I bought an Out of The Box Pet Sampler and I thought it would be fun to do a review and show off all the fun items we received in our box. The pups really thought it was great to get a box delivered that was just for them :)
And they are adorable!!
This is Dhali in his favorite spot - underneath the plum tree laying in the grass :)
Weeeee! A video of agility! Yes we have been working on something.
Dhali has been very hesitant about the big teeter. Of course, when I brought the little teeter outside to just play an easy game of 'bang it' he was all "I'm not scared!". Crazy little guy.
He's getting better and better about not biting me and hopefully I am getting better at giving him the right direction. I'll have to wait and see what the official word is from Loretta, if I'm doing good/bad.
Look at him do the weaves! He's figuring it out. At first I had fences on either side, but he doesn't need them any more. I'm not sure how they figure this stuff out, like running contacts, but they seem to get it. A little bit every day.
My goal is to have a fast, smooth running dog. LOL! I think that's everyone's goal. It might take a long time, but I think it will be worth it :)
Tibby makes a cameo appearance at the beginning of the video. She really does not like to do agility, but she likes hot dogs, so she will bang that *%&#* teeter until she gets some hot dogs or I take her away. She is such a funny dog. Crazy that she is the most willing to do the teeter, when it was THE scariest thing to her in the beginning. It took a long time just to shape her to look at and take one step toward the teeter. Now she won't get off it!
It rained for a long, long, long time....6 days. I had to make Dhali put on the raincoat. It actually fit him! Which is crazy, because it doesn't fit Tibby anymore. It just goes to show all his height is in his long legs. Tibby has a longer back and is built differently. Dhali's bone structure is more delicate. I can tell this by feeling their heads - Tibby: square and heavy, Dhali: thin and light (and tiny too). He has a tiny head.
Anyway.....these pictures were taken on the day he turned ONE! Then we went shopping. I forgot to make him wear the raincoat into the store.
Dhali shopping! Isn't he cute?!? He loves to go shopping. I didn't get a very good video of it, but he is rubbing himself on the racks of bones - just like a cat. He LOVES to rub up on stinky stuff.
I took him to a race on Sat. We watch (and cheered) for my Mom. After the race we had to stand around FOREVER waiting for the awards. Dhali did AMAZING. He sat and stared at me or laid down on the ground and rested. He was totally relaxed - even though we were surround by tons of people. My biggest fear was the someone would step on him, because he was being so good and invisible.
Anyway....a man was squatting down in front of us and I wasn't paying attention. Dhali apparently thought the guy smelled AMAZING and tried to rub the glorious stink on himself. LOL! That was his one silly moment. I don't think the guy realized that he was basically sitting on a dog until Dhali stuck his cold nose into he man's leg LOL!! I had to laugh at that :)
Oh and P.S. I didn't have a treat on me and Dhali was still amazing.
I'm working up to our SUPER AWESOME lesson with Loretta Mueller....so hang in there!
On Thursday we had a lesson with Loretta at her place. It was so long ago since our last time up there - 9 months! A lot happens in 9 months This was Dhali's First Lesson.
I had forgotten how looooong the trip is. It takes forever. The trip wasn't so bad until about 40 mins from Loretta's place I got behind 4 cars that were stuck behind a truck going (at the fastest) 40 mph!!!! If you can't drive the speed limit - pull over! I was trying to stay relaxed and calm, so I wouldn't arrive at the lesson all stressed out, but I think I failed :P
Dhali really liked Loretta's sheep. I was trying to get him to potty (ha,ha,ha) and Dhali was more interested in the sheep. "They run away! Yay! Let's chase them!" Um, no.
Dhali was a little nervous for the first 10 mins. inside the barn. I think that was pretty normal - totally new place with a new person (Loretta) and he did a little sniffing around. Once he figured out we were there to play - he was great :) He likes to play!
My favorite parts were when Loretta was handling him - he did so good with her. He gets it - I'm the one who needs the work! It was really beautiful to see him running. Wish I had a video!
