Tibby Pre

I thought you all might like to see why I took Tibby to the behaviorist veterinarian on Tuesday.  And why we started her on medication.  A lot of people have told me that Tibby is just acting like a dog and I'm expecting too much from a dog.

 The first 2 are the video I made for our appointment - had to split it into 2 for youtube.

The other 2 are videos I made for myself of all the times I could find when Tibby was stressed in a training situation.  There are actually many, many more examples, but the videos were getting super long. 

I hope that these videos will be Tibby's Pre treatment videos and we'll be able to look back at these and see how much progress she has made :)

At 1:12 when she is reacting - she is reacting to seeing herself in a mirror. That is sort of what she does when she sees another dog on a walk. Only multiple that reaction by 10. She screams, lunges, whines, snaps, jumps, paws at the air. It's scary to be on the other end of the leash, because I know she's not in her mind when she's reacting and I'm a little bit afraid she might turn around and bite me.

 

 More staring at 'scary' things. She gets stuck and stares for long periods of time. The very beginning of the video is Tibby being scared of a mitten that fell onto her bully stick. Dhali was playing with the mitten and dropped it.


 

Helpful

Daily Dog Challenge

268 - Adjective - What's the first adjective that comes to mind when you think of your dog? Take a photo that shows us what it is.

Playful and cute would be the first thing that comes to mind for Dhali.  Tibby would be sweet and cuddly.  BUT I had this cute picture!  So helpful is the word!

A Cloud Studio Collar and Leash Review

Kat and Amy from A Cloud Studio let Tibby test out their unique dog collar and leash design!

The collar and leash are extremely well made and they look so elegant!

 

Kat Cloud explains the road that led them to designing these beautiful collars and leashes, " I moved to Winooski VT with the love of my life Matt in 2009. Trying to find jobs after college and just living life as a young couple until Matt relapsed with Leukemia in December 2010.......In April of 2011 Matt and I went to Boston Children's hospital where he stayed a few months for a bone marrow transplant. After returning home Matt was doing great and on his way to a year of recovering from the transplant. During this time we planned our wedding and futures together, including getting a dog that could keep up with Matt like he always wanted, a Hungarian Vizsla.

In October of 2011 Matt relapsed again with his Leukemia and we stayed in the hospital for upwards of a month because he was too sick to go home. We quickly realized the grim reality and spent as much time with our families at the hospital. On the morning of 11-11-11 Matt's mother Amy and my brother did the most amazing thing ever...they planned a wedding with hospital staff and decorated the family room on our floor. Matt and I had the most amazing wedding I could ever dream of, complete with a balloon arch. Matthew B. Cloud passed away the morning of 11-13-11.

Matt's family has been wonderful and comforting during everything. Right before Christmas Matt's parents helped me find a Vizsla puppy to keep me company. I named her Harper after an inside joke with Matt.

Matt's mother Amy went with me to get her and being completely unprepared to welcome a puppy into my life I had nothing on me, like a leash and collar. On the way home from our trip we stopped at a chain pet store to purchase a leash and collar only to find that the options were slim and overpriced for ugly, not fun designs.

Covered in puppy puke and drool I thought out loud to Amy "I could make these and make them look better." Matt's mother is a talented VT crafter and encouraged me to pursue such an idea. With her help we created K Cloud Designs chain of puppy ware 'Puppy Love.'"

 

Tibby shows off one of the leashes unique features: a carabiner lead.  Before we got the leash I wasn't sure how this feature would work.  After trying it out I have to say it's really nice!  It's very strong and easy to attach to the collar.  My Mom has arthritis and she thought this was a great idea for a leash snap.  She always has trouble fumbling with the tiny snaps on Tibby's leashes, but the carabiner made it so easy for her!  She said this should be marketed to all arthritis sufferers! 

 

Each leash is lovingly hand made by Kat and Amy Cloud.  They use high quality webbing, ribbons and will even personalize your leash or collar with a fabric (such as a blanket or piece of clothing) that has personal meaning to you.  They also stitch this cute label to each leash!   "I love my dog"  I loved looking down at that when Tibby and I took a walk - so cute!

