Keeper

Here is Keeper, a sweet, lovely boy who just wants to please.

 

Happy to be training!

Today I finally   followed through on the promise that I made to myself. I promised to get busy with my two young dogs and get busy with their training. 
I did some heeling, sits and downs with Keeper. It has been awhile but he did not forget anything.I was so proud of him. He now needs to go to a class for socializing.  I got him started on some very basic nose work. He caught on very quickly and I think that he may have a future in nose work. It is a good mental exercise for any dog.

I finally leash trained Topaz today and started her on sit. She is one smart pup. She is now walking on the leash and doing very well. I tried her with a little nose work also and she loved it. She will also have to get started in nose work. She showed less fear of the boxes than Keeper. Sticking her nose into the boxes immediately finding the cookie,she loved the fact that we were playing a game.

Now that I have started I will not let them fall back again. They will get some training every day so they can be the best possible. I would like for them to compete in nose work and hopefully obedience at some point. 

My year old pup, Walter is living with Kaelyn, my granddaughter. He is trying to adjust to the new environment but I think that he is missing the pack that he grew up with. We will give him some more time and see how it goes. I don't want him to be unhappy.But I don't want my granddaughter to be unhappy either. Later in the week we will determine how things are going.

All in all it was a good day, very productive with the dogs. I think they will be caught up very soon.
This is definitely giving me something to look forward to.I have always loved working with the dogs and I am so happy that I was able to get back into it. 

A Happy and Sad day!!

Yesterday was a good day, and a sad day. It was the one year anniversary of my husbands death from cancer. It was the day a year ago that my life turned up side down. I have come a long way since that day. I have had to learn to do many things that I never did before. I continue on one day at a time, with the help of my sons and my granddaughter Kaelyn. 

Walter, who has my husbands middle name as his name and will be a year old on July 26, was born 10 days after my husband passed. He is a special puppy and is now living with my granddaughter Kaelyn. She is his care taker and is helping him adjust to a new life. We are hoping that it works for both of them. If not he will come back here and spend the rest of his life with me and Kaelyn will visit with him. Time will tell.

Hot and humid again today, hard on the dogs, they don't care for the heat. Thunder storms predicted so Bling will find a place to hide, she is terrified of the thunder and lightning. She is eight years old and I doubt she will ever adjust to storms. Keeper who is two years old is a little bothered but not terrified. He will get on the couch and wait for it to pass, the rest of the dogs do not seem to be bothered at all. 

I am pushing myself to get back into the training mode and get Keeper going again. The heat makes it hard for outside work but the house is cool and he can start with a little nose work inside. He was so energized last night that he spent fifteen minutes running from living room to kitchen and back again, he was so funny to watch as he was trying to go full speed. He did pretty good and both Topaz and Luke were trying to get in on the chase. This tells me that they all need more exercise. 

Time to get the dogs fed and the morning started. I  hope I will be able to tell you about Keeper's success with nose work. So many dogs seem to love it and learn so fast and mental work tires them out physically. Will be back here soon.

Pretty good start to today. The whole upstairs is vacuumed and clean. Feels good to accomplish something positive. 
Now to get started with the dogs. I am going to start with Keeper as it has been awhile since I have worked with him and he was doing so well. Once I have finished with Keeper I will start leash training Topaz. I have been very lazy in getting her started. She is a bright pup and I think will catch on very quickly. 
Since Walter is living with my granddaughter and Jeep is with a friend of mine so I do have more time to work with my young dogs.
Luke needs to go back to a Canine Good Citizen  class so that he can be certified for Therapy. I am really looking forward to get into visiting the nursing homes once again. It is such a nice feeling when people are getting pleasure and joy from one of your dogs. They so look forward to seeing the dogs. 
I am slowly adjusting to life with just my dogs. They keep me going and are good friends. They give me a purpose and get me going in the mornings. I have my morning coffee with the dogs and it is a very pleasant time of day. 
Next is to schedule a time every day to exercise the dogs. They are in need of exercise and when exercised they train easier and are calmer and give me more focus.
I think the best time is earlier in the morning to get them out and moving. 
Setting goals is good for me, something to work towards and keep me focused.I will let you know how these goals work out. Hopefully I can follow through. Good productive days are just what I need.

New Day

Happy for another new day! It is always a blessing when I can get up and face a new day. 
Walter has been with my granddaughter for 3 days now and all seems to be going well. I have not heard yet today but I am sure that all is fine. 

Another of my Shelties, Jeep is with a friend of mine so that he can work in agility more. I don't have the stamina to keep up with  him and he loves to work so much. He will be competing in a trial this coming weekend and I hope he does well. We are co-owning him  so he will have two homes but spend his time in his new agility home. He has been adjusting very well, I am really happy for him. 

Most importantly for all my dogs is safety and happiness. 

I am still going to get Luke his CGC so that he can be certified for therapy dog work.  He completed the class, but the day of the test he missed the test due to having a foot of a toy removed surgically. That slowed him down for quite awhile. But he is now well recovered and ready to take up training again.

My oversize Sheltie, Keeper will be starting nose work soon and I hope the mental stimulation will slow him down some. Nose work looks like it can be a lot of fun. 

I need to keep my Shelties stimulated and engaged in some sort of work. When they are bored is when they get into some sort of trouble.

I would like Keeper to become a confident working dog so that he he could compete in some obedience trials, eventually. Living with the Shelties is almost a full time job especially when it means keeping them all groomed,  healthy and happy.

I would not have it any other way. They keep me going,  they are good company and with having to adjust to a new life style without my husband, they make it a little easier.

                                                                         Keeper

 

Funny how things turn out. How each day  something comes about that you had no idea that it would happen. Today Walter our little year old sable male when to live with his co-owner, my granddaughter. She is old enough for the responsibility of a pup. He is a year old so he is house trained, leash trained and crate trained. She just needs to spend time with him and do some training. I am looking forward to seeing how it goes and what Kaelyn can accomplish with Walter. Being summer it is the perfect time for her to have a puppy. I am counting on my granddaughter to keep him happy and safe. 

As with any new animal, safety is primary especially until they are well adjusted. It is important at all times but when they are new to the environment it is critical. I am sure that Kaelyn will keep him safe and spend some time with hm.

Funny how each day something comes about that you had no idea would happen. I had been considering a new home for Walter but this is absolutely the perfect solution.

This leaves me with seven shelties and it seems so quiet here. They will all get more attention and time which is what I want for my dogs. 

Today really turned out to be such a good day. Unexpected but perfect. 

That is about it for now. Will try to keep this blog going smoothly. 

The dogs are out for their last time tonight, the fireworks will be starting and they do not like that noise in the least. We had a nice quiet day and it was way to hot to do anything much. 
I read some, worked on the computer while the dogs slept in the cool air of the AC. After their dinner they were full of it and played a little game of chase between the living room and the kitchen. Keeper tried to get into the zoomie mode but not much room for such speed. 

I hope to get something accomplished tomorrow. Maybe get a couple more dogs groomed, I can do that in front of the AC.  I hope to start some nose work with the young dogs, I can do this at home until a class opens up for them. They need the mental stimulation which will hopefully wear them out.

I am looking forward to getting back into some dog classes. I really miss them. 

The fire works are starting so need to get everyone in and ready for bed. 

Hope that everyone had a safe and happy 4th of July.