The puppy post

[life_and_times]

Oh my god that gorgeous little dog! It has all worked out famously with little Ebb. So far. She started 'rounding up' Flo today which is a bit obsessive, and something I don't want for Flo. But then Flo decided to take Ebb for a massive run around the house as fast as they could go and Flo is a speedy little thing, so it sorted out that other

Comments

[taffetacat]

Love this. Love it all. :-)

Oh god, puppies. I am so mad about Kevin. He went for his first walk today. Took him a bit to get it and then it just clicked. He put his little ears back and trotted along as fast as his tiny little legs would take him. MUST get video of it. Just the cutest thing.

More pics of Ebb and Flo?

[life_and_times]

I tried to upload pics to fb the other day but it just didn't work. fucking thing.

I *WISH* with the walking thing. It is a constant struggle and NOT fun, which is a problem for both of us. I think I need to take her off the property so it is more interesting for her.

[taffetacat]

Fucking pic uploading thing. Fucking fucking thing.

I think Kevin just got into it because he was following the other dogs. god BLESS the other dogs.

[traceyleigh]

Does she love the walking though? I think from memory when they do that it is a whole stop start thing. Stop the moment they do it and use the command you have chosen for stop and wait until she is ready to go again. Stop the moment she does it, start etc.

Sorry I'm probably just spinning shit you already know :-D

I want to see pics too!

xx

[clea]

I bumped into a woman at the lake the other day who told me that people are running sheep herding training for working dogs. The two she knows of are way too far but she said that one should be starting locally soon. If it isn't too expensive I will look into it for Ember.

Meanwhile, she has taken to the gentle leader head collar well. It makes walking her possible - without it, I just wouldn't bother. Playing ball is also a good way to burn off the excess fuel. It is a bit messy during the learning phases (they bring the ball back but forget to drop it, or they try to get you to chase them) but I am finding using 3 or 4 balls works well (as soon as she is within a few feet of me I say "you ready?" and throw the next ball - 9 out of 10 times she drops the ball in her mouth to chase the other.)

Just a couple of ideas.

[life_and_times]

What's the gentle leader head collar?????? please tell me!! hahah.

How funny is this? Ebbie is very smart and so receptive but she's just not into retrieving - a ball, anything. Maybe it just needs more training.

I'm waiting for a call back from agility class trainer for Ebb.

[clea]

Actually, I have switched to a halti head collar and I think it is a better design. You can buy them at pet shops, vets produce stores etc. The basic idea is that the collar fits around the dog's head and steers the dog by the nose instead of the neck. They don't have nearly as much strength in that area so they don't pull anymore. It takes a day or two for them to get used to the idea but in the end it is better for everybody because it makes walking the dog pleasurable again (no one enjoys having their arm yanked off).

We did some basic agility at our last class. All the other dogs were cautious and uncoordinated on the equipment, Ember flew over it effortlessly (all except for the highest jump, which I decided not to try just in case).

Ebbie would probably enjoy fetch if she got the idea. There have been some thing Ember didn't do naturally but once we made it fun for her she took to it (the dog school where I am going is all about making training such as heel and the recall into a game).

[traceyleigh]

Hey gorgeous woman, where have you disappeared to on Facebook????? Hope all is ok with you. We should have a phone catchup chat very soon.

xoxo

[life_and_times]

You're onto me.

Would love a phone catch up. Txt me and I'll call.

Everything's fine. Just having a dummy spit over fb. See post. x