Sting’s Blog

Bone Chilling Day....

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 22:47:54 -0400

What we do around 5pm each day....family time!

New stuff

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 13:34:43 -0400

Lots of new things this week. Bosu Ball, swimming, more time in town, a missing tooth, and potential tunnel sucking behaviors...
In order to include a lead out for our recall work; I started employing a short 4 foot tunnel. Sending Sting to the tunnel, running the other direction, and calling her to me with a tug game as reward - it was a game she really liked. So much so, that she started taking the other tunnels on the field. I have to admit. It was a lot of fun to watch, but I also knew it was not a behavior I wanted. So the next trip to the field we did lots of loose leash heeling work and tugging around the tunnels. I did not allow her to take one. I rewarded her attention on me with lot of yummy reinforcements (steak). Our next few trips down to the field consisted of more of the same. Sting did great, and was not focusing on the tunnels any longer. No more tunnels until we establish a stronger foundation.
Our tugging has progressed to a level that I feel is quite good. Still need to work in more distracting environments, but it is very good and strong. So this week I started a new game with Sting. Tug, sit, tug again. She is quick to release the tug when I get very still and say nothing, as soon as she releases the tug toy, I mark it, and ask for a sit. She is sitting very quickly, at which point, I release her back to a game of tug. For the most part, this game lasts no more than 3 minutes.
Living in Northern MI can be pretty quiet, so I need to be sure to continue to expose Sting to a busier world. Today we went into town where it was quite busy. She handled it very well. Taking treats with all the stimuli was not easy for her, so we will have to work on it. She showed no fear. A few very loud trucks did startle her; however she quickly recovered, and happily continued trotting along. Our little adventure wiped her out. We were only gone for about an hour total. Sunday we leave for vacation for 2 weeks. We are going via boat, so she and Millie will experience lots of swim time, and new places and people to visit. I imagine she will handle it all in stride :-)
Yesterday I noticed Sting is missing one of her bottom front incisors. She turns 4 months old on Thursday. Hard to believe....

Summer Time

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 15:16:49 -0400

Sting turns 14 weeks old today. Summer has finally arrived in Northern MI, so we are spending a lot of time outside. Sting is not a fan of the sun. Even though temps remain very comfortable, she is not keen on too much of it. She actively seeks out shade in very short order. Friends stopped by for a visit on the 4th, with their 6 month old PWD and 5 year old daughter. Sting welcomed both of them enthusiastically! The puppies had a blast together, and played appropriately with each other the entire time. I didn’t get any photos though :(
Here are some updated photos of Sting. Hope you are enjoying your summer!

Time is flying - 13 weeks old yesterday...

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Wow, it has been way too long since I updated Sting’s blog. I guess we are having too much fun. In addition, my laptop needs to be cleaned up. I’m running out of disk space, no doubt due to all the photos I have been adding of Sting! That being said, she is changing so quickly I better take the time to document her life; before I know it she will be a young adult. I love this age; I wish I could freeze time.....
Since my last post, we have been boating, attended an agility trial, made some road trips, visited the lake for some swimming, and just hung out together. Several times a week we visit our agility field where we are playing tug on the table, recently we added the 4ft tunnel to our recall games. Other things we have been working on include: sit stays, down stays, loose leash walking, and go to your mat - which she loves! Our daily walk in the woods has been a fun way to work on recalls. There are lots of good smells out there, so distractions are easy to find! I love to watch her fly through woods when she is called for a good game of tug, or a tasty treat. Yesterday I recalled her while kneeling at the bottom of a long steep hill. She came flying down the hill, about 4 strides before reaching me I realized she was going to launch! Knocked me flat on my butt! Of course I was thrilled with her enthusiasm and she thought it was very cool! I am moving more towards tugging as a reward now that she has demonstrated nice focus on me. I have no plans to compete in obedience, however her eye contact when working on loose leash walking is impressive.
Socially she could not be more confident and friendly with adults and children alike. At the trial she demonstrated appropriate dog to dog behavior. She had an opportunity to interact with an 8 month old Bonus/Shiraz puppy. She is super stable, and approaches new people, and experiences with great confidence. She is blending into our existing clan with no problems. Our routine involves allowing her to engage in supervised play with the other dogs (primarily Millie, since the other two are less interested) once a day. In the evenings she joins them for chew time (thank goodness for bully sticks - and if you don’t know what they are, you may not want to ask) while Bud and I relax and watch the Tigers ball game. Last night after our final trip outside I announced it was bedtime and she ran upstairs and put herself to bed - good puppy!
In short, I love her to pieces and she has added a tremendous amount of joy to our lives. Happy Independence Day!

9 weeks old today

Thu, 4 Jun 2009 09:53:11 -0400

Time is flying. We have had Sting for just over 1 week now. We have established a routine, and she has fit in wonderfully with our other dogs. It has been a lot of fun getting to know her, and establishing a relationship. She is a very happy, social, pup! I love her :-)