Fun Off-Leash

I start most of my fosters out on a longline by the end of the second week on our large property. Even if we were completely and totally safetly fenced, three acres is way too large a property to go chasing a dog down on. Sometimes Jinks decides even though she's 80% effective on her recall, that she'll give us a run for our money. I can't blame her, she's so much faster than us and has so much more energy to burn :P

However, after two days of seeing Penny's perfect recall -even when she is playing hard with another dog!- and the kling-on nature of Cheddar (he HATES to be left alone, so he's wherever you or another dog is. He doesn't venture off alone), we decided to forgo longlining and just have a good jaunt a few times a day out in the field, making sure to bring some snacks and a couple of leashes with us just in case.

I have to get some details from Lisa B on how to upgrade my system to google Chrome as whatever the blogger is on currently I can no longer put pictures on the blog :(

But, if you want to see some pictures of Penny and Cheddar, please feel free to visit this link: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150935828588671.415517.729918670&type=1#!/photo.php?fbid=10151223981833671&set=a.10150935828588671.415517.729918670&type=3&theater This picture and the ones to the right include Penny and Cheddar, as well as our dogs. The rest of the album is other fosters that have been through our place.

Here are some little videos of them too:
Cheddar: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150935828588671.415517.729918670&type=1#!/photo.php?v=10151223928833671&set=vb.729918670&type=3&theater

Penny: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150935828588671.415517.729918670&type=1#!/photo.php?v=10151223936048671&set=vb.729918670&type=3&theater

We have a homecheck for Cheddar tomorrow, and Penny has a FANTASTIC application in West Vancouver. After reading the application both Kathleen and I agreed it fit Penny much better than staying here. But we both snuffled about it. Penny might be the first foster I cry over :(

And just for fun, I've made a new album of Jinks pictures: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151223977343671.463954.729918670&type=3

Things have been going really well otherwise. Cheddar's crate-training is coming along well. Since he likes dogs so much I decide to crate him with Jinks to excellerate the process. Now every time she heads to bed, he heads in there with her (Jinks is such a border collie and can't seem to sit still/sleep unless she's in her crate -at least she puts herself in there). We're weaning him off Jinks quickly -she doesn't mind taking naps with him, but overnight she's a might be perturbed. She likes her own bed.

It will be important for whoever Cheddar's new family is to continue to either crate-train him or to x-pen train him or even train him to hang out being a baby gate for an hour or two without a person. He will very easily have a lot of seperation anxiety. So even if he goes to someone whose home all day it's important to make sure he gets comfortable being alone for short periods -at least an hour-. Because life is: we get groceries, we want to go to the odd movie, a play, a friend's house for dinner. It is important we train our dogs to be comfortable hanging on their own for an hour. For their own well-being and for our sanity. I know quite a few dogs who have seperation anxiety more because their people let them kling-on all the time. It's just not 100% healthy.

So for now, Cheddar gets an hour nap in the morning with Jinks after breakfast and a good run in the yard, a nap right when we got home from daycare for about 2 hours (supper time) where he is on his own crated, and then overnight when he is crated as well. His neediness of attachment is already starting to slip away. Of course, when we're around he's still going to be a kling-on dog, but he is becoming confident and stable by learning to be okay alone.

Penny has been her usual awesome self. We have her off-leash almost everywhere now. We've only had 3 fosters off-leash by the end of two weeks, so it's a real priviledge and sign she's an awesome girl. I don't just 'try dogs out off-leash' -I'm paranoid-.

She did really well at daycare and had some huge matts cut out from behind her ears and from her bum fluff. She handled it very well and because she's so long-hairred she doesn't look funny at all with the missing pieces. When people started to come pick up their dogs at the end of the day she had a little freak out (I think she thought her person was going to come through that door and find her). Once everyone was gone she went back to her usual self. Poor pup, she truly loves whoever it is who so sadly dumped her. She's so loyal, well-trained too.

Hopefully I will find a way to put the pictures and videos directly on the blog soon. Will update about Cheddar home check tomorrow :)

Emily Out