 

Tibby shows off the curved plastic buckle on the adjustable collar. 

They have a LOT of fabric color and design choices - from solid colors to plaids to prints to pokadots!

If you need help deciding on a color or print (and you might, because there are a ton to choose from): Just tell them a little about your pet's personality and they will help you pick one out.  I LOVE the one they picked for Tibby!  It's PERFECT!

 

Isn't it gorgeous! 

I think Tibby looks super elegant in her new A Cloud Studio Collar and Leash!

 

Check out A Cloud Studio if you want:

• A personalized collar and leash
• made from high quality materials
• with a unique carabiner  design
• and sweet touches like the I love my dog tag!

 

Hands Free Leash Review + Giveaway

Tibby and I tried out a neat leash today.  It's a hands-free leash from lilydc.

Lily started making these leashes, because she jogs and hikes with her dog Dotty.

She also makes some beautiful tumbled glass pendants - check them out here!

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Tibby and I tried out the leash 2 different ways - first we took a long walk.  I wrapped the leash around my waist, snapped the buckle and we were off!  Easy! 

It was a very windy day and I was able to walk along with my hands in my pockets.  Tibby trotted along and I had warm hands - win win! Another benefit of this lilydc hands-free leash, I didn't have to worry about the leash slipping out of my hands, when Tibby got excited about someone walking toward us.  She was attached to me, so she wasn't going any where!  This was especially nice when Tibby decided to chase some leaves as we were crossing the highway.  She tried to dash off, but she didn't get too far!

Next, we used the leash for a training session.  This lilydc hands-free leash really simplified training.  It was easy to have my clicker in one hand and the treats in the other hand.  I didn't have to worry about the leash at all!  It was also easy to adjust the leash from a walking/hiking length to a shorter training length.

See!  It's great for training!

Here is a video to show you how easy it is to train with a hand-free leash.  It would be perfect for training loose leash walking. 

This lilydc hands-free leash is made out of a nylon strap measuring 8 feet 8 inches long. It has a swivel bolt snap hook and a durable plastic buckle.

Guess what?!? You can win this leash!

To win this leash you must leave a comment with 2 things:

1 - Go to lilydc's store.
 Look for the breed of dog she has modeling her leash. That's Lilly's cute dog Dotty!

2 - Then leave a comment on this post with your answer and your e-mail address.
I will have Tibby pick a winner on Monday!

International readers are welcome to enter!  We love ALL our readers!!

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For this giveaway I will allow entries from Tibby's facebook page.
However, in the future:
Tis' the season for giveaways and to simplify things as the year ends I will only count entries from the blog post page.


Disclosure: I did not receive any financial compensation for this post. All opinions are my own and uninfluenced by anyone else. I received a free product to facilitate my review, but that did not affect my opinion.

 

New Tuggies

Tibby got a new tug and leash on Friday.  It was a reward for getting groomed Friday morning.  This is the shop where I bought them.  Tillies Tuggies  The store owner let me pick the colors.  I got brown and aqua - matches Tibby's crate.  A portion of every tug purchased goes to the Glen Highland Farm BC rescue.

What makes these really special is the rabbit fur braided into the tug.

"Hmmm, what's this?"

"Mine!  All mine!"

This is the leash with the tug bar.

"Rawr!"

"Is this how you do it?"

"Let me get a better grip."

"What?"

"I'm just playing with my new toys...."

Miracle Alert

I just took a relaxing stroll with Tibby and she had a loose leash the whole time.  Awe.  Yesterday at Petsmart I bought her an Easy Walk harness.  Today I put it on her and Poof! she could walk nicely.  Wow.  I held on to the leash with 2 fingers.  2 fingers!!  Not holding on with all my strength while she pulled me through snow banks.  We saw people, we saw cars, we passed dogs  - she was interested, but did not pull.  I kept waiting for the newness to wear off and for Tibby to start pulling again.  And hour later.....she was still perfect!
If she keeps walking like this I can take her anywhere with me.  Wonderful!  My Mom can walk her and I won't have to worry about Tibby pulling her over.  Brilliant!