Sunday, May 17, 2009

End of the Week Update!

Helloooooo! I'm sure everyone thought I kidnapped your babies & ran away.... well, it was a thought, but no ;o) Everyone is doing pretty great. It's been a challenging week out of everyone for some reason but everyone is moving forward & doing awesome.


Camerooooon: Cam is doing so great. He's been going everywhere with me & getting tons of exposure to people & other dogs. He is no longer reacting to strangers when it's unwanted! YAY. We are still working on his obsessive pulling issues. He's doing fantastic 90% of the time & then 10% of the time he loses his mind for a second & I have to remind him of his manners. I really want to spend time at the park with him walking him past all the excitement. He's not showing any aggressiveness he's just wide-eyed & not focused on anything I ask of him because he's too busy looking at everything around him. He's a great snuggler! We're also starting on place next week. This should teach him much more patience & to stop & think about stuff instead of react first, think later...... such the terrier mentality :o)

Sasha!! Sasha lady is doing very well. She started to show some unpleasantness towards the other dogs but it's ONLY at feeding time. Everyone eats in their crates for safety purposes & if I'm walking anyone by her crate while she's eating she wants to buck up & growl & charge the front of the crate. Problem fixed..... as of now. We'll see how the next few days play out. Sasha too is enjoying the car rides & the exposure to everything. It's all still a bit overwhelming at first but helping her through it has done wonders for her confidence! She is super affectionate with me now..... even asking for the butt scratches :o) The cats rub on her face & she actually walks away from them, lol. It's cute really. She is still very nervous around loud, sudden noises but confidence in that area will come with exposure, exposure, exposure. She's really doing excellent. We're wrapping up her off leash work over this next week & really getting her responsive to her commands around the "big scary distractions". More to come on Sasha!
Bandito..... Bandit is ready to go home tomorrow. His 3 weeks are up & he's doing really great. He's such a sweet sensitive guy. He's definitely going to take a mile given an inch though. He loves to please but definitely has a lazy side. I think his owners will be super excited! Sorry for the lack of pictures on him.... he avoids me with a camera like I'm the paparazzi.







Micah..... awww, little Micah. Such a smart boy. His first week here has been great. He's finished with all his commands: heel with auto sit, sit stays, down stays, come & place (we just started place). He's doing excellent with everything. I've started adding harder distractions, leaving the room while he holds commands, throwing toys out in front of him..... the usual :o) Just making sure he's distraction proofed... as much as possible while I have him. Of course being so young this will be a continued effort from his momma & family to keep up with & follow through everyday on his commands & manners. His potty training is doing great. The only accidents he's had is from the crate to the back door in the morning..... when you gotta go, you gotta go! He's eating great & enjoying his trips to PetSmart to meet people! All in all, I'm very happy with his progress this past week.

Kinsley is doing well.... he's doing okay. He's really come out of his shell this past week & is REALLY wanting to push the limits in every possible way. It's been a hard few days for him because he's making a lot of really poor choices & having to learn right from wrong. I'm hoping we move past this because he's due to go home next week. He is doing much better in the "I'm going to eat socks department" but he has taken 2 giant leaps back as far as responding to his commands the way he should. They all go through the stubborn thing.... it's just part of it. :o)

We have 2 new trainees joining us since we have current trainees wrapping up this week. They are Spinone Italianos!!! I am so excited to be working with one but to have two to work with is unbelievable. They are fabulous dogs. They have excellent dispositions & I think they're pretty darn cute. I have Scarlet, who is 5 months old & her big brother Moe, who is 4 years old. They will be with me for the next 3 weeks for the Advanced Obedience! They both are super sensitive, focused, big hearts, thoughtful, brave..... the list goes on & one. I know some trainers don't agree with putting human qualities or traits to dogs but I fully believe from my experiences that dogs know & understand & are much more than we give them credit for. These two are definitely showing that!


A foster from Rock'n P Rescue has joined us. His name is Mugsy & he's Boxer. He doesn't have a great track reputation in his previous foster home for being very social with other dogs. So, they contacted me to help. He actually is doing really great. He had no foundation of obedience, he was just recently neutered & has never had anyone tell him in an effective way that he's not allowed to act in certain ways. He's under tight watch when he's around my guys, not the trainees, & so far so good. He is very interested but he is very responsive to "no" so if I feel he's getting too much in their business, I just tell him no & he stops immediately. He is available for adoption through the rescue now & he's ready to go to a great forever home. I do recommend continued training with someone (preferably myself :o) to continue his socialization & his training. But so far he's getting an "A".

2 comments:

AngieP said...

BIG THANKS to Ms. Ashley for helping Mugsy with his manners! This will help him get the forever home that he so deserves! You Rock, Ashley!

YogiJo said...

I am so glad to hear Mugsy is learning how to behave around other dogs! As his former foster mom, I have to say that I am very impressed with the progress you have made in such a short time Ashleigh. Thank you sooooooo much!... Jo