I gave Jake a bath. He was very good in the bath, just stood there and let me bath him, didn't even try to jump out of the tub. Afterwards, I cleaned his ears, and he also let me do it. I think his ears need to be cleaned once a week to keep clean. I didn't blow dry him this time either. But I think his fur is getting softer, after taking a few weeks of fatty acid supplement.
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Jake growled at Anastasia a few minutes after I came home from school. They were in the living room, I was in the kitchen, and there were no toys around. So I think Jake was growling directly at Anastasia, not even guarding his toys, treats, or me. Personally I would be cautious if the potential adopter has cats. Anastasia is about as laid-back as young cats go, without being sluggish (she's a certified therapy cat, and part of her test was that she has to be friendly with dogs). If Jake can't even get along with Anastasia, I would think twice if the potential adopter has cats too.
Thursday, July 14, 2005
I decided to allow Jake access to the hallway (in addition to the bedroom) while I'm not at home, because he's been so good, not chewing any paper or cardboard boxes, just whining a little bit for a few minutes each day at the beginning. When I came home, I found out Jake had diarrhea on the carpet in the hallway when I was at school. This is exactly what happened to Brenna on the first day when I allowed her access to the hallway when I was at school. Like I did with Brenna, I now put Jake's food and water feeder in the hallway to discourage him from pooping there, but also like Brenna, I think Jake pooped in the hallway because he couldn't hold it anymore. I think he's sensitive to the lysine supplement (I was giving it to Anastasia for her gingivitis, and it didn't work for her, so I thought I would try it on Jake). I won't give it to him anymore.
Jake's poop returned to normal (firm). Also he tends to poop after exercise. So definitely daily exercise is essential for him. I was cleaning out the closet, and decided to put the doggie life jacket on him. He didn't like it and tried to take it off, but wasn't violent with it (he didn't try to chew it off), just trying to shake it off I guess. I put him on the treadmill, and after two tries, he's now walking on it fine, but definitely he's not liking it like Penelope did.
Saturday, July 16, 2005
Samson's dad came over to set up DVD player for me. They decided to give me one for dog-sitting Sam this summer. When Jake saw Dr. Ravis, he hesitated a bit when he realized that there's a stranger (sort of, they've met before) in the apartment, but Dr. Ravis talked to him and in a few seconds, Jake warmed up to him. Dr. Ravis also played fetch a few times with Jake in between. He said it looks like Jake is very well trained, because Jake would "Drop" on command, and after the toy is thrown, Jake would stay by us until I said "Fetch" then he would run to get the toy. Maybe that came from his hunting dog training. But the biggest surprise is from Anastasia. She warmed up to Dr. Ravis immediately and wanted petting, even stood between Dr. Ravis and the DVD player as he was working on it. And somehow with Dr. Ravis there, Anastasia gained more confidence, that Jake didn't growl at her for being near his toy, and actually after she swatted him with her paw, he stayed away from the toy until she walked away. Dr. Ravis said it seems like Anastasia was the one in charge. I had been getting a little concerned of Jake growling at Anastasia five times a day, so hopefully what Dr. Ravis said is true, at least from now on.
When Dr. Ravis was here yesterday, he mentioned that Jake acts just like his daughters' Lab Retrievers. So if anybody's looking for a Lab in Springer coat, somebody who enjoys outdoor activities with the dog, Jake would be a good match. Also, Jake is old enough that he's past his chewing stage. He enjoys chewing on the pig ear from time to time, but he's not a destructive chewer.
We went to Kiesel Park in the afternoon. This time I decided to let Jake go leash free all the way. He went into the bushes several times, but every 15 seconds or so, he would come back to check where I was. The first mud puddle we saw, what does Jake do? He walked straight in and sat down in the middle of the puddle! I guess part of it he was trying to cool down (it was late afternoon, but still pretty hot and humid), and part of it, he just loves to roll around on the ground. There was definitely no need to leash him now. So I continued to let him run around leash free as I walked on the trail. We met about ten dogs there, and Jake's fine with all of them. Even when not leashed, he didn't go up to sniff all of them. Just a couple of the girl dogs he was more interested in. Near the end of the walk, I called him to "Come" so I could leash him and walk to the parking lot. Well, he walked pass by the pond, and jumped right in! He seemed to have so much fun, reluctant to get out. I wish I could take him swimming in the apartment pool, but there were already several groups of people in it because of the hot afternoon. After we got home, it took me about thirty minutes to pull the weeds off his fur, but he was very good again in the bath and when I cleaned his ears.
