In Other News

We have a PIT in our house again! Well, sort of.

Meet Kenwood

He is a very recently CC'd PIT who came to be puppy sat for the weekend. Before he got dropped off at our house I was under the impression he was still in the program, but apparently he got dropped for a lot of the same reasons Hobbs did. He is a wonderful, soft, cuddly boy.

He didn't like me taking pictures of him, so he laid down every time.

Kaylee LOVES him, and wants to keep him for permanent.

She keeps trying to feed him, lay on him, share the dog bed with him, and generally doesn't leave him alone. And he love it.

He is just a good boy.

Hobbs and him met, but Hobbs wasn't feeling super great so they didn't do much. Hopefully by tomorrow Hobbs will feel well enough to play a little with him.

FINALLY!! After 27 hrs.......

Please Welcome.......

NEXUS!

This big boy is going to be spending the next few days here, and I am actually having mixed feelings about having a PIT back in my house.

The 3 boys together

I asked to be put back on the puppy sitter list only about a week ago, and immediately was asked to watch this little boy. But first, I wanted to attend my first puppy meeting in over a year. I thought I would be able to just slip right back into it, but it wasn't that easy.

I was actually out of practice with corrections! I thought I had still been using them daily with the boys, but my muscles didn't remember how to do it effectively. I kept saying "Yes" like I do as a verbal marker for Hobbs. I actually reached back to where I keep my treat pouch a few times when Nexus did something exceptionally good. It was frustrating trying to turn off that part of my dog training abilities.

When I did have to do an actual correction, I didn't feel like I was abusing the dog or anything like that, because I still feel like corrections have their place in training. I did wish that I was allowed to reward more that just praise and petting. After this, I don't know how soon I will want to puppy raise again.

I got Nexus this morning, and have been trying to give him the attention he desperately needs (he is a transfer and is pretty needy) while still keeping up with my little girl. Easier said than done! One special thing about him is that he has the same birthday as Kaylee! Yep, he was born 7/22/09 and his parents are Samuel and Arabella.

So far, he has a TON of energy! He has worn both Hobbs and Patriot out and is still out of his mind with energy. He is pretty antsy on tiedown, so the make-shift one I have tied to the bottom of the TV stand isn't going to work. He just stands there and paces, yawns, whines, scratches, pants, and takes FOREVER to settle enough to even sit.

This basically sums up his personality:

Yeah......enough "said"

He is facinated by all the toys, but is sad that he can't have the really good ones (the antlers) or the fluffy ones Hobbs flaunts in front of him.

He is pretty jealous of Hobbs and Patriot being on the couches too.

I will try to update about him after he has been here a little longer.

So....I forgot to introduce

Ingrid!!


She is a 10 year old retired guide, and has been here sense thursday, and is stay until thursday. She has been a very good girl! The boys get along with her just fine, and she sleeps on tie-down so I didn't even have to bring out the kennel. The only naughty thing she has done the whole time here was to knock over Patriot's bucket of food and eat some of it. Luckly she is not the kind of dog who will eat until they throw up!! She probably ate like 3-4 cups of it, and then stopped! Here are some pictures of her and the boys:






Turtle is obsessed with Ingrid!! It is really funny!

Patriot looks so tortured in this one!

Introducing......

Edie! (Eee-Dee)

Lindsey left little Edie with Robert and me for the last couple days, and all went well! She is still a baby at only 8 months...or is she 9....I dont' remember! She was very excited to hang out with the boys, but the feeling wasn't entirely mutual. Patriot didn't want anything to do with her, and Hobbs suprised me by getting sick of her after a little while. He didn't get grumpy about it or anything, but would come and ask for protection from her after playing for a while. Silly boy! She went out with us on our date to see Seven Pounds (interesting movie!) and to dinner at Applebees. She was very good, but I avoided any issues by not letting people pet her.

As for pictures.....I went to take them, and my camera was so dead that it wouldn't stay on long enough even for one. So I put it back on the charger, and didn't notice that it wasn't plugged in. So no pictures due to my pregnancy brain! She is a cute girl though. Lindsey just picked her up, and the boys have been sleeping ever sense!

Thanksgiving

I can't believe it is already after Thanksgiving!

We had Robert's family over for dinner on Thanksgiving day, and had a wonderful dinner! I was thankfully feeling well enough to actually eat, but ate too much and felt really sick for most of the evening. We then sat around and talked and watched a movie for a while. Neither Hobbs or Patriot got any turkey or other thanksgiving foods, and they feel very neglected and un-loved because of it!

