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Keely |
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Overall it was a great socialization opportunity for both Keely and Dede. And they both did so well, especially Dede. I really was anticipating barking and lunging from her, but she kept her focus on Millie and her treats most of the time, and had no problem when Keely sniffed her. I�m also very impressed with Millie�s training work with Dede. I didn�t expect Dede to know Sit, Down, AND Stay. Also Millie seems to know what to do to keep Dede focused on her, so I�m sure they practiced a lot. Millie said her husband walks Dede three miles a day, that�s in addition to playing in the yard and potty walks. Millie also said that she got an applicant from Pennsylvania asking about Dede, but she said PA is too far away. Also since Dede�s a young dog, they want her to go to a home where they�ll exercise her a lot. The park had a lot of families with kids playing there when we were meeting there, and a couple kids came up to pet the dogs, and several people called out to us to say that the dogs are beautiful. Millie said she hadn�t tested Dede with kids yet, because she�s not planning for Dede to be adopted to a family with kids, but I think she�ll do okay with older kids at least. |
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Overall Dede and Keely did very well together, as indicated in the pictures, they were able to sit and down side by side, throughout most of the visit, with no problem. Millie said Dede would growl and bark when another dog sniffs her, almost like Keely, so we tried to get Keely to sniff Dede, so we could practice distracting them with treats. Well, Keely did not have much interest in sniffing Dede, but Dede did sniff Keely once or twice at the beginning of the meet, and later near the end of the visit, Keely did sniff Dede once of twice. Neither dog growled or barked from the sniffing. However, when I was feeding the girls the doggie Oreo treats, Keely growled at Dede three times from being possessive of the cookies. I think she thinks these cookies are just too good to share, because until I got those treats a week and half ago, Keely had not shown any possessive tendencies over her treats in public. Anyways, I ran out of the treats during the meeting, and I will go back using biscuit treats for Keely in public, so hopefully this issue will fade. But Millie gave me some of Dede�s treats to continue the girls� socialization. I was able to do the �sharing� game with the girls: I gave one treat to Keely, then one to Dede, then one to Keely, and back and forth until I ran out of the treats. This is to teach them that good things come to those who wait, and also to condition them to get close enough to each other without fighting, and also to teach them that the human who�s handing out the treats is the one in charge, the boss of the two dogs, and not one of the dogs as the alpha. Overall they did very very well with this game, with only one growl from Keely during this (again I break the treats into small fingernail sizes), even when their noses were about 6 inches from each other throughout the 3-minute �game�. Also Dede did growl once during the meeting, I don�t think it was toward food, I think when she growled, she was just tired of having Keely around, but we distracted them with treats and told them to Sit-Down-Stay and then give them the treats. The last growl between them was from Keely, and Dede backed off when Keely growled. So we think Keely�s the dominant one of the two. |
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The apartment installed two poop stations with poop bags and receptacles, around the apartment complex. I think they did it because there were just too many people didn�t bother to pick up after their pets. I always pick up after my dogs, because I hate it when I step onto other dog�s poop. Besides, it�s not very sanitary, for humans or for dogs. And I don�t like it when my dogs sniff other dogs� poop (who knows what it may contain), and it�s hard to stop them from doing it when there�s poop all over. Anyways, I hope the poop stations help increase pick up from the other dog owners.
I was petting Anastasia and Keely came over wanting some attention too. I guess Anastasia forgot that Keely is the dominant one, because the cat swiped her paw on the dog�s nose when the dog got too close. Keely got mad and barked at Anastasia, and the cat ran away. Keely tried to chase after her, but I called out her name and told her to come. I didn�t scold her because I knew she would have redirected aggression and take it out on Anastasia.
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Tuesday, March 21, 2006
I�ve increased the amount of Fromm dog food I�m feeding Keely to 3 tablespoons per meal, and she has not had any diarrhea in the last two days. Also I�ve put her on Barley Dog supplement and liquid (instead of capsules) fatty acid supplement with her morning meals. She loves eating her breakfast, and I think the digestive aids in Barley Dog might�ve helped with her having firmer stool.
Last night when I got home from school, when I opened the hallway door, I couldn�t find her at the usual places: my bed, under the table, bathroom, by the hallway door. Then I searched around the room, and I found Keely sleeping on my computer table! I couldn�t believe how she jumped on there, or why would she want to sleep on there, since it�s not padded our cushioned like my bed or her bed or even the carpet. When I told Virginia about it, she said maybe Keely wanted to try out Anastasia�s bowl bed on the computer table (Anastasia was locked in the livingroom that day and not in the bedroom with Keely), and when she got on there, she found out she can�t fit in it, and decided to sleep on the table anyways. Who knows what Keely was thinking...Anyways, Keely was sound asleep when I found her there, and I called out her name and she jumped off the table to come to me.
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Keely received her Canine Good Citizen certificate. |
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When Keely and Dede met, Keely actually lied down on her side and stretched all out, near the end of the visit. I think she was tired, but also I think she felt comfortable enough to do that, knowing Dede is the submissive one of the two.
I finally found the perfect set of collar and leash for Keely, on ebay. I think they match her personality very well.
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Keely wearing her new pink collar and leash, in front of some blooming azaleas on campus. |
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