Perhaps Glory's biggest problem has been Ozzy. He is the Alpha dog and can - does - drive everyone to screaming pitch. Even Rex lets him get away with murder - and Rex is a BIG boy at 148lbs. Ozzy just doesn't know when to stop. Surprisingly Ozzy's best friend is Briar and they happily beat the stuffing out of each other all day long. I have started crating Oz when he gets too much and he is starting to get the message.
Holly was a great dog and we all miss her very much. The one that missed her most of all after she died was Rex.
I'll keep the pix coming; here's one of Ozzy.�
Thursday, March 15, 2007
I forwarded information of several good positive trainers in the Atlanta area to Deirdre, Peter�s mom. When I emailed the coordinators about my conversation with Deirdre, both Angie and Sandi replied saying training class will probably help a lot (Angie just went through a Petsmart class in Montgomery with her new dog, TJ, who�s friendly but needed to learn some basic obedience; Sandi went through a Petco class in Atlanta with her adopted Springer, who had aggression issues, and they learned a lot about counterconditioning and desensitization, and the trainer is one of the ones I recommended to Deirdre). Sandi even offered to speak to Deirdre and possibly meeting them and showing them the dog park, since they live in the same area.
In the picture, �Glory with the "I not eating THAT" look.�
Friday, March 16, 2007
I mentioned to David about using Glory�s photos in one of the ESRA posters that I�m planning to make over the summer, and David said, �Of course you can use them; if it helps you rehome just one Springer then it has been worthwhile - and Princess Glory reckons you won't find a prettier girl to star in the posters.� And later he emailed back with some of the posters he just made. And boy, they are gorgeous! David is a wonderful photographer, Glory is a beautiful model, and the posters are very professional-looking. I forwarded the images of the posters to the coordinators, and they all love them too! We love the context, wording perfect, and the pictures match just right, they are as memorizing as the Pedigree shelter dog commercials. And Heather said they would like to have copies of the poster too, so they can print them out and post them at local vet clinics and shelters, to help spread the word about Springer Rescue.
Faith got adopted! Here�s notes from Curtis, �Faith proved to be too active a dog for our household. An hour a day walking was not enough exercise for Faith and inside she whined to get out and go. We have no fence and I was unable to see properly to her needs. Further Faith is extremely active even inside and my husband has difficulty walking; it seemed a possibility she would trip him up. We had a second ESRA foster � Bo � whom we had not intended to keep permanently, but came to the conclusion we should give up Faith and keep Bo. When Bo was brought into our home a few days after Faith was, she immediately tried to establish herself as dominant, Bo growled back and we kept them separate for 2 days before letting them sort it out. They swiftly did and Bo made Faith back down. There was no more growling and the two became entirely tolerant of one another if not really friends. I believe Faith needs lots of attention and that some of her frenetic behavior stems from this need and from a great anxiety over being uprooted.� Her new home is close to where Curtis lives and she did their home visit too (during the application process), so I guess she�ll be able to visit Faith later if she wants to. Here�s an update from Curtis about Faith and Bo:
�(Faith) has just been adopted, so today is the 1st day Bo has been the only dog in household, no apparent problems with this yet, but initial foster thought he had shown separation anxiety when she had him Nov-Jan when he was put in kennel by himself. We wish to adopt a second Springer anyway, so even if this becomes an issue, it will likely be short-lived.� Curtis also offered to do the follow-up interviews for Faith.
�You say you like Glory's yes - take a look at these...they glow.�
�I can't make up my mind if she is slightly deaf, or she has 'selective' hearing. Holly had selective hearing - much too busy to listen, but Glory seems a little different. Something seems not quite right, and I think it may be some form of high frequency deafness; she seems to head a deep shout but is oblivious of a whistle or anything high pitched. I will be getting her hearing checked out in the next few days.�
Email from Sandi about Peter, �I spoke to the husband, and he said things are going "really good". He said the slower introductions and the positive reinforcement with treats is working well and he is making a lot of progress. I do not recall if you mentioned this in previous e-mails, but he said they have just moved from Lawrenceville to Suwanee. I wonder if this was after they got Peter and if this is why he may have been a little apprehensive and unsettled?
Anyway, I left my phone number and told them I am always here to help (they only live 5 minutes from my house) and suggested Deirdre call me when she gets a chance.�
Monday, March 19, 2007
After driving three days cross country, Virginia and Oscar finally arrived at Auburn tonight. Oscar was tired and stressed and hissed and howled every time any one of us got near her. For now we have the baby gate set up to keep Anastasia and Tara out of the bedroom, so Oscar would recuperate in there. One time Tara went in there to be with Virginia, and she walked straight toward Oscar, not knowing the cat was right in front of her. Oscar got scared (couldn�t figure out why the big dog plodded right toward her) and her eyes got really big, I don�t think she realized the dog�s blind.
I read up more about doggles on the blind dog list and bought a pair from ebay for Tara. Doesn't she look adorable wearing it?! Virginia says Tara looks cooler in her "glasses" than I look in mine! Tara still tries to paw the doggles off, so I'm doing CC&D (with treats of course) with her for it.
Several months ago I was a little disappointed when I learned I couldn't do a lot of training with Tara because of her age and health condition, but now with Oscar, who is smart and food motivated (Anastasia is not food motivated at all, that's why she only learned sit, down, and stay even though I've had her for three years), I'm very excited to have joined the cat clicker training list and have started clicker training (with actual clicker given to me by Keely's parents) with Oscar! Last night I did the first lesson, and Oscar associated the click with treats in just seven clicks!