I got a lot of good information to work on and Loretta said I've done a good job with him (Yay!). After his little nervous bit at the beginning he worked for the entire hour - really hard too. We were both out of breath most of the time :P
It was so worth the long drive!
P.S. Dhali ate like a pound of meat treats at the lesson and then came home and ate his dinner - he also wasn't tired. I was though!
Working on some of the sends Loretta taught us. I need to look at the jump and not cute little Dhali!
And this is Dhali's channel work. This is his 3rd time on the channel and his first time outside with it. I think he is doing really well. He's fast.
LOL! Dhali 'driving' - driving to and away from the jumps :)
Silvia thought he was doing much better having better obstacle focus and sending away from me.
I think he has gotten even better this last week. Tomorrow if it isn't raining again we will video .
Dhali running on the carpet. He is very good at this, but not so great at running on a flat board. I'm not sure (still) what I want to do with his contacts. I want running, but it will take a lot of work, because he is fast and I am slow :)
We have been playing around with 2 jumps and tunnel in between them. I think it made the lightbulb go on in Dhali's brain - he was sending beautifully to the jump the last time we played.
Tibby is doing very good. She is very relaxed and loves the warmer weather, but not when it's too hot ;) Sometimes after I have played with Dhali, I bring her out to see what she wants to do. She likes heeling for hotdogs outside - which is a major improvement for her. Before she was too afraid/distracted by everything to do anything and would just run back inside. I have to be careful not to get too close to the agility equipment when we are heeling or she will offer going through the tunnel or wrapping the jumps - she has a strong foundation! :)
So this is our 2nd or maybe 3rd week of Silvia's online foundation class. This is the part that I love/hate (mostly hate) about these classes. I think my boy is amazing and I hate to find out that he isn't perfect. :(
Silvia says that he doesn't have any obstacle focus. Sad, because it's true. But I have been working on it and again that is what I hate about these classes. Instead of us just having fun, it becomes work.
Silvia said he was just running as fast as my hand was going and wasn't seeking out the jumps himself.
Cik/Cap or wrap
Just playing around with the tunnels. We were sick of all the snow and bored.
"Weaving" I don't know if he understands the weaves yet...
So Silvia said I should play the 2 ball game with Dhali. Now I don't know what the 2 ball game exactly looks like, because I don't have her video (even though I have taken the foundation class 5 times...4 times $120 plus $220 for the first one...yeah I think I should get the video), but I watched a bunch of my classmates videos and I think I kind of figured it out. 2 balls and a tunnel and you get the dog to run chasing the ball and then recall through the tunnel to chase another ball. This is supposed to teach obstacle focus. Dhali thinks this game is ok, but "hey wouldn't it be more fun if you ran WITH me?!? Huh? Wouldn't it?!?"
I'm not playing this game with him any more. We both are not having any fun with it. Dhali wants to tug and play with me and this game is just not for him. I made a promise with Dhali that I wouldn't do things training-wise that I felt were 'wrong' for him. I made that mistake with Tibby. Someone can be an expert, but I know my own dog and I need to trust that.
I think time and experience and training and playing more agility. PLAYING more WITH me will give him obstacle focus.
He just needs experience. I can see already this week that he is getting better about seeking out obstacles. Even on that first video he was trying to find the jump to wrap - even if it was the far jump upright. He doesn't know the rules!
I've started him on the LM jump program thing too this week. He will be a year old at the end of next month, so I think a little controlled jumping at a low height won't hurt him.
I'm a week behind in posting this, but Silvia Trkman's AF class started last Monday. We are in the class......again! It's Dhali's first time in agility foundations, but this is like my 7th class with her or maybe more? I've lost count LOL!
So this was our pre class video. Silvia said not to worry, because the class hadn't even started yet. LOL! I'm not worried. Dhali is awesome. If he can't become some kind of agility dog then I have a problem. He loves to play the game. He's fast and he learns quickly.
Finally he is learning! I took a break from clicker training him and let his brain catch up with his growing body. Now I think his brain has matured enough that he can focus without getting frustrated.
