Wordless Wednesday #3

The squirrel is mine!

Shopping, treats, training, Puppiness

I took Tucker down to a shop in our town called Molly's Pup-Purr-Ee to find Tucker a new harness.  The young woman in the shop was enjoying herself thoroughly with him.  Getting Tucker to sit and giving him a treat.  He was excited to get treats and attention.  Well of course!

I picked out a royal blue and green plaid harness with the style name of "Yarmouth Plaid" made by Up Country.   Yarmouth is near where my daughter's fiance's family have their family run motel so I like the link of names.  Not to mention I have a thing for plaid on Shelties.  Our Jessie had a red plaid harness and he always looked so dapper in it.

I feel much better using a harness with Tucker in case he slips out of the collar while we are out.  Everything away from home is new and exciting but can be questionable too.  He doesn't seem scared just that he may not know what an object is and jerk away.

I have Puppia harnesses for Stewie that fit quite well for the small guys or girls.  Collars slip right off Stewie's wide neck.  Once we were walking in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco and I looked down and Stewie was nowhere in sight with the leash.  I looked back and he was standing there puzzled and confused.  That scared me so that I decided a collar was not for walks, but only for the tags.  Puppia makes so many cute harnesses and patterns that is impossible to choose. Of course I can say the same for Up Country.

It's been so long since I did Dog Training Classes that I wonder if they have changed in 11 years.  I see so many poochies with Gentle Leaders or other types of harnesses versus Choke Chains.  I am really excited to start the training classes in early January.  I love seeing all the different types of dogs and their owners.  I wish we could have done the Puppy Classes but it's not that big a deal.

In the shop today a Boston Terrier came in and then a small white pup.  Tucker was happy as could be.  I think he would have loved to stay there and hang out.  I didn't bring Stewie since it can be enough to handle Tucker at this point without having the potential tangle of leashes in a store.  I'll bring Stewie another time.  

I think Santa Paws will be bringing a new collar for Stewie for Christmas.  But shhhhhh don't tell!

Barbara Woodhouse

So now we are set for some more walkies.  Did you ever watch the TV series "Training Dogs the Woodhouse Way" back in the 80's?   Tim and I use to watch Barbara Woodhouse's show every time we could find it on the TV.  We loved to hear her call everyone to "Walkies!".  I wonder if I can find that series on Netflix?   Just to hear her would give me a big smile.  It seemed like all the doggie owners were in dire need of training and the doggies would look at them confused.  It really is the dog owner/trainer who needs the training!  If every dog training class would take a movie of their class and play it back as part of the lesson I am sure it could be invaluable to everyone.  How do we talk to our dogs?  How do we stand?  Our body language says as much to them as it does to another person.  How often do you see a meek person who decides to pick a breed that they haven't a clue about let alone train?  The trainer picks up that dog's leash and instantly the dog responds.  

Let's face it.  Pups at 4 to 6 months can be quite full of themselves just as they have begun to grow into the body they will have as an adult dog.  The large dogs get strong and the little ones unmanageable.  If they haven't had any training beyond that age you have a pup into a dog that gets shoved into the backyard who becomes even more unruly.  So sad.

Me wild?  Huh?

A biggie that I need to work on with Tucker is when I am getting his and Stewie's food out of the bins in my pantry.  Tucker goes crazy to have it as soon as he can.  He jumps, barks, repeat....oh boy.  I have put him in his puppy pen to keep him        out of the pantry but he still is jumping up and down and barking.  He is getting pretty good with waiting after I have the food and put it in front of him.  He waits till I say "take it!" though I wouldn't say he is 100% willing to do this.  Any suggestions?   I'm thinking I need to get him to sit before I even open the bins or put food in their bowls.  Stewie is such a gentleman, sitting patiently.  He knows the ropes quite well.  He looks at Tucker like he is some crazed dog who is living with him.  

Walkies!

Tuckered out after a walk

Whoo hooo!   We got to go for a real walk with Tucker!!!  On Thanksgiving Tucker got his third shot so we could officially stroll among other poochies.  

First walk was in the neighborhood which is semi-rural.  Stewie was as usual, happy as could be to take a walk and actually tail wagging happy to have Tucker walking side by side with him.  I had both dogs with two leashes and I had to do a bit of changing leashes between my two hands.  So cute to see Tucker sashaying along with Stewie.  He would look over every once in awhile as if he was saying "Wow, where are we?"  We walked for about 20 minutes then headed home.  We saw my husbands truck get ready to turn up the steep driveway and Tucker started getting excited.  He knows his Daddy's truck.  He barked in greeting and of course he got a welcome response.

Yesterday my husband and I took him on the paved trail in our town called the Ironhorse trail.  Ages ago it was the old train route till they removed the rails and made it into a trail.  Tucker was with me and Stewie with Tim.  Now this trail can get busy with bikes, baby strollers, joggers, skaters as well as walkers.  Tucker definitely got all of that as well as children and adults that wanted to give him lots of puppy love.  I felt bad for Stewie who was sadly overlooked.  Normally on a walk he gets lots of attention.  

