11 Weeks...How Time Flies

Can I Help...can I...Huh...Huh?

Escher is 11 almost 12 weeks and his pure and simple joy! I had forgotten what an uplifting experience raising a puppy could be. I waited quite a while for Escher. And now he's here and he has added so much joy and purpose to my life. We will start puppy kindergarten tonight. We had a bit of a delay because he had to get over a little puppy illness. He's 100% now and we are off to Pup 'N' Iron tonight. Since we are getting a bit of a late start with classes, I made sure to get him out and about to experience life.

We've been working on meeting tons of people, going to the school yard, Petco and Petsmart as well

Escher at the playground working on the sit.

as our local feed store. This weekend we will make another trip to the vet as well as a visit to his eventual groomer. He's watched the fire engines from the school yard and heard the sirens, he's played with children from 2-100 and is meeting the neighborhood dogs. He's nailed sit, is learning his name and mostly has the potty stuff under control. All the other stuff will happen.

Escher is already ahead of the game because his temperament is awesome and he is healthy! He's a

Ready to practice retrieving skills.

pleaser that is not only food motivated, but toy motivated as well. This excites me and makes my job easier with training, because if I run out of treats he'll work for the toy! 

Unit next time! 

Linda

Photographing a BIG Boy

This is Hercules he is a Dogo Argentino. I really know nothing about this breed other than Hercules is a giant gooey marshmallow of a boy!

You want me to kiss what...

I shook the drool off, I promise.

Wish I may, wish I might get my princely wish tonight!

So Long, Farewell...

Cheese...

On Friday, it will be two months since my PITA Puppy Wyatt died. Now I say PITA with only love and affection. Wyatt had an annoying habit of barking or to put a positive spin on it, he liked to sing. It wasn’t all his fault that his human taught him to bark, I mean sing to go out and potty. I learned my lesson; never teach a dog to bark for anything. Aside from the singing, Wyatt was a great dog. Actually great doesn’t even begin to describe what a spectacular dog he was. He made me laugh endlessly during our games of fetch, the way he posed for photos and the way he soothed himself with his giant green or yellow plush bone. I also shed a few tears during his teenager phase but mostly he taught me patience and to stay with a task even if it is difficult. You need patience for a seven-month-old puppy pushing every boundary and rule you once thought was solid. And just when I was about to give up he’d make the connection to whatever new task we were learning. 

I see you, now come play with me.

He brought joy to my life with his never-ending puppy exuberance. While most dogs are settling down at two, Wyatt and I were gearing up for days filled with long walks, endless games of fetch and learning new tricks.  One of the best moments with him was when he made the connection of bringing the ball back for fetch. Again I was just about to give up, well I did I was walking away when he bounded up to my side and dropped the ball. He sat and didn’t move an inch until I released him to chase the ball I threw. I called him back, he came, I said, “Drop it.” He did and I threw it and so our endless days of fetch began. With that red Kong ball, I taught him not to leave my front yard even if said ball rolled in the street. I was so excited that day we learned trust and to play fetch that I called my sisters and my husband. It was just like the day my kids took their first steps and I’m sure they thought I was crazy to gush over my dog, but how could I not he was a part of my family. That was the true beginning of our beautiful relationship.

During his short seven years, he never ceased to be a PITA at home with his singing, but when we went out in public, he NEVER disappointed. He was the perfect canine good citizen. The dog-nicknamed “Quiet Wyatt” in training class (because he barked in class) was a gentleman dog in public. He was a wonderful ambassador for dogs and positive training techniques.

You finished yet?

 Wyatt rolled with whatever came our way. Whether the change came in the form of a job or when the kids left for school or the biggest change when I opened a home daycare. For three years, he happily played with the kids, stole their shoes and licked them head to toe. I couldn’t have asked for better.

Friday, February 17 it will be two months since Wyatt left my side. I still cry/tear up when I talk or even write about him. There will never be another Wyatt. He wasn’t my first dog, but he was the first puppy I raised and for all the mistakes I made he always made me look better than I was.

So, to my funny, furry doodle friend I say, Farewell- You will always sing in my heart.