Although he still gets frustrated and then he bites me! Silvia said he needs more forward focus and obstacle focus. Yes, but how do I train that when I've done such a good job training handler focus! :P
Dhali is also over 17 inches tall at this point. Fingers crossed that he settles down a little bit and ends up shorter, but I'm not holding my breath. Tibby is just under 16 inches and Dhali is about an inch and 1/2 taller than her. I don't know if it is related to his neuter? Or if he would have had this growth spurt anyway? But he shot up right after he was neutered. Boo. Oh well, he's still perfect.
P.S. Hello to all my AF stalkers!! *waving* I didn't even know you were out there LOL!
Another video of Dhali! I made this the day he was having his surgery. Dhali highlights! Some form puppy class, some playing with me and some playing outside. He is fairly awesome :)
Just 3 more days and he will be 10 months old!
He has amazing play skills! He can play when I'm holding treats and when there are even treats on the ground. He can switch from wild play to calmer skill learning. He can tug with Tibby right up in his face. They were playing chase and he would rather play with me :) He can focus in a big class group environment.
Awww he's perfect :)
And right now he is ripping apart a pillow....gotta love the naughty :)
All the things that are happening! I'm sure I will forget a few.....
Video from last Friday's puppy class, that I forgot to post, oops!
It's a long video, so I'm sure no one is going to watch it, but if you did watch it......you would see - Dhali being a super star puppy! Sure there were times when he was distracted, but 90% of the time he was paying attention and when I ASKED him to do something, he did it every time.
There were all new puppies in the class again.
There was a class of big dogs running and banging a full height teeter right next to our ring. It was VERY loud. Lots of barking and running and people yelling. Dhali did just fine with all of that.
He wanted to sniff the other dogs, but he wasn't obsessive about it. He was even able to choose me (and my treats) when another dog came right up to him. Some people need to have dog space lessons! Especially children that weigh less than their dogs. If I'm trying to block your dog from my dog - maybe you should reel your dog in.
He did a tire for the first time - I'm pretty sure it was the first time....
He played with me. It looks weird in the video, but yes we are playing - I'm not beating him up!
He chased his treats. This is so he would chase after me and reward him in motion/ make it a game/ect.
He was a good little 9 month old (intact) male puppy.
Speaking of intact.....Dhali gets the snip tomorrow. I'm kind of sad about it :(
First of all I'm nervous about the surgery. Second of all, what if not having his jinglejangle makes him not as playful and wild and crazy. I like the crazy!
But it has to be done. He still has one stupid retained baby tooth and he has to get that out eventually and he has to be neutered eventually. I have no idea what he's going to act like after the surgery - cone of shame? Ha! Dhali would have that off in 2 seconds. I made Tibby wear a shirt after her spay, but I don't think that would stop the D-Man.
In other more news.....I signed us up for Silvia Trkman's foundation class. It was a great class for Tibby and I think it will actually be fun to take it with Dhali. As long as he doesn't change after the neuter! Tibby has great agility skills, but doesn't want to show them off. I hope Dhali will learn great skills and want to show them off every where!
In even more, more news....we were able to sign up for the class because I sold some treats in our shop on Etsy. Want to buy some treats?!? Click on that box on the right that says Etsy! I've gotten a lot of good feedback about them. I have asked a fellow blogger to review the treats - Helen I am sending them! I just had to wait for more organic turkey gizzards to get 'harvested'.
Well, I think that is it. I'm making a video of Dhali playing tonight - nut version. And then making another in a couple weeks - nut free. We will see if there is a difference.
Dhali showing off what he can do at 9 months. He's fast! The first half of the video I have a few treats in one hand and no toy. Most of the time he can play without a toy and without biting, but sometimes he just can't help himself. Sometimes he is naughty - then he gets a time out. He was much better after the time out. It helps us both to regroup. He thinks treats are OK, but running fast is so much more fun. He could live without the treats. A lot of times we run and play 'agility' without treats or a toy. Just running around having fun.
Why are the weave poles in front of the tunnel?
Because I moved them over there, forgot they were there and then just left them, because they slow Dhali down a bit. He's not really weaving, but it helps him to collect a little coming out of the tunnel.
So what is Dhali like at 9 months? He is the cuddliest whiny nut job I know!
