Meet my new puppy!

[diamondlil]

A lovely day out yesterday. Mick and I went for an afternoon fishing for pike at the reservoir. As it was a lovely sunny day but not too hot, we took the dogs. Sadly, there has been far more vandalism of the fencing there and at one point there were people on dirt bikes racing along the paths, so no more freedom for Bertie there. Instead, he stayed on the longlead all day. Rosie got short periods of being offlead because she literally stays within 6 feet of us at all times and she gets fed up with Bertie (who is stronger) pulling her where he wants to go.
I tethered both dogs whilst fishing, we were using big treble hooks and wanted no accidents. In between actively fishing, I'd put out a deadbait and take the dogs exploring through the scrub. Both paddled in the water, chewed up sticks and had a lovely time. My favourite photo of the day is them 'helping' Mick to fish. Rosie curled up and had a little sleep against him

 

[MegF.]

What a great day! Looks like fun for everyone...did you catch any?

 

[diamondlil]

I wish! Since a 32lb pike was caught there, word has gone 'round, and there are more pike anglers trying for the big one than we've ever seen. Both of us got a run from what felt like a massive fish, with the rod bent double, but failed to set the hooks! As it was a slow, lazy pick-up of the bait then a surge of sustained power, rather than the drama and excitment little jack pike give you, we are hoping we have found the sweet spot where the big one is hanging out. Back next time with better traces.............

 

[MegF.]

Sounds exciting none the less! One single strike will get you going for hours!

 

[diamondlil]

Bertie's all grown up! today, at nearly 2 years old, he peed and cocked his leg for the first time ever. For the past couple of weeks he started marking over Rosie's wee and now this milestone!

 

[tsst]

Bertie's all grown up! today, at nearly 2 years old, he peed and cocked his leg for the first time ever. For the past couple of weeks he started marking over Rosie's wee and now this milestone!

Congrats Bertie!

 

[diamondlil]

Congrats Bertie!

Thanks! I thought he'd pee like a girl forever!

 

[MegF.]

I'd prefer it if they'd pee like a girl. I hate the marking that males do!! Is he neutered yet?

 

[diamondlil]

I'd prefer it if they'd pee like a girl. I hate the marking that males do!! Is he neutered yet?

Bertie was neutered before I got him, at about 7 months.

 

[MegF.]

That's good..otherwise I'd say,time to do it now. It's been over a year since this thread started so I forget all of what we discussed over that time! I don't think there's a continuous thread on here that's gone quite as long as the growing up of Bertie!

 

[diamondlil]

A major triumph for Bertie! Due to his unreliability offlead, he's not been getting much free-running time at all. He's limited to when I'm in a proprerly enclosed area. Getting him not to pull when he's on the tracker lead whilst Rosie is bombing around is a work in progress. He gets frustrated and I've noticed she'll tease him by running past as fast as she can with something enticing like a tree branch or a plastic bottle shaking it. One of the things I have been working with is his impulse control and he's much, much better than Rosie at waiting with a treat held in an open hand right next to his nose, waiting for the command 'take it'. In fact to make up for the lack of physical release he can have I've been making him work harder with all his obedience commands and playing 1 on 1 games with him.
So, off we went to the reservoir for a fishing session yesterday morning, then the handle on Bertie's new (2 weeks) lead failed. It just came apert in my hand, so off he bolted down the track. I bellowed 'WAIT', he stopped in his tracks. I bellowed 'COME HERE NOW' and pointed to my feet and he scooted to me like a puppy.
I'm sure you can imagine the level of praise he got! I practically wrestled on the floor with him. (One of his favourite things) His perfect recall was despite open farmland full of rabbits on one side, free-range chickens on the other, and the woods full of all their enticing foxes and rabbits just ahead.
So as well as lead walking around the reservoir, he was able to enjoy free-running time, where he would bomb off and then repeatedly check back with us, come to my feet when commanded to do so for another big praise session, then sent away until he just couldn't run any more.
Bertie didn't really progress with chaining the dog whistle to treats and praise, so I put it away for a couple of months. The maturity he's starting to show means I shall start over again and see if I can get a more reliable recall. For his safety it will still be under controlled conditions in secure areas, but I'm really impressed with his emergency stop yesterday.

 

[MegF.]