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Quiet No More

Our search is over! Monday brought the news that my application to adopt the six-month-old yellow lab was approved. To say I was excited is an understatement. I am over the moon. I can’t wait for Josie to meet her and that will happen today. I have no doubt it will go smoothly. Josie is a calm, sweet and level tempered dog. Josie’s meet and greet is the easy part of this whole process, the hard part is naming our new pup. It’s been easier choosing a food than choosing her name.

I’ve narrowed the food choices to three brands from TheWhole Dog Journal’s list of Approved Dry Foods for 2012. My choices are Blue Buffalo (puppy), Wellness (puppy) and Natural Balance Ultra (All Stages). I’m leaning toward the Natural Balance because it’s an All Stages food that I can feed the puppy as well as Josie and because I have fed Josie Natural Balance in the past. Of course, if it doesn’t work for them then I will try another until we get the right match for dogs. I’m also researching food rotation, if we get bored with our food, I would think that dogs get bored too.

I need to solve the name issue. Trying to get four people to agree on a name is difficult. I made a list of forty or more names and no one could agree on one. I played the Mom card. Since I am the one home with the puppy all day, I will shorten the list to these names-

·         Beckett                Willow

·         Harlow                 Whisper

·         Cooper                 Sprite

·         Finnegan               Campbell

·         Lucy Lou              Cider

·         Orianna  (Ori)       Noodle

·         Georgie                Pixie

Still no agreement on a name, I want her to have a name that isn’t common with dogs and it needs to work well with training, too many syllables isn’t the best way to go so you can safely eliminate at least two names on the list. We have until Thursday or maybe I will bring her home without a name and see more of her personality. Stay tuned to see the name drama play out.

Until next time WOOF!

Love at First, Second and Third Sight

My New Puppy. Keeping my thoughts positive.

Love at first, second and third sight. I’ve met the dog that will fill the quiet for Josie and me. It’s the Lab I met on Thursday at TheFredericksburg SPCA. I put in an application to adopt her that day and found out that I was the second application. My first reaction was shoot, always a day late. Then I thought no! She’s my dog and she will be coming home with me soon. My daughter told me not to get my hopes up and I did the mature thing, plugged my ears, and said, “I’m not listening. La, la, la! I’m not listening.”

Second was taking my husband to meet her on Friday. We spent thirty minutes with her. She’s quite a handful. She has no manners, she’s a jumper and she couldn’t sit still, but with exercise and lots of training, those behaviors should dissipate. My I’m not listening attitude proved fruitful on Friday because I found out the first applicant removed her application on My Puppy.

Third was Saturday. I took my youngest daughter to meet our Lab. The puppy was rambunctious and my daughter was cool, she’ll love running with me was what she said. The puppy was so full of energy all I wanted to do was take her outside to play. I can’t wait to get her home with my family. Yes, I am staying positive.

Everyone in the family has said yes to have her in the family. While I will be the primary caretaker, everyone has agreed to give her the time and attention needed to make her feel loved and of course trained. 

Now we wait. I’m terrible at waiting. I’ve chosen to take the positive approach to waiting. I am making a list of names, choosing her collar color, and deciding what the right food for her will be. And Monday I, hope will bring us the news that she is now a part of my family.

Until next time, Woof!

In Search Of...

Josie being Josie

Josie my basset hound/pointer mix and I are in search of a new friend to fill the silence in our home. She wants someone to take the meet and greet pressure off her as well as someone to take over the long walks. I like five-mile hikes, Josie is more of a mile, and I’m ready for the couch.

Josie misses Wyatt. He was the first one to the door to meet everyone and now that he’s gone, I realize she used him to make sure the humans entering were okay. I run a daycare and Josie loved being with the kids, but now I realize she liked it because all she had to do was meet, greet and retreat to her chair and she and the kids were happy. Now that Wyatt is gone, the children expect Josie to stay and play.

