpose, to find wrecks deep in the ocean, as well as map out many undiscovered places far below the surface.

The group never thought it would be possible to actually find the Sammy B as it is merely a tiny blip on the ocean floor. As they neared a spot where they had calculated the Gambier Bay went down, they started to see debris. The debris was unique to only one class of warship so they had suspicions as to what it could be.

A second dive was planned and on this dive they found the Sammy B. Still very much intact, beaten to hell by the Japanese ships, but still very clean sitting on the ocean floor. Wow! (There is full video of the expedition on the Caladan YouTube Channel.)

On both occasions of finding either debris or the actual ship, the first thing the crew of the sub said was "this is the deepest discovered ship wreck debris in history". Each time they have found something (watching their other videos) they are very impressed by this same fact. This seems to tell me that the search for the ships is secondary to setting records. What seems like a little bit of a bragging comment exposes a bigger motive in what they are doing than just finding these ships.

This comes back to my time teaching obedience and what people would casually tell me. "He's a rescue", "She was abused" and my favorite "this is the dumbest dog you will ever see". People will lead with what is important to them and that is telling.

When we had Charles I will admit, I did talk about his "show" record. I was pretty proud of it. After him, we have had a couple of show champions who are now just announced by their names "this is Thor". This is because Thor is far more interesting than Show Champion Thor.

Who do you want them to be known as? A rescue dog? Well, that was in the past and hopefully you have moved past that and they are now Rex or Tim or Fred and here is why I named him that. They moved past rescue when you got them, now they are your dog and are just trying to adjust and fit in.

The folks that talk about their dog being abused, well for the most part they have no actual knowledge of that, it is a narrative that fits them not holding the dog to a standard. In many cases the dogs has simply learned to manipulate humans by acting a certain way to get them to stop what they are trying to get them to do.

Sam (Brittany Sam) actually taught me a lot about this with dogs in the field. We would get a dog in that had a terrible trainer/owner in their previous life and the dog was very unsure what to do. Sam would constantly come back to the dog and basically tell them that it was okay, just follow her.

Each time out the dog would venture out a little more and follow Sam a little more. A correction was no longer an issue because it was very clear and there was an opportunity to not be corrected. The dog would stretch out a bit more and eventually not need Sam anymore.

Now had the new owners believed what they were told about the dog not being able to hunt or being gun shy, both dog and owner would have missed out on some very good times.

I guess the lesson out of all of this is to listen to your words. Often times your words tell the story that you are currently living, not necessarily the story you could be living. It is funny how often we can make our own words come true both positively and negatively.

Figure out where you want to go and begin to use those words and think about that path. The past is done, there is nothing you can do about it. Start over and plot a new course and don't let anything get in your way.

-Dave

[Today's photos are of Sam and I as well as the Sammy B! If you want to read a great story of the battle check out Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors by James Hornfischer]

As promised, new content tomorrow!

More Possibilities

I have often written about possibilities and how much fun to imagine what they are when you let your mind wander.

In the last couple of weeks I have completed a ship model and an aircraft model which left my workbench pretty empty. The possibilities of what was next got my mind racing. So many cool things to build, so many historic things to try to recreate, so many new techniques to try on new subjects!

You can see how this would get your mind racing a bit. If that doesn't work for you, imagine the next hunting season with your new shotgun or your daily commute with your cool new sports car or . It is indeed exciting. It is also a bit overwhelming.

In the case of my model building, I have a decent size collection of kits to build which are of many subjects. Ships can take 2 to 6 months to complete, aircraft and tanks are more the 2 month range if you stay focused. Either is a fair commitment of time and energy particularly when there are a hundred more waiting in line.

Now think of this in terms of a new puppy. All the things you can possibly do with them. Setting them up for classes, training with them or just going out into the woods with them and letting them chase stuff. Somehow we all have a very romanticized view of all of this. I mean that view is probably valid 20% of the time. 80% of the time puppies are a lot of work and I would say there are days where they are lucky they are cute.

As the puppy grows the 20% begins to swing also. They stop peeing in the house or tearing things up (well, most of the time) and they start to want to hang out and play with you more. They are less interested in chewing on your and more interested in getting pets. It is when they start to be cool.

This is also the time that you start to realize what the possibilities actually realistically are. Kara is a bit skittish around new people. She will warm up to them eventually but it is unlikely she will be able to be a therapy dog unless they are looking for a dog they can simply look at and think they are cute.

Thor on the other hand is probably a bit too friendly. He jumps on people and wants to give them the "Thor experience". This is "hi, I'm Thor and you will love me, right now." Thor has possibilities to fulfill this particular possibility as we just need to dial it back a bit. Kara will need to find other things to do.

Sam was a good therapy dog in certain situations. She loved high school kids but taking her to a nursing home with the very mixed energy was overwhelming for her and she hated it. She spent a lot of time with high school kids who I believe told her a lot of secrets and she helped a lot. She fulfilled almost all of her possibilities.

As I thought more and more about possibilities this last week I came to a couple of realizations about them.

First, not all possibilities are positive. When Taylor was diagnosed her possibilities didn't look great. Frankly we don't know what will happen with her but to this point she is doing great and still full of herself. In fact she and Kara probably wrestle more than they ever have. Her possibilities have made us reprioritized time with her and helping her have the best time ever. It would be a week a month or five years we just don't know. But she still has a lot of possibilities!

Second, don't get stuck weighing possibilities. They will never come to fruition if you never attempt to achieve them. I could easily weigh each of the hundred kits I have but nothing will get built and that is the fun of the hobby. Amy could think about doing therapy work or agility with Thor but without actually doing it, that possibility will be wasted.

Imagine your possibilities, whatever they are and then get out there and try to fulfill them. You will not regret it, even if you are unsuccessful. Even if unsuccessful you will learn from it, you can either make a plan to try again to fulfill it or you will write it off as not for you. Either way, it is really a success!

Let's do this!

-Dave

[Today's photo is of Penny (the oldest) and Kara (the youngest). They do indeed show the range of possibilities.]