Right now he is leaning up against me with his head on my shoulder. If he could read I would think he was trying to read this post!
He whines and complains a lot. Sometimes I can figure out what he's complaining about, but other times he's just complaining, because he wants to complain or he's bored.
He likes to bring me toys when he's bored. We play tug and fetch.
He's always ready for a game. If I even look like I might be thinking about playing he's all over me. He's a silly happy guy.
Pretty much Tibby's COMPLETE opposite.
Except for the cuddling thing. She slept on my chest for 2 hours Saturday when we were taking a nap. She likes to be in my lap ALL the time and gets pretty jealous of Dhali. when he's in my lap instead of her.
Dhali smiles all the time and Tibby sighs all the time. Glass half full / glass half empty.
I love them both - probably even more because they are SO totally different.
Silly Dhali.
And serious Tibby. She knows how to do the teeter thatkyouverymuch. They are both silly in their own ways! She's so cute with her little attitude. I'm not sure if you can hear it, but at one point when I try to get her to go to the other end of the teeter she huffs at me, "Duh, I know what I'm doing."
Just recently she's started to want to do some of the stuff Dhali gets to do. She's really into heeling right now. Not sure how she learned that, but she can even do backing up heeling. I was very impressed with her!
After learning agility training with Tibby - slow speed. I feel like I'm re-learning everything with Dhali - fast speed.
This is really hard! It's slippery and all the added clothing makes it so hard to give directions. I was really afraid that I might slip and poke my eye out on a jump pole. That would hurt! It was fun though and a really great work out.
Wow! 2012 what a year. There have been a lot of changes. Last year I made 2 posts: One with what we had done and one with goals for the next year. This year, just one post.
I started out the year with the idea that I might add another dog to the family, but I wanted to put everything I could into training Tibby. Tibby's my baby girl. With two dogs I thought there might not be enough resources to go around - time, money....love.
2012 was all about the puppy.
So I pushed Tibby and we went on many adventures and I was frustrated a lot. A lot of dreams and jealousy of other people's dogs.
Finally I decided I was going to add another dog to the family. I made a list of what I wanted in a dog. I thought about adoption. Then I added my name to a list for a Tibetan Terrier puppy litter that was due in the late Fall. To keep myself busy and not to frustrate Tibby any more, I volunteered to foster a dog. I had a lot of fun fostering Ellie and I seriously thought about adopting her, but then I didn't. I also thought about adopting a puppy from a different place, but then I didn't. I also thought about taking my name off of the puppy list. The puppies were so expensive and I felt really guilty spending so much money on one puppy. Something just for me. For the price of one puppy I could help a bunch of foster dogs. What to do?
Then I got the message that I had not only been moved from the fall litter, but that there was a puppy for me in a litter that was already born. The last pick of the litter. And it was a boy.
Wow, last pick and a boy. I'd never had a boy and I'd always imagined that I would get another girl. Also, last pick? What to do?
I went with my heart and said I would take him. I didn't feel any deep connection looking at his first pictures, but I knew that I wanted him. Once the decision was made I stopped worrying. It felt like the right decision.
And it was. So, so happy that I chose Dhali. Last pick was THE BEST pick!!! :)
And surprise! my heart has plenty of room for two.
This was also the year that I made the big decision to take Tibby to the U of M and see a Behavioral Veterinarian. Tibby started meds and we are still waiting to see what the future holds for Tibby, but the meds have helped her a lot. She is calmer and more balanced. I feel like I'm getting my Tibby back and her personality is starting to show.
Goals for 2013:
Well, since I hardly met any of my goals for 2012 (see previous post) I will try to keep the 2013 goals modest.
For Tibby: Go on a walk and not react to anyone or any thing.
For Dhali: Oh, man I have so many dreams for Dhali. He'll be a year old at the end of May. He'll be 18 months old at the end of November. Old enough to enter an agility trial (!!!!).
My goal is: Play and have fun.
That's it. If other things happen this year, they will happen, if they don't - there is always 2014!
Our year in video! Yes it is a long movie, BUT it goes by pretty fast. We had a very busy year, but I say that every year!