On Thursday, I went to the local SPCA with my daughter Madeline to meet a six-month old female Labrador Retriever. She was a total cutie in her photo and her description sounded perfect. I want an active, easy to train dog and retrievers fit that mold for me. I am also partial to retrievers so that made it easier for me to take the step and meet this beautiful young pup. This isn’t the first dog I’ve looked at since Wyatt died. I checked out a few puppies that were lab/chow mixes but decided against one of them because I didn’t think the chow breed was appropriate for my life and daycare. I looked at another lab mix and he was a wonderful dog but not quite motivated by toys or food. He wanted to be a house dog and I want active. I also checked out a six-month-old Cocker Spaniel and while he was active and toy motivated, he kept humping the tech’s leg, not exactly a good mix with a house full of children.

 I want to train my dog for Canine Good Citizenship, I’d like my next dog to do therapy work and for playtime I’m hoping my new dog will love agility. Could I have  met my wooftastic match?

Stay tuned…Until next time Woof!

Changes

Change happens every day and you get used to no day being the same when you own dogs. And when you leave blogging behind for the time I have you can be sure that change is inevitable. 

2007 we lost our Luna Toons. She was only a part of our family for a year and she was so young that it made it harder. She was adopted to us ill. We weren’t told. Had we known we might have been able to fight the cancer. Luna died April 12, 2007.

Summer 2008 taught me a lesson in pack aggression no dog owner wants to learn. My beautiful Dexter got up from his dog bed and walked across the room toward a sleeping Wyatt and attacked him, swung him like a rag doll and left Wyatt with wounds on his back. Wyatt bit Dexter’s paw to get free and we were able to get each of them proper medical attention. Both dogs recovered from their wounds but two trainers and close to a year later, we were unsuccessful with reuniting the dogs. I made the decision to rehome Dexter. It was the second hardest decision I have ever had to make regarding my dogs, the first being helping them over the rainbow bridge. I cried for days after Dexter left for his new home. I still miss Dexter to this day but know in my heart that I made the right decision for all the dogs involved. 

Wyatt and Josie remained in my home. Josie became the resident couch potato and Wyatt became my long distance walking buddy. Both Wyatt and Jo excelled in training earning their Canine Good Citizenship and Josie was not easy. Wyatt loved training. He was known in the neighborhood for his tricks and excellent behavior. Summer 2009 both Wyatt and Jo transitioned flawlessly into my daycare quickly becoming everyone’s favorite. They loved all the attention and Wyatt loved the never-ending ball tossing from the kids.

That brings me to the present. I am writing this sitting on my couch with Josie curled next to me. Our boy Wyatt died December 17, 2011 at the age of seven from one of the most common and deadliest diseases for dogs, cancer.

Josie still searches for him and howls sadly when a neighbors black poodle walks by. As each day passes, she searches less but I can tell she misses his company. The up side if there is one when you lose your heart dog is that I am discovering what an amazing girl Josie is on her own. She is my bright spot and hopefully I am hers as we get through our grief.

Even with all the hard times there were many more great times and in the coming weeks I will share them. I'm slowly researching breeds because even though I miss Wyatt something awful, I want to go on that adventure of teaching and learning daily with my dog.

Until next time, WOOF!

WOOF!...What I Meant to Say Was Hello!

Welcome to or back to my blog about dogs and the dogs in my life. It’s been a little over five years since I wrote about the canine loves of my life. I’m not sure why I stopped other than I had four dogs, a couple of kids, a husband and work take over my life. I had to simplify and not blogging was an easy thing to say wasn’t necessary in my daily life.

Five years later, I realize I squashed one of the true joys in my life, writing about my dogs and the highs and lows of training and living with four dogs. Quite a bit has changed in my dog household, five years ago I had four dogs, a golden retriever named Luna, golden Ret/poodle Wyatt Earp, Josie a basset/pointer mix and Dexter our greyhound. My first few entries I will bring you up to date on the changes that have taken place, the joyous and the hard decisions no one ever wants to make.

I want to share my journey to become a trainer and a certified member of the Council of Professional Dog Trainers. I would also like to go back to school, I think I finally know what I want to be when I grow up…a Veterinary Technician, I would also like to get a homeopathy certificate and use that knowledge to help my dogs as well as others. I also plan to write about my journey to find my new fur-ever pal.

Everything dog will be here for me to share, if nothing else happens with this blog at least my positive intentions about all things dogs will meet the universe.

Until next time, WOOF!