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Phoebe learns a trick

Well, really she has learned two things this week. But the big excitement is that she learned to poke a toy with her nose this week. I have been using the clicker on and off since December, pulling it out every now and then to see where she's at. Up until now the click has made her run off with her ears pinned back. I've been working on teaching some of the other dogs tricks near her crate to get her used to the sound and let her see that they are getting treats and she isn't. I've also been charging the clicker while she is locked in the crate, click treat click treat click treat. There is no where for her to run. It took a while before she would eat the treat. Recently she was starting to anticipate the treat in her crate so I figured now was as good a time as any! I put her on leash so she couldn't escape and took her downstairs to the "training" room in the house with her supper. I put a sheepskin toy on the ground and waited. She looked at it... click! I throw the cookie near the toy (she panics at the end of the leash). Soon she realizes I threw a kibble and she tentatively approaches...and eats the cookie...success! After ten pieces of food she was purposefully poking the toy with her nose and only retreating a few steps after the sound of the click. A work in progress for sure, but what an exciting step! She has figured out that her actions = food.

Her other big excitement this week is that she has figured out the joys of sleeping on a bed. :) I put her on leash the other night, picked her up, and put her on the bed next to me when I went to sleep. I kept her on leash for about half the night before I let her off. She stayed with me (I think because she was afraid to jump off but whatever). You could see the little wheels in her head going..ohhh...this is pretty comfy! So the last three nights I have been leashing her (this is the only way I can get her to pick her up still) and putting her on the bed. Already it has made a big difference in her comfort level around me. She is coming up to sniff my face (as long as I don't move an inch!) and is sleeping near me. As of last night she has figured out how to get up there by herself, now she won't get off! Ha! But whatever, I want to work up towards me being able to pet her and give her a little massage while she's there. She seems more comfortable with me at eye level (which makes sense).

Nepsa the aussie puppy is officially up for adoption. Please spread the word! This little cutie is looking for a home to love her and she will return it tenfold! She is a very nice moderately active dog who doesn't chew things, settles in the house nicely, walks well on leash, is crate trained, house trained, vaccinated, etc. She is deaf, and was undersocialized with adult dogs and the world in general so she needs to learn how to be comfortable in new situations. All around she is a lovely and pretty easy puppy. She also loves children so would be happy in a home with kids 10 and up.

A fun weekend for all

So it was a trial weekend. Those are the best kind, despite the sore muscles and overall fatigue I just love running the dogs in agility. I also took the opportunity this weekend to work on socializing the fosters, Nepsa and Phoebe. Nepsa worked on being comfortable in the barn, doing her "tricks" in a strange environment, learning to wear a gentle leader and learning to not react to strange dogs (still a work in progress but much improved over the weekend). She had a great time socializing with all the people, she sure loves kids. She wiggles right out of her skin when she sees them! She has not learned the art of peeing on leash however, so that will be something I need to work on. Here she is showing off for all of you to see. Special thanks to our friend Joy for taking the photos!

Phoebe spent the weekend just getting used to all the noises and sights. She did sit in my lap for a bit and was able to take treats while up there but she was not especially happy about it. However, one thing at a time!

And a picture of Heidi and Sobe just because they are cute (Joy and her fantastic photography skills again!)

Phoebe figured out the couch!

She did it! Phoebe has learned how to jump up on the couch! Yippee! I have picked her up a total of three times this week just to put her on the couch on leash to spend time watching t.v. She has been getting very special popcorn treats and tonight her supper hand fed to her while up there. About half way through I take off the leash so she has the choice to leave or stay. Usually she stays until the treats are gone and then she is off and back into her kennel sanctuary. Today I locked the door to her kennel about twenty minutes before we started, put the leash on her to pet her and then pick her up, put her on the couch and took the leash off right away. I hand fed her her dinner and she crawled right up on my lap to try and get her face in the bowl (she was mad since I fed all the others first and she had to watch!). Then when I got up to answer the phone she jumped off the couch as I expected but jumped right back up again. Yippee! So of course I rewarded that with some more treats. We'll see if she does it again. But now she knows she can do it I think sh'll be up there more often. I am hoping this will lead to her coming closer and lying near me, which will hopefully lead up to the dreaded "petting."

Gin the SPCA foster dog is doing really well. She has worked out the majority of her issues around resource gaurding and is doing fabulous with all the dogs in the house. She is crate trained nicely now and is showing me who she really is. She is a very soft little dog, if you raise your voice at all (Like Sobe get OFF the counter!) she hides in a corner. She is a very loyal little thing and likes to lie next to me wherever I am. With some confidence building she is going to be a fantastic little dog.