See you next year!
We can't wait to start another year FULL of ADVENTURE!
Dhali is so awesome! He's so awesome that I got lost on the way home from puppy class, because I was re-living each moment of class. We made it home, but it was dark, snowy AND foggy. Fog and snow - that seems unfair. Only added another 30 mins. to our trip, so not too bad - 3 1/2 hours total round trip.
This is a video of just a few seconds of class. We did the same order of obstacles right before the video was taken - except we didn't do the chute.
I feel bad about Dhali getting caught on the little fence by the teeter. I also feel bad about the dog barking at him when he was going through the tunnel. It surprised him and he was a little hesitant. You can see I take him to the table instead of the chute. That was because of the dog barking at him and also I thought a 90 degree pull into the chute would be awfully hard.
I really wanted to say something to the guy with the aussie that barked when Dhali went through the tunnel. His dog barked every time another dog ran through the tunnel. It was a reactive sort of bark. I felt bad for him though, because he was already being so hard on himself.
This was Dhali's first time on a table. He jumped right up on it when I asked him to - yay for playing climb on this games! This week I have been trying to teach him to lie down. It's really been hard and I've started trying to lure it, because we weren't getting any where. I really, really want to teach one of the dogs to roll over! I have had this goal FOREVER and I still haven't been able to do it. So simple and so difficult.
Anyway. Dhali did really good at class. There ended up being 2 classes for puppy agility, because 4 new puppies came that hadn't had any exposure to agility stuff. It was fun to watch them - lots of people crawling into tunnels.
I crated Dhali for the first break - while the other group was working. He did really well. I could watch him in the big mirrors on the wall and he was just sitting there, watching the other dogs. And there was a tiny baby Toller (same one as before) screaming in the crate above him and another Toller chilling in the crate next to him.
I think I will always crate him, because it is more relaxing for him. When we had the 2nd break I took him with me into the little waiting room (first I took him outside to run around a little bit) and he whined and was not as happy.
There were 3 puppies in Dhali's class - Dhali and 2 Aussies. In the new group there were 2 cattle dogs, a BC and a doberman. The class is fun, but I still don't agree with puppies on pinch collars at an agility class. I'm glad I have taken a lot of online classes and gone to a lot of seminars. It makes it a lot easier to pick out what I want from the class and ignore what I don't want.
Last time he wasn't interested in food at all and wanted to play. This time he was more into food and not that interested in playing with toys. He still wanted to play with me. It was a lot busier class and there were more dogs.
This was also Dhali's first time doing a chute with a hard barrel. He's done the chute in the basement, but that has a soft barrel. And I think we've only done that maybe....twice? He didn't have any trouble going through the chute. Even after the instructor accidentally stepped on him when he came out of it one time. She feltt so bad and Dhali was like, "What?" It didn't phase him.
The first thing we did in class was an L shaped tunnel and Dhali was like - I can't do that! With it straightened a tiny bit he was fine. So work on L shaped tunnels! We did table/hoop/red tunnel/yellow tunnel the first time around and Dhali was the only puppy to get the hoop. :) Good boy! Not like I did anything! I just run with him and if he takes stuff - yay!
I'm glad we didn't have the silly orange cones tonight - I was going to sit that part out if they were doing that again.
I was really proud of Dhali - he makes everything so easy.
Dhali and Tibby having fun wrestling in the snow - lot's of pushing each other's faces into the snow. My favorite part is at 2:20 where Dhali goes through the tunnel. It's a snow fort!
The big excitement this week? The bones my Dad brought back from the 2 deer he shot. He was up north visiting my uncle. He also brought back some antlers, but I think they may be a little too hard for my pups to chew on. He cut up the bones and antlers into smaller pieces for me, but I think if he could split the antlers the dogs might like them better.
I keep the bones in the freezer and the dogs get to chew on them when they are in their crates. I have started making them go into their crates when I eat dinner or have people come over. Tibby is such a beggar with other people. With me she knows it doesn't work, BUT Dhali is a super big beggar to me, so into the crates with raw, meaty bones. I haven't heard too many complaints. Except Dhali who, at first, whines and paces around his crate with the bone in his mouth. Then he settles down and chews it.
