Shirley

Some delightful pictures of Shirley - September 2011

Tillie

Here's Montana Tillie.

...from Montana...

Good guard and we love him but he and our male Beauceron are always fighting, and neither one wants to quit- so this week they are both getting neutered to hopefully take the wind our of their sails. We do hope he does not loose his protective instints but will calm down with the dog dominance stuff? If we did not have the other male things would be perfect. He is about 85 lbs, beautiful coat,all muscle and very active. Regards Ezra

Misha

Hey Sunny! It's great to hear from you. I've been meaning to send you an email for months.
In a nutshell, Misha is by far the greatest dog in the world! I could have never expected a companion of her quality. She is truly part of the family and we all love her very much.
She has been to many obedience and agility classes including ones specifically designed for the kids and has taken to them very well. She loves agility and is always excited to run the course.
Misha is EXTREMELY affectionate and hugs and snuggles the whole family. She is very wary of strangers and usually won't let them between us and her but when she gets to know someone she never forgets them and is usually welcoming.
I couldn't imagine a more perfect pet. I'll send you some pictures on another email.
Thanks again and keep in touch!

Jubal

Our pup Jubal is coming along real fine. He is very smart and seems very confident. At 15 weeks he is a lean 45 lbs

Hi Kiri,

The playing tug won't encourage biting - what it will do is give him an appropriate outlet for his need to bite (a normal puppy thing, like you say..) - you can have the 'biting object' around and give it to him, play a little tug and let him have it. This new squeaking thing I bought Noche' works well in that she'll bring it to me (great for later on when I want a retrieve) ~ she gets to play a few seconds of tug and then she gets to have it and will amuse herself, forgetting that she thought she wanted to bite on my legs or the cushions on the chair I'm sitting in, etc. After this biting phase goes away you'll have a great reward tool in the tug. ** If I were going to pursue bitework with her, I would do this differently - the reward tug in the foundation training for ringsport is never just left around for the puppy's enjoyment, it is specifically used as a special reward item. But that's not what we're doing here with Cooper.**

Having said all that, he's your puppy - you need to do what seems to work for you.

Looks like the Heat and Humidity is back! Hope you're not running a race this weekend!

Sun

Hey Sunny,

Oh, I thought I would mention that Cooper is really into the retrieving thing! Toad was SO not like that, but Cooper will run after toys and bring them back and give them up pretty easily. Last night he did it ten times in a row for my friend Dianne.
Actually I'm relieved to hear your thoughts on the tug issue - it will be nice to do that with him since he likes it and gets exercise from it.

No race this weekend, but trying to get back into the running habit. Just gotta get through these days...

Kiri

Tilly

Hello Sunny,
I sent you a postcard yesterday. Tilly is doing amazingly well. I just said tonight to John (my husband), "she is our dog now. she feels at home, knows the ropes, has a routine and seems soooo happy". Sunny, we love her. She is a character to say the least. She loves Wally to pieces and keeps trying to get Gus to play with her. It will happen eventually. She loves to be around all the friends we have around and knows the territory. All in all we are completely in love with her. She sleeps through the night in her crate across from our bedroom with the door open. I need to email you pictures. I will try soon. I'm kind of a dope at that.

Love,
Tilly and Co.