Later that night, I went to Wal-Mart to get groceries. I got Jake a bag of lamb lungs. He loves it! I haven't been able to train him with treats because he's not really food motivated, but boy did he learn "Down" fast with the lamb lungs. He's also pretty good with "Sit" and "Stay" when outdoors. I haven't been able to get him to "Down" consistently outside yet, but I'm sure he'll learn fast now I found a treat he likes.
Thursday, July 21, 2005
Jake's still not a big eater (right now three cups of dry mixed with water per day). I'm going to slowly decrease the water amount so he'll start eating dry food as is.
Today I had to go to Old Navy to get a blazer for my presentation tomorrow. And I got a doggie Frisbee that was on sale for Jake there too. Jake loves fetching it! And it's much easier for me to throw than some of his other toys. I try to throw it wrong side up so it's easier for him to pick up in the tennis court, but sometimes it falls right side up. Jake is so smart that when I decided to let him figure out how to pick it up right side up, he did it within twenty seconds. After that, he would pull with his front paw on the edge of the Frisbee, and this would pucker the edge of the Frisbee up, and he can pick it up easily that way. All this and he figured it out in only 20 seconds! And he remembers how to do it even the next day.
Jake likes to carry a toy in his mouth, half of the time he's not even trying to protect the toy from Anastasia. I guess he just likes to have something in his mouth. He's definitely got a retriever mind. And I�d rather have him carry his toys around than to have him chew on furniture.
I think Jake has gotten mellower as his testosterone level decreases. After he gets his daily exercise, he�s just a big, sweet teddy bear.
Jake can jump from standing position straight up to five feet in the air. I think he has Frisbee playing potential.
I called the dog school in Atlanta that did the CGC test for Lexi and the therapy cat test for Anastasia, and they said they were just talking about me and Anastasia on Saturday, while they were conducting a therapy animal test. They were talking about different animals getting tested (my cat is the only cat they've tested, and they've tested over 150 animals). Anyways, they will have their next CGC test on August 13. They said I can just bring Jake for the test, no need to bring him to the class the week before the test like I did with Lexi, because now they know I mean it when I tell them I think my animals are ready, even though Lexi and Jake and Anastasia have never been to a formal obedience class (the other dogs who will be at the test will have been going through their CGC class for five weeks, and most of the dogs had taken their basic obedience class there too). But I told them I would prefer Jake get to know the other dogs there first by going to their last class on August 6, at 10:30 AM. The class will be $25, and the test will be $25.
Now I just need to practice more with Jake at Petco and other public places.
I've seen a line loss of hair on Jake's right hide leg the first time I groomed him. I thought maybe somebody had clipped him with an electric clipper. Then this morning I thought saw a small patch of hair loss on Anastasia's right elbow, and I thought they have ringworm (I guess I over reacted because my cat group has been talking about ringworms). Anyways, I just took both Jake and Anastasia to the vet. At first the vet didn't want to touch Jake because he thought Jake had behavioral problems because Jake was wearing the Gentle Leader. Then I removed the Gentle Leader and told the vet that it's only for walking, and Jake doesn't need it other times. The vet said about the hair loss on Jake's leg, it seems like somebody cut him and that's a scar. I also asked him about the wear on his upper canine teeth. The vet said the local city police dogs have the same wear on their teeth too, and it's from the dogs biting the cage door when they are in the police cars. He said if it doesn't get worse, then it's nothing to worry about, but if it does, we can look into if it's calcium deficiency or something. They also weighed him, I think I heard 52 lbs. But if that's true, I don't understand it, he doesn't look thin anymore, and he's been eating fine and no diarrhea, and he was 54 lbs a month ago. I might call them later to make sure. The vet said his family had Golden Retrievers when he was little, then when he was a teenager, his dad got Springers. Now his dad has a Boykin Spaniel, and he has Labrador Retrievers (his dogs were owner relinquished). And his dad is thinking about getting a Springer, but not exactly sure yet. Later when I told him that Jake was trained as a hunting dog, he said that explained the wear on his teeth. Something about the hunter would keep the dog in cage before a hunt. The vet also asked me if Jake retrieves. I got dewormer for Jake for next week. Jake kept wanting to leave the vet's office. I guess he remembered it from his neuter surgery. But he was very nice to everybody there, didn't meet any dogs or cats there today though. And we practiced basic obedience commands at the vet's office, and Jake's very good with them there too.