Right now Dhali is sleeping on the back of the couch, with his head on my shoulder, breathing onto my neck. Sweet puppy!
I feed them both dinner in their crates too. Dhali tends to steal Tibby's food. He has a funny habit where he with 'bury' his food. If there are toys or bedding in the crate he will pile them on top of his bowl, until the bowl is covered. It's very cute and funny to watch. I'm not sure if he is saving it for later or telling me that he is done eating? But it's cute.
Tibby stayed in her crate (her's is actually the one on the right) for FOUR hours while I was AT WORK. WOW! That's the longest she has ever stayed in a crate. It was on Wed. I came home from work for lunch and after going potty she went into her crate, so I gave her a frozen bone to chew on. When it was time for me to go back to work, she wouldn't get out of the crate or trade me for the bone, so I had to leave her in the crate. I couldn't let her walk around the house with a big raw bone. She likes to sleep in my bed - eww.
When I came home I parked in the driveway and listened to see if I could hear any barking. Nope. All was quiet. She was a little stressed when she got out of the crate, but not too bad. I wish I could watch a video of it to see what she did.
Dhali lost another tooth - woohoo! Now it will only cost me $50 to get the other 2 removed! We were playing and he was tugging on a toy, running through the tunnel, etc. I noticed some blood smeared on the tunnel's tag and some on his foot. Checked his mouth - yup, tooth on the bottom was gone. The next day I found the tooth - white carpet, white tooth - really hard to find it! It was jagged, like it had snapped off, but the hole in his mouth where it used to be looks ok, so I guess it came out the right way.
This above picture is what happens when you say you don't want to eat a frozen chicken wing, but your little brother loves chomping on frozen chicken wings. You get to watch him eat his chicken wing.
This week I have been playing phone tag with the Veterinary Behavioral Science dept. at the U of M. Tibby got a referral and I wanted to make an appt. The first message they left me said they were booked until the end of Feb. When I finally got someone to call me back again, because they were either busy or it wasn't their business hours (I even got up early and called them once at 7am, because a receptionist told me that was a good time to find them) they had booked all of Feb. and the first appt. was March 13th. Lucky 13?
So I filled out and emailed back all the paper work. I had to pick Tibby's 3 issues. Barking/screaming/lunging at people and dogs is #1. Tibby now has the reputation as the 'mean dog' in the neighborhood. Fear of new things and men was #2 and restlessness at night was #3.
The hardest part to write was the what are your goals for this visit: What questions would you liked answered - How can I make Tibby happy?
Possibly because we finally got our appt. time Tibby decided that she wanted to play today and do agility. See below for proof (also cute Dhali)
Some tricks that we have been working on. Just Dhali. The first video is from the beg. of last month and the last one is from a week or so ago. Look at how big he is now!!! I want to <squeeze> him he's so cute!
I have a bad habit of training WAY too long with him. Bad momma. He is just so willing to work for a long time and I lose track of the time. I never had that problem with Tibby! She would just walk away. Which I am learning, thank you Leslie McDevitt, isn't such a bad thing to do.
The Drama! He has the holee roller, he loses the holle roller and he sees the holee roller with another. Will he ever get his holee roller back? Should be a Lifetime movie.
Now I remember why I remodeled the basement - winter is nasty. It's dark, all the time. It's wet, all the time. It's cold and wet and dark. I would like to see the sun again! It's dark when I go to work and dark when I get home and then it gets darker. It has rained/drizzled for days and days. I can't remember how long! That's a long time.
So it was good to get out of the house tonight with Dhali and go shopping at Runnings again. We just wandered around and eventually bought some puppy food which conveniently was both on sale and something I needed to get. Dhali was good, which I sort of just expect from him now. He got to meet some people, a man and woman that asked to pet him. He was soooo good. He sits right down and snuggles up to them and then he wanted them to rub his belly. He thought the man's cowboy boots smelled really, really good. LOL! The check out girl remembered him from one of his first visits when he was a puppy. They are pretty nice to us there :) Some of the customers are surprised to see a dog in the store - I had one weird reaction from a woman when Dhali was a tiny baby and I was carrying him, but the store employees are all pretty relaxed about seeing us in the store.