They were on their way to a wedding in Idaho the next day and needed us to watch their new puppy. Mauchen (or little mouse in German) is a Boston Terrier Yorkie mix. I couldn't find a picture of one anywhere, so here is a link to a Boston Lhasa Apso mix. Mauchen looks a lot like that puppy, the only difference is she is darker brown, almost black, and isn't quite as fuzzy. She was a typical little dog and was VERY needy and attached to anything human. She stayed on tie-down most of the day she was here, and was very good until someone would leave the room. Then the screeching and screaming would start until she would get a couple corrections. Hobbs liked her to begin with, and would play with her, but after a while he got really sick of her constant moving and nipping and would stay out of her reach. Patriot hated her from the beginning but would allow her to sleep next to him in the living room.

That night I wanted to let her sleep in our room with us in the little tiny cat crate. She wasn't screaming but even after an hour and a half of corrections she wouldn't stop her whining. So she went to the other end of the house in our family room, and I really believe she screamed for the entire night. When we woke up she was still barking and shrieking. Luckily we didn't hear a sound back in our room, so the walls much be thicker than we thought! Watching her confirmed it even more in our minds that we absolutely do not want to ever have a little dog! I can't handle the neediness! Sorry if I have little dog owners reading this! I know they have their place in other's hearts, they just aren't the ones for me!

Another Visitor

Meet baby puppy Nell!!

Here are some cute pictures of her:

She is about 4 months old, and is a little cutie! Robert and I have her until tomorrow early afternoon. Her parents are Cabby and Parkay and she was born August 20th. Today she has been really good! She came in and immediately tried to wrestle with Patriot and got growled at. Patriot was really upset that I brought such a "horrible thing" into his house. He really doesn't like baby puppies. Hobbs on the other hand, was very happy to have a buddy to play with. We went out into the yard and they chased each other for quite a while. I think that is an ok thing for her to do.....They weren't slamming into each other, or wrestling, just playing chase. If I am wrong, I am wrong!

I purposely kept her awake for the first two or three hours she was here because I was going to go to Twilight, and wanted her to be able to sleep in her kennel. She was exhausted when I finally put her in there, and she immediately laid down and relaxed to sleep. The boys were VERY naughty while I was gone!! They got my package of ritz crackers off the top of my dresser and ate them all!! In order to get to them, they had to jump up on the bed and then go through the things on the dresser! And one of them (Hobbs I believe) got up on top of Robert's medal shelves and got a plastic cup and shredded it all over the room! Needless to say one of them may be staying in a kennel next time I leave! Then if bad things happen, I will know who the culprit it!

There is one thing this little girl has done during her stay! She has made me realise that if I wasn't pregnant, I would be turning in an application for another puppy ASAP!! Robert and I both want another puppy, but know that it would't work with me pregnant and then trying to deal with a puppy while we have a new baby.

Hobbs and Miss Nell

The three puppies. Patriot is the one this time that doesn't want to be in the picture. Poor cranky old dog!

Genova!

Ah little Genova, she is such a cute little girl!

I went to a puppy meeting on Tuesday, which was fun. The club up here just got three brand new puppies! Two little yellow girls and a black girl. I think their names are....Nell-FBLB, Sakari-FYLB, and Teesha-FYLB. They are all adorable, and I am hoping I get to puppy sit some of them before they get too big. I need a baby puppy fix! Anyways at the meeting I got to handle Genova, while we worked on FIR, grooming, and talked about problems. She was very happy to be with me, and would look back at me and lick my chin if I leaned forward.

Today I went to pick up Genova from her raiser at work. She is a groomer and had just bathed and dried miss Genova. I had to go to the store right after, so I got to enjoy having a dog with me again. Genova is so cute when she walks! She almost prances! She was good at the store, and pretty ok in the car. She just didn't know where she was supposed to be, and I didn't have my tie-down in the car....it is lost in a box somewhere.

When we got home, I had all three dogs go out in the yard to get to know each other. I was out with them of course. They did the obligatory sniffing routine, and then ignored each other! After all three had pottied we went back inside and I shut all of us in the family room. Patriot laid down in his spot and Hobbs and Genova started a game of mouth wrestling. I brought the toy bucket in for them to use, and picked up all the non guide dog toys that were looking very tempting.

The three dogs. I am amazed how much more comfortable Hobbs was being in this picture compared to the one with Onterio.

Hobbs and squinty little Genova

The difference in their coats is AMAZING!!

Stand up mouth wrestling

I think that is Hobbs with his mouth open!

Yep thats him!

Hobbs having a "scared of dogs moment" He can be playing just fine and then will freeze and stand there looking scared like he thinks the other dog is going to swallow him whole or something!

A nice shot of miss Genova...and Patriot

Looking down on her

I have plans to go grocery shopping tomorrow, but I don't know if I will take her with me. Lately when I have to leave the house, I just want to get what I have to do done and get back home. I am very excited for the weekend though because Robert finally comes home from his business trip! He has been gone the whole week and it has been horrible! It will be nice to have him home soon. I will update with some more pictures before she goes home on Sunday!

