Archive for October, 2009
Deer Kisses for Juno
Here is an update on Juno (formerly Cherry of Willow‘s goup), and some amazing photos…
Juno is doing great; she’s getting to be a big girl. She’s 31 lbs, as of last Friday, and growing quickly. She is outgrowing her crate, and we’ve graduated her to sleeping on a dog bed (just last night). We still keep her penned in with fences during the night, but she likes her bigger bed and she continues to be a great and quiet little sleeper.
You were quite correct in telling us that she was an active girl, because she is certainly so! She likes being outside, so she spends a good part of the day in the backyard chewing sticks, rolling large stones (which she likes to push around with her head—very cute), and digging holes. Her new favorite activity is chasing tinkerbell. She goes absolutely crazy chasing the flashlight beams—she can do that for about 90 straight minutes. When we go outside in the evening, she looks for the flashlight beam. Of course, we’ve discovered that this makes picking up her poop in the evening a bit of a challenge when she’s with us. She loves the game so much that she can spend the next half hour after we’re done playing still looking for tinkerbell. Along the same line, she also enjoys chasing shadows (and her tail).
Juno is a very smart girl; we’ve discovered that she learns tricks (and how the world works) very quickly. She is curious but very easy to train. Sometimes she gets a little nippy when she’s out of control, so we’re finding ways to calm her down or we take her out somewhere where she can run full out. We can tell that she is trying her best not to bite, but we can tell that it is so hard for her—still, she is much, much better about not nipping, and it is getting better each day. Her adult teeth are coming in, so she’s definitely in the teething stage. Her house training is pretty good; she’s using the bell at the door to let us know when she needs go out. She has an occasional accident when she is so excited that she forgets to let us know she needs to go or if she gets mad at us. We’ve adapted to both situations by taking her outside, and so far that has been a good solution.
She is a very lovable and wiggly little girl, and she has made lots of friends in the neighborhood. She’s hangs out with the neighbor’s dog fairly often, and she met a couple of other dogs in the neighborhood—all of which have extended invitations for playtime.
We took her up to a cabin in Wisconsin, and she met a fawn. The fawn is provisioned, so it hangs around on the property looking for food. We (including Juno) discovered that the deer is quite friendly, and, as you will see, is not afraid of dogs. In fact, once Juno figured out that the deer was Ok, she played with her for three days. Juno and the deer liked to play chase—mostly Juno attempted to get the deer to chase her. On the open grass, Juno very quickly discovered that the deer can run her down easily, so Juno resorted to diversion tactics—running around bushes, under chairs, around us, etc. Every morning, Juno would go out and look for her deer buddy. I’ve enclosed a couple pictures, and I will be sending you a CD with pictures and movies.
-S
Time for a Tucker update
Here is the latest from Tucker (formerly Oak of Willow‘s litter):
Tucker at 3 months
All is well here and Tucker is growing like a weed!! Dr. again this Friday, but at 3 months already 32 pounds!! He is a delight! We are moving along on potty training and I am hoping another month and he will have it knocked. Tucker and Montana are fast friends and as much as she hates all the tugging, pulling, wrestling and biting….she would have it no other way. I have attached some pics for your viewing pleasure! Tucker is smart…he knows sit, shake and sit up…we are working on lay down and down in general and of course he is ALL TOO familiar with NO. Plenty of bones and toys to chew on so no major chewing episodes, knock on wood.
Hope all is well with you and all his brothers and sisters are doing well including Willow!!
Teaching dogs mindfulness video
I was at a professional conference last weekend – a conference for my other profession. There I met some wonderful people. One woman in particular really cracked me up. I love how I can meet someone I totally click with in such a random way. Some of the conversation we had involved her mistaking me for the mayor of my small town – you get the picture.
Anyway, she has two lovely dogs to whom she tried to teach mindfulness. Mindfulness, for those of you who don’t know, involves the intense focus on one thing that is happening right now and inhabiting the experience of it completely. She showed me a video of her trying to teach her dogs mindfulness, and at first it seemed she was unsuccessful – the dogs nearly took her fingers off trying to eat the food. However, as I watched the video again I saw how the dogs are totally focused on her and the fruit – completely in the moment. For us, we tend to teach mindfulness through sensations, the feeling of the coolness in the mouth, the texture of the fruit, the sweetness and the liquid sensations as they explode on the tongue…the dogs could care less about that. But notice how they completely inhabit the experience of consuming the food. They are completely mindful in those brief moments of inhaling the fruit. So, who knows, was it a success or a failure? Either way, I loved the video. Enjoy.
Teaching Dog Mindfulness video (requires Quicktime)
For every dog there is a perfect home
Remember Chloe? She had quite a time this summer. I am happy to report that she seems to be doing really well in her new home. It just shows you that for every dog there is the perfect home. I hope that we’ll have a chance to see her soon when we have our reunion for her pups…sometime in November. Here’s the update:
Things are going very well with Chloe. My Mom and I are taking her to school at PetSmart on Saturdays for an 8 week beginner class. She has adjusted quit well and is learning quickly. She seems happy and full of energy at home, but is still a little shy around other people. She is making progress though! We continue to walk her for 30 to 45 minutes each day or Mom plays ball with her in the basement. She loves that! We continue to work on the separation and leaving her for short periods of time. When both of my parents leave, Chloe still barks, howls, but for shorter periods of time now than when they first began leaving her for the practice sessions. She does settle down after a while and goes to the window to watch for them. She doesn’t destroy anything, or try to get out. I think she is just calling for “her pack”! They are up to leaving for 30 minutes. They do that once a day now. She is really excited when they come back. We would love to come to the family reunion. I would love to see her puppies. Let us know the time and
place and thanks for the invitation!R-
An update on Rubi
Here is an update with photos on Rubi (formerly known as Red from Willow‘s litter)
Rubi is doing really great. We started puppy classes a couple weeks ago so she can get over her apprehension of dogs. She did surprisingly well and we hope it keeps improving. Her nipping is our biggest issue now. We are trying time-outs, but that doesn’t always work. Other than that, she has all her commands down most of the time and we’re just practicing them with distractions. She loves to cuddle and loves to play with her soft toys. Here’s a few pictures at 13 weeks.
-E- & D-