Anything for Salami

Phoebe took food from strangers. This is a HUGE big step in her trust. She still had to be on leash, but she relaxed and even looked a little bit like she was enjoying herself. I had two dog savvy friends over the other day, we all sat on the floor with Phoebe on leash and gave her bits of salami. It took her about a half hour but she eventually relaxed, ate the nibbles and came (almost) into the centre of our circle. She still isn't ready for adoption, it will be a few more months but boy do I see some nice strides in her development in the last couple of weeks.

Nepsa is doing some pretty interesting behaviours these days. I had her out for her second big run in the bush on Saturday. We came across some strange dogs (which is unusual, we rarely see anyone out there which is why I go there). She was on the attack before they could even sniff her butt. A large fight ensued unfortunately, malamutes don't take kindly to obnoxious little aussies that think the best offence is a good defence. And of course I had her on the long line so she wasn't easy to get and when I did get her the mals were sure I was holding her in place just for them. I have fitted her with a gentle leader and I am taking her to the training centre to sit in the foyer and receive treats while people come and go to class tonight and see what exactly I am dealing with. She has improved tremendously in the house here and is now able to be out with all of the dogs all the time. Her gaurding is still present but has significantly diminished. She starts her basic obedience class next week so I need to work on this new development pronto!

On another note, I have THE cutest little six month old border collie here being fostered and assessed for the PG SPCA. She is lovely, a nice little submissive peeing baby who likes to grovel at your feet. She does have resource gaurding issues that I am trying to sort out at the moment but is a lovely and very athletic dog. I'd show you pictures, but I dropped my camera and broke it! Very frustrating.

We Did It!

After two and a half months in foster care, I was able to pick up Phoebe this week. Not only did I pick her up without being bitten, I held her in my lap for half an hour, massaging her from top to bottom. She didn't pee on me this time! She did shake and pant, but what the heck, that's minor compared to being cornered and picked up by the scary human without biting or peeing your pants! Yippee!!! I am giving her a few days rest before we do it again, I don't want her to associate me (and the leash) with scary things.

Home again and other news

I am back to the land of the frozen north. It took several hours to dig out in order to get to the driveway and to dig paths for the dogs so they could make it outside. From green grass and daffodils poking up to this....yes, that is a six foot fence you are looking at! Sigh. I do love the snow though, especially the thick stuff when it is warm like it is now.

The trip home was uneventful thankfully. We had a great visit with friends in Kamloops and picked up an extra foster dog to bring home. This is one that has been in the works for some time so I was glad to make the extra trip out to get her. She is a lovely little puppy, six months old and full of puppy beans. She is a deaf australian shepherd with a natural bob tail that wiggles constantly. She's a very smart little character, loves all people and is doing pretty well with the dogs. She is a bit of a pushy princess and has limited dog socializing so she is in the process of learning her manners (you have to love Mollie for all her teeth and snarliness she does a great job of teaching the deaf dogs body language!). Meet Nepsa (at six months she is just a little bit bigger than Sobe so around 17" and 30#)

I will try and get some better pictures of her soon. She does settle in the house pretty nicely once she's had some exercise and worked out the wiggles.

Phoebe made the trip really well, she did great in Kamloops. She didn't regress at all and even was able to come up to me while I was sitting in a chair and take some kibbles when the other dogs were away. I was very pleased with that, sometimes you have to start all over in a new place. Not that she didn't have her same issues for sure, but she was much better than I anticipated. Now that we are home here and I have gone back to work she has regressed a little. The way my small house is set up she can't come into the living room without being cornered. And now that I am back to my usual crazy schedule I'm not sitting down very much either. So my plan is to get her back on leash and show her the hidey places in the living room and see if we can't get some improvement there. I am also going to attempt to put a harness on her. I need to be able to pick her up soon so she can go for truck rides and get more socializing. Poor baby is way too small to be able to jump into the truck even if she wanted to! So that will be a good motivator for me to get at it. It is time, I think she can handle it enough to get over her fear.

Toque has regressed as well. She slipped on the ice first thing when we got home. Plus I have all tile in my house so the floors are slippy. She is not using the bad leg nearly as much as I would like. I do have carpet downstairs so we are going down there for physio but there is no way she can go for her ten minute walks outside with all the ice. I am taking her to the dog training centre so she can do walks and physio on the rubber floor a few times a week (plus she feels like she is doing something). She is allowed to do circles and figure eights this week so we are practicing our rally exercises. :)