It was nice to be able to walk around in the light and not be rained on. I am starting to feel like I live in a dark shoe box with two furry WWF fighters. Bitey games are fun, but not when they go on for hours. If you have somewhere to take your dog weekly and train - well you are lucky! It's going to be a long winter of cabin fever for us.
In Runnings we did some 'look at that' Control Unleashed sort of stuff. I don't really understand the whole game, but Dhali was looking at weird stuff and then I would say, 'yes!' and give him a treat. Then he was offering looking at weird stuff (tractor parts, chicken feeders, hoses, other farm stuff that I don't recognize) to get his treat, so I think he is starting to understand the game. We've worked on the beginning steps at home, which are sort of boring and Dhali gets too into it and wants to run at the object or do something like hit it with his paw.
I made the mistake of wandering into the brush department. Dhali LOVES brushes, brooms, sweepers, anything with bristles. He was trying to pick out his favorite one and then he found one he liked and tried to carry it away! I would have bought it, but it was almost $20 and he has a ton of toys already. I would like to find a cheaper one, that he likes, to use as a playtime/training toy. Also, a smaller one would be good too :P
One thing that is good about the rain and mud - Dhali has learned to wait. I taught him the same way I taught Tibby (and she has a pretty good wait). After he gets his paws washed off in the bathtub I let him jump out and then I dry him off. Then he has to wait while I open the door, shut off the light, walk out of the door and walk around the corner. Then I come back and release him with 'okay'. He runs out of the bathroom like a shot! Very cute. We worked up to all those steps - he gets his feet washed a lot, so lots of practice! The next step is to lengthen the time I'm out of sight and then I come back and leave and come back and leave - 'ya know proofing stuff. He's generalized this to other things too - like waiting while Catty drinks her milk snack and then getting released to clean up after her.
I was drying his feet tonight after a wash off and a tooth popped out of his mouth! It was a big side tooth. It just shot right out on to the floor! His canines are still all there and I wish they would fall out already! They look so weird. He doesn't seem to be bothered by his teeth at all - chews bully sticks, bites on Tibby and tugs the same. I try to be careful when we are playing that the toy doesn't get caught on his teeth. I don't want him to stop tugging or associate pain with tugging!
Happy Rad Tech week! I celebrated with my co-workers today and we had a potluck. I brought Cha Siu Bao - Chinese barbecued pork. It cooked slowly all last night and the puppies thought they needed to check on it multiple times during the night. I swear, Dhali woke me up and I let him out of the bedroom and he ran directly to the oven and stared at it. I also made the regular recipe for the buns, but I pretzel-ized them. OMG! I love pretzel buns now and they are so easy to make!
This time next month we will be getting ready for Dhali's first real dog show! Very exciting! If you are in St. Cloud Dec. 8th or 9th come and visit us!
Independent, curious, highly intelligent,clever, mischievous, precocious, strong-minded, playful. Collected from various sources:
1 -Stubbornness. Tibetan Terriers have an independent mind of their own and can be stubborn and manipulative. You must show them, through absolute consistency, that you mean what you say.
2-Suspiciousness or timidity when not socialized enough.
3-"Separation anxiety" (destructiveness and barking) when left alone too much.
4-Lively and playful at times, yet also calm and low-key.
5-Makes a good watchdog but is not aggressive with people.
6-Most are amiable with other animals, though perhaps a bit bossy.
7- The Tibetan Terrier is very stubborn in general and must be shown from Day One that you are in control.
8-An athletic and agile sure-footed climber, and a clever problem-solver who often uses his paws with great adeptness to open doors and hold toys.
9- 1/3 Dog + 1/3 Cat + 1/3 Teenager = 1 Tibetan Terrier
10-Tibetan Terriers are family-oriented: they love to play games and participate in activities with their people.
Patience and a sense of humor are musts for the people of a Tibetan Terrier.