What Tucker had a fear of was the bikes that zoomed by.  He didn't expect the whoosh of them and would stop or do an about face behind me and stare.  He got a bit better towards the end but this is something we can work on to get him use to sights and sounds he has not been around.  We passed the high school football field which had a loud kids football game going on which he didn't care about. 

On the bright side it was a lovely Fall afternoon, just the perfect temperature for a stroll.  He sniffed to his hearts content and loved being out with Stewie who led us along.

I need to get him a harness for these walks as I worry he will slip out of his collar if he does a quick back up on me.  I tried on one we had but it was too big and Stewie's Puppia harnesses are too small.  


He was such a good boy in the car sitting next to me on the back seat with he and Stewie.  He just lay there or sat up wondering what we were going to do.  We can't wait to get back into our long hikes like we use to do with Annie and Stewie.  Tucker has a whole new world about to open for him of sights and smells!

Wordless Wednesday #2

What do you play with?

Seeing as how the kitchen floor is strewn with Pupparoo toys all the time, I thought it would be a good idea to have a place to put them at the end of the day.  Tucker however, felt that this was just a new toy to chew on and could have cared less of his toys inside.

He chomped it, dragged it around, sat in it, stared at it and then chewed some more.  I have one of these in our "Man Room" (the TV/den room) and he chews on that one as well.

I was looking for new "real" toys for the pups too.  Tucker loves this bottle!  At first he didn't know what it was but it was fun to drag it around as it clunked on the floor.  You can add treats at the bottom where it unscrews open.  I use his puppy food, and the idea is for them to figure out how to get the treats out.  Let me tell you, this is a toy you can't leave down all the time.  He gets crazy with it!  He won't let it be.  He sees the treats, he smells the treats, he must have the treats!  He already is getting the idea that if he puts it in a doggy bed he can get it upside down or tilted and the treats trickle out.  Then he proceeds to pull the pad off the bed searching in desperation for his prize.

 

Stewie doesn't seem interested except for the treats.  It is more Tucker's size and I thought, should I buy two of different sizes or just the one.  In the end I thought I would see if Stewie would do anything with it or ignore it.  He ignores it for now.

Since Annie died, I have a hard time getting Stewie to play like he use to.  He doesn't want to play the games we use to play with the stuffed toys.  He and Annie loved playing "keep away" and "fetch" with their toys.  I hope that in time he and Tucker will make their own games together.

He isn't to happy with Tucker's "herding" games, which is to herd Stewie.  All those with herding dogs know how it is deeply instinctual to do this herding up of balls, people, anything that moves.  Also Tucker is getting faster when he runs so Stewie is figuring out not to run so he doesn't get the dreaded nip and run.  Poor little Stewie....

Stewie doing his sun meditation on the deck

 

My daddy sure is great!

My daddy is sure great.  He likes to play with me on the floor with my toys.  I really like my purple spider which has a loud squeaker and long wiggly legs.

Daddy likes to take me outside to run and jump.  I go so fast, around and around in circles then jump and stop.  We go to the chickens who I don't know if I like them or not.  They stare at me and I stare at them.  

I run in the leaves back and forth.  They are so deep I have to leap and run!  I try to get my brother Stewie to play but he still doesn't want to.  How do I get him to play?  He shows his tiny white teeth at me and gives me a dirty look.  I keep on trying because I know he wants to play, because he wags his tail at me and sniffs me and I sniff him.

He knows something that I know now.  That when mommy feeds us, I have to sit quiet which is REALLY hard to do.  She tells me "Don't touch" when she puts our food bowls down.  Oh I want to eat it so bad that I can hardly sit but I am trying because Stewie sits still and waits till she says the magic words "Take it!".  Then we jump on our food!  Yowza!!!!  

I have so much to learn but lately I don't always want to.  I use to come when mommy called me and I would get a treat.  I really liked that!  Now I get distracted by a leaf, or a smell or I just don't know, I don't want to come.  I heard mommy say to daddy that they can't let me "get away" with any shinanagins.  What?  They said I may be behaving like a little kid seeing what I can get away with, like not coming when they call.  Huh?  There is SOOOO much to see and smell though!  The thing is, that they get me anyway.  I have to come in when they say so.  

I wonder if my brothers and sisters have to do what I have to do?  Hhhhmmm....well it's time for me to go to bed.  What?  Dad says I can watch a football game with him.  Yipppeeeee!

Sunbath

Yesterday was sunny in the morning.  A perfect time for a kitty sunbath in the living room.

Quiet time, and low and behold, Leela came out of our bedroom where she hides!

Luna worships the sun......

Wait...who's watching us?  Oh my kitty whiskers, it's him!  The yapper!   Maybe if I hiss he'll go away.....Sissssssss!  Go...go...go chew on a bone and leave us alone.  Oh bother, I'll just ignore him.