Zoom Zoom Zoom
The vast majority of their time was spent sharing and NOT sharing the most amazing, beautiful, wonderful stick in the whole park (which was littered with sticks.)
Here's a little video of some of the fun!
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Old Friends
Today we finally got all the "mainland puppies" together again for a playdate. That means that 7 got to play at the park with his two sisters, Kira and Petal, who live nearby! Petal also lives with Pipacs who is their aunt and she came along as well.
Zoom Zoom Zoom
The vast majority of their time was spent sharing and NOT sharing the most amazing, beautiful, wonderful stick in the whole park (which was littered with sticks.)
Here's a little video of some of the fun!
Zoom Zoom Zoom
The vast majority of their time was spent sharing and NOT sharing the most amazing, beautiful, wonderful stick in the whole park (which was littered with sticks.)
Here's a little video of some of the fun!
Friday, March 26, 2010
New friends
This is Maia!
Maia is 7's new friend from his agility class on Wednesday nights. This morning we took the two of them to Spanish banks for a romp in the sand.
Lots of bitey face ensued...
Chase games are even more fun in deep sand!
The two of them are champion swimmers and spent a LOT of time out at sea in search of floating balls.
Maia is 7's new friend from his agility class on Wednesday nights. This morning we took the two of them to Spanish banks for a romp in the sand.
Lots of bitey face ensued...
Chase games are even more fun in deep sand!
The two of them are champion swimmers and spent a LOT of time out at sea in search of floating balls.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Wonderful Wubba Wednesday
"Did someone say Wubba!?"
"WUBBA!!!!"
"Throw it. Again. Now."
"Weeeee! There's nothing more fun than a wubba!"
"Well, random garbage comes close"
"*sigh* Why do you encourage him?"
"srsly."
"WUBBA!!!!"
"Throw it. Again. Now."
"Weeeee! There's nothing more fun than a wubba!"
"Well, random garbage comes close"
"*sigh* Why do you encourage him?"
"srsly."
Thursday, March 11, 2010
House guests
I've been pretty busy this past week with fosters. First, was the freakishly adorable Dezi who just needed a quick "bed and breakfast" before heading off to his forever home in Powell River...
Dezi was a teeny weeny "pocket pit", full of piss and vinegar... my kind of dog! A true classic bulldog type, he LOVED people and would throw himself into your arms for hugs and kisses and tolerated other dogs with mostly disinterest.
Right now, I have Gunner. A sad example of what can happen to an otherwise happy, stable dog when their "owner" leaves them to fend for themselves in the shelter system.
Gunner is a major stress case. The slightest change in his environment will send him literally into a spinning, tail chasing, glaze eyed fiend. He also has a penchant for self-mutilation. This is a dog who is truly wonderful when he feels safe. He snuggles like no other and is very tolerant of other dogs including pushy 7 who is starting to smell "spicy" in the nether regions. He will make someone a fabulous, caring pet if only someone will give him the chance. His first foster home out of the shelter saw him spin once on his first day. His second home never saw him stress. With the last foster before me... this was not the case. His fits of maniachal spinning and tail eating came back tenfold and he was even involved in a number of fights which is extremely out of his character. I won't comment on what I feel may have happened in this foster home, but needless to say...it wasn't good. I just am basically "warehousing" him until another stable foster or (PLEASE) adopter can be found. This gentle boy's life could be set right, and his demons chased away with just a little bit of stability. Something that has cruelly been stripped away from him.
I challenge anyone to look at this tortured face and turn around and dump there dog at the shelter because "He will be fine!/A nice family will adopt him/We are moving/having a baby/redecorating" etc.
Oh, and for those of you backyard breeders who are carelessly breeding your dogs just because they've got reproductive organs and you "love" them...take another look, 'cause this is the situation YOU create every time you breed your dogs for unworthy reasons.
Dezi was a teeny weeny "pocket pit", full of piss and vinegar... my kind of dog! A true classic bulldog type, he LOVED people and would throw himself into your arms for hugs and kisses and tolerated other dogs with mostly disinterest.
Right now, I have Gunner. A sad example of what can happen to an otherwise happy, stable dog when their "owner" leaves them to fend for themselves in the shelter system.
Gunner is a major stress case. The slightest change in his environment will send him literally into a spinning, tail chasing, glaze eyed fiend. He also has a penchant for self-mutilation. This is a dog who is truly wonderful when he feels safe. He snuggles like no other and is very tolerant of other dogs including pushy 7 who is starting to smell "spicy" in the nether regions. He will make someone a fabulous, caring pet if only someone will give him the chance. His first foster home out of the shelter saw him spin once on his first day. His second home never saw him stress. With the last foster before me... this was not the case. His fits of maniachal spinning and tail eating came back tenfold and he was even involved in a number of fights which is extremely out of his character. I won't comment on what I feel may have happened in this foster home, but needless to say...it wasn't good. I just am basically "warehousing" him until another stable foster or (PLEASE) adopter can be found. This gentle boy's life could be set right, and his demons chased away with just a little bit of stability. Something that has cruelly been stripped away from him.
I challenge anyone to look at this tortured face and turn around and dump there dog at the shelter because "He will be fine!/A nice family will adopt him/We are moving/having a baby/redecorating" etc.