That's wonderful Janine!! Nothing wrong with letting him off in a safe area...and it's great to see that your hard work is paying off! We'll be taking the dogs to the riverwalk in Georgia today I think. It will be interesting to see how the puppy does with people and such.

 

[diamondlil]

The dogs have been coming out on fishing trips quite a bit lately. With the heatwave choosing to go in the evening or venues where they can be in shade has been a priority

 

[diamondlil]

I've got clippers and had a session taking off Berties coat. Rosie is in shed and I've been hand-stripping her. It takes time but is saving me a fortune compared to taking them to the groomer

 

[MegF.]

He looks marvelous! I think this is one of the few pictures where they aren't covered in mud and water

 

[diamondlil]

He looks marvelous! I think this is one of the few pictures where they aren't covered in mud and water

I haven't decided about Bertie's ears. I dont want big fluffy tassles, but I don't want him to look like a poodle, so I may trim his ears and leave short tassels on..

 

[diamondlil]

SO this weekend we went to my friend Renatas land again, for a relaxing day fishing off her boat and chilling out with a cook-out. The temperatures were high but there was plenty of shade for the dogs, an unscheduled splash in the wildlife pond for Bertie, securely fenced land for them to hunt rabbits in and a hose to cool them off as necessary.
So first the good news, Bertie recalled beautifully from his free-running time.
Then not so good. Rosie was teasing Bertie when they were tethered in the shade with big chews. She kept taking his chew away, nipping him. finally he had enough and they had their first proper fight with neither backing off. Mick and I seperated them using their leads. Bertie got a cut to his ear, Rosie got a cut on her shoulder and a toothmark in her leg. All very shallow, superficial wounds. aftre a clean up and a severe telling off, I walked the dogs on-lead at heel to impress my authority. They then settled down together and licked each others wounds.
No snarking between them after that, they travelled in the van home together and slept together.
Walking them yesterday morning, I realised how submissive and well-behaved they were. I accidentally dropped Bertie's lead and he stopped dead on command. All I can think of is that breaking up the fight impressed my authority so highly that they are convinced I am uber pack leader, as after separating they both wanted to fly at each other again and were forcefully put in a down position and told off in no uncertain manner until they laid still.

 

[MegF.]

I'm not sure what type of chews you give but if they are anything like rawhide I don't feed my dogs those. I've found they treat them as strongly as raw meat foods and will guard accordingly and the rawhide is very dangerous to feed. I personally would have corrected Rosie the minute she started harassing Bertie over the chew. No dog here is allowed to bother another with a toy, food or anything else unless that dog has left the toy...food is never shared....they each get the amount they are supposed to have but any left behind is picked up and fed next feeding. If the bowl is empty and the dog walks away, the other dogs are allowed to check it out for "molecules of possible food" left over However, any time the dog is actually at the bowl, or actually laying with a toy.....NO dog may approach. This way I don't have fights, my dogs don't feel they have to guard things and it doesn't lead to what you had. Glad the outcome was good though and no one got seriously hurt!!

 

[Nanci]

I'm so glad my dogs have only ever had one tiny little spat (over a feeding bowl approach) and I went SO batshizzle crazy that it has never, ever happened again. They have a rule- when Bella is done eating, she sits by her bowl in the laundry room. When Ella is done eating, she goes to the laundry room and sits with Bella and they both await further instructions. If it's morning, they are just _dying_ for me to give the "kennel" command, so they can fly into their crates for a treat. I almost think they like that as much as breakfast! If it's evening, Bella is sent to bed and Ella sleeps in the laundry room till I go to bed. (This is not a hardship for Bella- she has always conked out after dinner).

 

[diamondlil]

As a rule, these two eat at the same time, next to each other. They both sit and wait to take their chunk of meat/ chicken portion/ whatever from me. Initially they were seperate but they choose to lay next to each other and eat with no issues. I'd say each feed takes perhaps 1 minute to disappear. At home, if they have a nice juicy bone to enjoy they are in different rooms for an hour or so, if the bones haven't been demolished I take them away before letting the dogs together again.
So, the chew at the picnic was a special treat, to keep them occupied. Obviously a high-value thing and as hindsight is such a wonderful thing it's easy to see that tethering them so they couldn't reach each other would have been better.
But, Rosie always steals toys etc from Bertie. He gives way, she relents and plays with him, she's the boss and that's how they roll. I did reprimand Rosie several times and actually wondered if that temporarily inflated Berties status and gave him the confidence to fight back.