Exciting News!

I have a couple of exciting pieces of news!

For the first, check out my other blog! That is by far the more exciting of the two, and it will change things very much around here!

My second piece of news is that I may be puppysitting this weekend! If I am it will be a little FBLB named Genova! I am not sure when she was born, but her mom is Mango, and dad is.....crap I forgot! So expect, FINALLY, another puppy raising post this weekend with lots of pictures of the sweet little girl. Tomorrow night is my first puppy meeting in this new club which should be interesting and fun!

Hobbs and Patriot are very slowly relaxing here in the house. It was supper rainy today, so we didn't get to go on a walk, but hopefully tomorrow will be better. I think a good walk will help both of them adjust more quickly. I haven't gotten to do any agility practice with Hobbs for what seems like FOREVER!! Hopefully I can get the weave poles out tomorrow and practice a little bit. Patriot is still doing wonderfully on his prednisone, and I am hoping the itches will stay away after the pills are all gone.

Has anyone else noticed that Blogger is being completely ridiculous today? Like when I view my blog it cuts off half of some posts, and the bar up at the top is set up as if I weren't logged in. I am so frustraited with it!

Welcome Onterio!

Yes I am puppy sitting again, but Onterio is no longer a program dog so he can just be normal. I have him until Friday and so far he is doing pretty well. He is VERY fixated on Turtle, and has to stay on tie-down or be on a leash, because he goes after her. I am hoping he will get over it soon so he can have some fun while he is here.

Last night went well, and I am really glad that I have the big kennel that I do. It is the perfect size for him. He was a little whiney this morning waiting to come out of the kennel until after Robert got ready for work.



The three boys. Hobbs was SO miserable being that close to the "Stranger"




Could he get any closer to the wall? Lol!


Patriot so far is ok with Onterio being here....mostly because he isn't a baby puppy.






Onterio REALLY wanted Hobbs' bone and kept stealing it.


I don't know if he has had a ball before, but he really liked this one




I think we may go to the Dog Park some morning when the dogs there will be minimal. Then they can all play where its ok for them to race and run.

Happy Month Day to Hobbs!!

Today Hobbs is 16 months old! I can't believe he is that old already! I miss him, and Patriot, and my husband so very much! It will be nice to be home with my family!

Oh! On that note, I just offered to puppy sit a friend's dog for next week....from tuesday through sunday. The dog is a big 80lb FYLB named Kilo, who has a wound on her side so she isn't allowed to go to lake powell with her people. Here is her owner's blog with some pictures of her and her owie. I am excited and nervous as I have never puppy sat for a non GDB dog before!

Update on my boy

Hobbs is doing very well, and as of right now he is still officially a PIT. The cc request papers haven't been submitted yet, so he still gets to go out with us, and still lives by the rules of a PIT. He has been going on regular walks on the streets and has only had a couple of bad reactions to the big "scary" trucks. Even though he is doing well, when he does have a reaction in is one that would threaten a visually impaired person's life.....for example jumping into the street to avoid a bike on the sidewalk. Other than that he is basically the perfect dog, and will make an amazing pet.

At our puppy meeting last night we discussed some more basics for the benefit of some prospective raisers in our club. We also talked about making yourself the "alpha" around your puppies. This is something I think every raiser has an issue with at one time or another. Some puppies have that urge to take over, and test the authority of the home regularly. Then there are other puppies who wouldn't take the alpha position unless their life depended on it.

Robert and I are probably going to be puppy sitting Maury (more-ie) during the first of July. He is a male yellow lab, who has quite the stubborn streak! Hopefully he will get along well with Hobbs and Patriot and that they can teach him something.

Puppy Proofing

Today we are getting Texas to puppy sit over the weekend! I am so excited since I haven't puppy sat since....well since just after I had Calliope! I think the last puppy I sat was Berta from Megan's club.

Since we have never had a baby puppy here in this apartment I am spending the morning puppy proofing and trying to remember all the little tricks to keeping the puppy from having too many accidents in the house. The biggest thing I have been doing is finding all of Turtle's toys and putting them away or in her room. They are just the right size for a baby puppy to choke on. Hopefully Turtle will be as good with Texas as she was with Hobbs.....except for the attacking part.

I am a little bit worried about Patriot being grumpy around the little one. He is 6, and lived with an "anti-puppy" dog for quite a while. He was pretty good with Hobbs when we visited while he was like 4 months. But I don't think Patriot has EVER been around a 9 week old puppy. I am soooo excited to have a baby puppy again!!

Hobbs is still at my leader's house, and I still don't know when I am getting him back. I hope it will be soon, but I am ok to just have two dogs for the weekend....not three! I will post pictures when I get him later this afternoon.