Oh, and for those of you backyard breeders who are carelessly breeding your dogs just because they've got reproductive organs and you "love" them...take another look, 'cause this is the situation YOU create every time you breed your dogs for unworthy reasons.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
So, I'm one of those dog owners now
That's right, I have a dog who is going to *gulp*...show *cough*
Before I got 7, I decided that, seeing as I was taking the plunge into the purebred dog world I might as well go all the way to the dreaded show ring. No offense to those that show their dogs, it's just not my scene :-)
I've been attending a handling class to learn the ins and outs of the conformation ring. Now 7 is a, shall we say, "rambunctious" dog? He is being a super star in these boring handling classes but today he decided to spice things up a bit by "sproinging" into the air like a gazelle while I was gaiting him around. This is a behaviour I would find easy enough to fix, I'll just reward him for calm, forward motion and stop still when he leaps up. My instructor however had other ideas. When I got back to him he said, "So when he jumps up at you like that I want you to *while grabbing 7's show lead out of my hand* do THIS." He then proceeds to jerk my poor puppies neck who is not doing anything but standing and staring adoringly at this "man." I calmly took the lead back from him and said, "Sorry, but I don't use corrections on my dog." He looks baffled at this one and starts going off about how my dog needs to be doing this to "please" me (yeah, right!) and if I never correct him he'll walk all over me the rest of his life. Now, keep in mind that 7 is probably the youngest dog in this class. We as a team are by far the least experienced and yet I was getting the distinct impression that he was also the best behaved dog. Many of the other dogs didn't know what "stand" was and cringed and cowered when the instructor went over them. 7 stood proudly for his examinations and even snuck in a kiss now and then when the man's face bent a little too close. He almost free stacks on cue (we're SO close) and he will not move a foot I've placed until he's released. But, if I don't begin yanking him around by the neck we'll never get anywhere, right?
END RANT
One of the things I DID learn was how to *sort of* stack my dog well. I'm still practicing but 7 is being a very patient guinea pig. Here are some pics of 7 stacking today, he's just turned 10 months old and still has a touch of "puppy look."
On a brighter note today 7 got to meet his neighbour Zuzu. Zuzu's an SPCA special puppy about 4 months old and I am lucky enough to be her occasional dog walker. Yay for me! Obviously, 7 adores her...
"Oooh mom, look what I found! Can I keep her!?"
Puppy smackdown!
Before I got 7, I decided that, seeing as I was taking the plunge into the purebred dog world I might as well go all the way to the dreaded show ring. No offense to those that show their dogs, it's just not my scene :-)
I've been attending a handling class to learn the ins and outs of the conformation ring. Now 7 is a, shall we say, "rambunctious" dog? He is being a super star in these boring handling classes but today he decided to spice things up a bit by "sproinging" into the air like a gazelle while I was gaiting him around. This is a behaviour I would find easy enough to fix, I'll just reward him for calm, forward motion and stop still when he leaps up. My instructor however had other ideas. When I got back to him he said, "So when he jumps up at you like that I want you to *while grabbing 7's show lead out of my hand* do THIS." He then proceeds to jerk my poor puppies neck who is not doing anything but standing and staring adoringly at this "man." I calmly took the lead back from him and said, "Sorry, but I don't use corrections on my dog." He looks baffled at this one and starts going off about how my dog needs to be doing this to "please" me (yeah, right!) and if I never correct him he'll walk all over me the rest of his life. Now, keep in mind that 7 is probably the youngest dog in this class. We as a team are by far the least experienced and yet I was getting the distinct impression that he was also the best behaved dog. Many of the other dogs didn't know what "stand" was and cringed and cowered when the instructor went over them. 7 stood proudly for his examinations and even snuck in a kiss now and then when the man's face bent a little too close. He almost free stacks on cue (we're SO close) and he will not move a foot I've placed until he's released. But, if I don't begin yanking him around by the neck we'll never get anywhere, right?
END RANT
One of the things I DID learn was how to *sort of* stack my dog well. I'm still practicing but 7 is being a very patient guinea pig. Here are some pics of 7 stacking today, he's just turned 10 months old and still has a touch of "puppy look."
On a brighter note today 7 got to meet his neighbour Zuzu. Zuzu's an SPCA special puppy about 4 months old and I am lucky enough to be her occasional dog walker. Yay for me! Obviously, 7 adores her...
"Oooh mom, look what I found! Can I keep her!?"
Puppy smackdown!
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Today...Hell froze over.
Jazz played with 7 today. That's right folks, you are about to witness a moment neither I nor 7 (especially 7!) thought would ever come. For the past 8 months that 7 has shared with us he has wormed his way into Jazz's heart enough to be tolerated and even some slight snuggling has transpired, but, NEVER have these two shared a quick "bitey face" or wrestle. Today that changed when Jazz very casually reached over and gripped 7's back leg. 7 swung around in surprise and started dumbfounded for a minute at the mischievous grin on little Jazz's face. Not one to miss an opportunity, he took a tentative poke at the top of Jazz's back...Then the fun began! I quickly whipped out the camera to document this momentous occasion so join me in watching 7's dreams come true...
See if you can hear the sound of me picking my jaw up off the floor :-)
I apologize for the terrible lighting, I didn't exactly get to "set the stage" for this one!
See if you can hear the sound of me picking my jaw up off the floor :-)
I apologize for the terrible lighting, I didn't exactly get to "set the stage" for this one!
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