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
Jake and I went to Petco tonight so we could practice basic commands in front of other dogs. He had no problem doing it with people walking around, but he's too interested in staring at other dogs to do the commands when they were around. He loves freeze dried lung treats at home, but he wouldn't eat them at Petco. So using doggie treats is out. I might have to resort to using hot dogs and cheese. We ran into Karlene's class again when we were there, she said we could join them if we want, since it's their first class. But I politely declined. Karlene did use Jake as her model for showing her class what a Gentle Leader looks like. Jake was interested in the dogs in her class, but he just sniffed them. However, when we were walking around in the store, a woman had her female Great Dane with her, and whenever Jake and I came close to her and her dog, she would tug on her dog's leash and told her dog "No". Yet I saw her letting a four-year-old little girl pet her dog. The second time Jake and I got near her, she did the same thing, and the dogs sniffed each other, nose to nose. Then they growled at each other. I didn't notice who started it.
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Jake and I were at the tennis court playing fetch, when a woman walked toward us with her large (probably over 65 lbs) female Pitbull, still on the other side of the fence. She and her dog seemed nice, so I asked her if Jake and her dog could play together. Jake got very excited as we were talking, and as soon as I put his leash on (I decided not to put his head halter on) and opened the door, he ran out and the two dogs started playing with each other, or so I thought. They were jumping on each other, paws up, etc. Then within 10 seconds, they were growling at each other, and we pulled the dogs away from each other. Again I didn't see who started it, but the Pitbull's owner said Jake didn't seem want to play. She was still being very nice about it though, saying maybe it's hard for them to play while leashed. And she said we could try again if we meet again.
Thursday, July 28, 2005
I was getting a little worried that Jake didn't get along with the last two dogs we met, and also I'm trying to practice basic obedience commands with him while other dogs are around, in preparation for the CGC test. So this afternoon the clouds were out, not so hot, and we went to Kiesel Park. It was drizzling when we got there, so not many dogs, but we did get to meet a shephard mix, then later a group of three dogs (a shephard mix, a Lab, and a small Pitbull, only the Pitbull was leashed). Jake was fine sniffing all of them, and even walked away from them when I said "Let's go", but he was too excited to do any commands while they were around. Also, he did put his head on one of the dogs' backs for about one second when they met. He did want to get into the pond again though, but I had him leashed all the way this time, to practice leashed walking. Hopefully he'll be good enough that we won't need the head halter for the CGC test.
Friday, July 29, 2005
This morning I was taking Jake out for potty walk, and we saw a shephard mix about 50 feet away. We walked toward the dog and his owner slowly, so I could make sure Jake saw them too. Then still about 50 feet away, I told him to "Sit Down Stay". I had to put a little pressure on his bottom to make him Sit at first, but he did Down and Stay later on his own. He even flipped on his back for petting, and didn't sneak a peak at the other dog while being petted. By the way, on last Saturday, I left Jake have the run of the apartment while I was at the laundromat for an hour. He didn't destroy or rearrange anything. I didn't audio record him either though. I might start letting him have the run of the apartment while home alone little by little, but definitely his adoptive home should keep him in a room while home alone the first few days after adoption.
Thursday, August 4, 2005
I put some of Penelope's old boots on Jake, just to see how he would react to new things. Jake ignored the boots and tried to walk around as normal as he could for about three minutes. Then he tried to chew on the velcro to take them off. I took the boots off him right after that.
