Monday, August 20, 2007

Sparky and Skywritings...

Found a terrific blog from Freddie's blog roll...
she has such good taste, ya know.

The blog is called Skywritings and it is put together
by a patriotic pilot with a PhD. Beautiful writing.
And, gentlemen... for those with a preference,
she is a redhead.
Go read. You won't be disappointed.


SPARKY UPDATE:

The little booger is five months old. Half black lab/half chow.
He loves running free in the yard, has a pretty good understanding
of playing ball and returning it, sleeps beside his water bowl and
often responds correctly to the "sit" command. Often, not always.

I've heard him whine just a few times and, so far, he has not barked.
He was introduced to Putz, but Putz was not amused.
They didn't fight but, Putz tried to claw through the window.
I tried again a bit later and all was much calmer, so I think they'll
be ok eventually.

The worst thing so far is he ...bounces.
Wants to jump alllllllll the time.
And, lick. Criminy... puppy slobber. Everywhere.
Oh, yeah... he destroyed the Sunday paper. In the yard.

I realized that it has been seventeen years since I've had a puppy
around here. I forgot just how much energy they expend.
If he doesn't give me a stroke from exertion, it looks like this is
going to be ok.

16 comments:

none said...

Sounds like cute pup.

If he jumps on you too much just put a knee up. Once he jumps into the knee enough times the behavior will subside. Especially if they have muddy paws...

Jean said...

I'll try that. Thanks, Hammer.

Enemy of the Republic said...

We are getting a dog soon.

Anonymous said...

Another good tool is what I call "The Squirt Bottle of Discipline" -- one of those things you can get at any nursery or Target. Just a squirt bottle (make sure you can make it come out in a stream like a squirt gun) and squirt him in the face when he does something he shouldn't do, accompanied by a strong "NO".

If he's a jumper, the other thing you can do is get him a choke collar and a very short leash (leave it on him ONLY when you're around to avoid choking issues). When he jumps up, grab the leash and give it a jerk and a "NO". It worked on my 90 lb. Weimaraner.

Jean said...

Thanks, Sparrow. I knew I could count on my wonderful readers for good advice.

EotR - We may need to compare notes :)

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the kind words Jean. I often wish I could write half as well as some of those on my blogroll (yourself included). I sure like reading 'em all though!

(I found Skywritings at QofD's place - good stuff!)

Anonymous said...

Sparky's update made me smile, if only because it made me remember the lab/Scottie mix we had. To stop the jumping, we turned our back on her; she eventually got the idea and sat down when she saw our backs. Get down to her level.

sparringK9 said...

:-)

boneman said...

Yeah. What She said, only imagine it withut the teeth!

Jean said...

Freddie - you write very well.
(QofD has a good blog too)

Bonnie - another good suggestion... thanks!

she - yeah, yeah I know :)

Berry - oh good grief :)

h said...

Puppy Pictures! Forthwith! Hey, I used a poetry sort of word!

Jean said...

as - 'Forthwith'... my, my, my :)

Valerie - Still Riding Forward said...

Hey Jean, I am on my second chowbrador. I love them. This dog does not need squirting - use your voice and body to get your point across.

These dogs are gentle, smart and love children. They are very protective of everyone but especially kids.

I walk forward into a leaping pup, saying "NO!" in the grumpy voice, and step - GENTlY - on their back feet. They slid their paw back and go back on all fours. Then you pet and praise them in the "nice doggy" voice.

The first one I had would not eat or drink until I came home. He somehow figured out that food in and food out didn't work if he was left in the house.

Use the same words and gestures for your training and this pup will pick them up. Mine did all his "tricks" to hand signals.

You have got a real prize there if you just invest some time in loving and working with the pup.

They only bark when they have something to say. Intruder, squirrel, help, not just noisy.

I had Warf nine years and I am going on five or so with Shadow, who was a rescue, too.

The only negative I have had is they both had flea allergies. If pup starts gnawing on itself get it right to the vet.

Oh, and they shed. Big time. I never cared about that though.

These are a great cross! Enjoy!

Uh, did you get that I like them?

Jean said...

Val - ha...this is great!

LBJ said...

thanks for the compliment. I'm glad you enjoy it!
"scully".

Jean said...

Scully - It's a great blog!