K9 update

If you read the I Have a Notion blog, you already know where this post is going.

Life with Bandit made a left turn last weekend. He now lives with the breeder for some re-education and lessons in manners and will be rehomed to someone that can make him respect a human.

We tried. When we knew things were not going well we reached out to the breeder for some help. We did everything that was asked of us, unfortunately Bandit didn't. The difficulties in one area got so much better, but where it counted it was getting worse. In September I got an accurate weight on Bandit, he weighed in at 90 pounds and still has lots of growing to do weight-wise, not so much in the overall size.

Last weekend things came to a head. Bandit was not having any human bosses... and snapped at me, nearly getting my face and he did connect with my right wrist. It hurt! It was scary.

On Monday he was delivered to the breeder and on Tuesday I was missing him and his energy something terrible. I was also feeling so bad about letting this happen. What signals did we miss? Could we have corrected any of this sooner? Is he doing ok... without us? Was he adjusting? On Wednesday I sent the breeder an email. He called me in the evening... He reassured me that Bandit was responding, but he did not think he would be able to send him back to us. Bandit needs a much stronger hand and we are not capable of controlling or making him behave due to his size and our age. I was crushed. In the next breath he said he still  had a couple of puppies from their last litter available and offered one to us.

I accepted so we will going down this weekend to see it... and maybe bring her home.

More later- Beth

Dog Days!

Its August, already!!! Life has been busy!!! 

Bandit has proven to be a very willful and headstrong teenager and has forced us to reevaluate his training... and behaviour. Most of the difficulties were caused by us, not being firm and consistent in our response to his unwelcomed and at times very dangerous reactions to our reprimands.  We got lazy... and he took advantage of loose humans.

He is now in active training... every day... an hour(ish) in the morning and an hour(ish) in the evening, along with behaviour modification all day.

We noticed a huge difference in one day and it has improved all week. Everyone is happier. He loves to work... and do well, and eat. Yep. He gets both meals while training, which is where the hour(ish) comes in. Some days we feed him slower and other days... a bit faster, so all the sessions are different and he does not get to rush to the end and be done.

This is yesterday... while training in the backyard. 

He is 10 months old. Best guess weight is about 70 pounds. He is fully grown and will begin to build his muscles and fill out. He looks very impressive in this picture, but when walking or running you can still see his adolescent physic...  

He will be a good dog!!! 

More Later!!!  Beth

Pupdate #2

Up until Thursday we were enjoying several days of spring!!! A high temperature in the upper 70's (21 C) we plunged almost 50 degrees, between the high and the low in a 24 hour time frame. From warm sun to frost this morning. The poor plants are totally confused... some in mid bloom!

Aside from the weather changing Bandit has under gone some changes too. From little ball of fur to a big gangly fellow that weighs in a little over 40 pounds (20 kg). Although it feels to us humans that lots of time has passed since bringing him home, he has only been in our house 10 weeks. Really some days it seems like a lifetime!

Somewhere in the last couple of weeks we did achieve dog integration. Linzi was on dog Prozac, to help her get over having another dog in the  house. She has only ever liked one other dog, and that was Axel. She scared us with her vehement dislike of the little guy, so we opted to change her attitude chemically. It worked but made us sad to see her glassy eyed. Although she did like eating during her medicated phase. Something that she is often not too interested in.

I took this one a week or so after the ones in the yard above. Most mornings they lay near each other for about 2 minutes and then one picks up a toy and the daily battles begin. It never fails that one of them wants the toy the other has, regardless of the number of other toys available!

And our last visit to the vet for another year (unless he finds some other trouble). Here he is at 16 weeks waiting to get his rabies shot. And you can just about hear him asking 'Where is that Doctor?'

We started our obedience training and nearly failed on the first day for the very same reasons that Axel failed his obedience classes (2, yes 2. He thought he was the social director and was always trying to tell the other dogs where to go). Both, Axel and Bandit have been bred to bark. Ever watch cops or other police show with a police dog at a scene? Doesn't their barking about drive you crazy? It is bred into them.... that nonstop barking. Trust me on this, it can drive you crazy!!!!

Not that it will last, but both dogs are currently taking a nap and it is calm and quiet!!!

More later- Beth

Wishes and PUP date #1

Happy New Year!!! I'm just a little late ..... with this... but I'm sure you'll understand.

My hope is that 2017 brings you creativity and time to pursue it, and that it brings you both joy and happiness!

We have our own little ball of joy and happiness to take us into 2017. Sure hope I am saying this as we go through the equivalence of the terrible 2's of Puppyhood!!!

Meet Bandit. 
 

The breeder named him.... and it was what was put on his registration.... so we kept it. 










This is his sire             and      this is his dam

                

This him at 7 weeks, when we brought him home. Both of his ears were erect, but the stress of rehoming... caused one to flop. It only took 3 days for both to be back up. He probably weighed 12 pounds when we brought him home and yesterday at the vet (first picture) he weighed in about 20 pounds.

At 10 weeks he is nearly house broken....  He asks to go out.... but we don't trust him yet of course. 

We both were missing our big 'bigger than life' dog, Axel since July and the hole in our daily lives just didn't want to close. So in November I said I thought I was ready for a new dog. The DH started looking for a breeder that bred dogs like Axel. I considered a white rescue shepherd that I helped rescue, but he was just to laid back. DH asked if I wouldn't consider an all Black Shepherd, but no I really wanted another flat coated dog. DH made some inquires... and showed me a page with a beautiful dog, we Googled it and, and, and, they had a litter of puppies. 2 females and 2 males. One of the girls was spoken for, but neither of the males were. So we made an appointment to see them. This is a picture of the males at 4 weeks. Bandit is the pup on the right.

He has been with us for a full 3 weeks now and he has matured and grown tremendously. Its been fun watching him learn to leap, jump and manage his body this week. He is practicing his bark too. He doesn't manage the whole night yet and the frigid weather of the last few days has us questioning our sanity!

and Bandit at 8 weeks.

Linzi is not happy about this at all! He is too small yet to allow them together... and it is evident that he will be the dominate dog. Hopefully they will eventually find a balance and we can all be together in the same room.

If this post is a disjointed... sorry. My attention span has been shorted dramatically over the last few weeks. Wonder Why?

More later... about me, quilting and Bandit!
Beth

2016 Quilty Wrap UP!

In the few minutes of quiet this morning... (new Puppy, introductions coming soon), I want to share the last couple of quilts... 

I made and quilted another QOV (Quilt of Valor), very similar to the first one. I just have to put the label on it and it is done.

One of the guilds I belong to had a newsletter mystery. All the clues were delivered in the newsletter  over 8 or 9 months and we were able to work on it at our own pace. I chose to make the throw. It would look so much better if I had read the first clue correctly. It suggested to cut the scraps from medium and dark fabrics. I let some lights slip in which muddied up the look a bit. But it will make a nice top to practice longarm quilting on!

And lastly.... a Sparkly Chickens Quilt. It was pulled together from blocks we swapped in 2009. The label tells who made which block and the rules for the swap. I set the block in South Africa... and would certainly made some different choices for fabrics and the chicken arrangement. I did share with the others that they should either quilt it themselves or be prepared to loose their longarmer over the beads. Oh, my... they did pose a problem.... in some places. I won't pretend that the quilting is perfect, but from 30 paces on a galloping horse it looks fabulous!!! It is hanging over the balcony... in the family room on display.

Next up news on the puppy... name, size and color.... antics and all the particulars. A teaser picture... perhaps?

More Later-  Beth