Thursday, October 28, 2010

Reyna’s Progress!

A close up of Reyna when she was a little puppy.

10/28/10 – Reyna – Phase 6

Reyna is moving right along in training and is now in phase six. I am really excited that she is progressing so well in training. That must be because she has an awesome trainer! I have no idea who her trainer is, but they must be doing a great job with her. They are probably getting ready for her final testing. I hope Reyna keeps up the good work Smile

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Somebody’s Teething!

Perez's wishbone with blood on one of the knuckles and a molar that the lost sitting on top of the wishbone.

Mr. Perez is losing his teeth! Today I found blood on his Wishbone and one of his molars! He has been chewing a lot, and I think he has actually lost about three teeth since he has been with us. But I was only able to recover one of them . He ate the others :) Yum…Yum. Tomorrow is his last night with us and I bet he will be soooo happy to be with his family again! He is made a lot of progress with us and he does try really hard to be a good boy. But it is like he has an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other. And you just never know what you are going to get. He is really a big sweetheart of a dog, but I can’t help but think that he would be happiest running on a big ranch all day. I can just see him running in the fields, playing with other animals and swimming in a pond fetching a stick. Yep, that’s it. If guiding is too boring for him, he can be Perez the ranch dog. Oh, and he is WAY too smart for his own good!!

Perez sitting in the kitchen wondering if the tooth fairy comes at the puppy's sitters house

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Our Little Vienna Sausage!

Here she is!  Our little can of Vienna Sausage.  More to come later…

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Monday, October 25, 2010

Sneak peak!

Well, our club Halloween meeting is tomorrow night and I am putting the finishing touches on Perez’s Halloween costume. His costume was inspired by his name. He will being going as “Senor Perez”. For those of you who don't know his personality, it would be sort of like dressing up Marley from “Marley and Me” in a costume! This shall be very interesting :) Stay tuned for a sneak peak of Vienna's costume. Any guesses what she might be? It is also inspired by her name!!

Perez laying on the kitchen floor with a sombrero on his head and a colorful striped serape.

Perez in a sit with the serape wrapped around the front of him and his hat sitting off to the side of his head.

Perez laying nicely tolerating his custome very well.

Perez in a down getting used to the whole custome idea.  He is is posing very nicely for the camera.

Perez with his head off to the side not looking to sure about his new outfit.

Perez in a sit looking up and you can see all of the loose skin wrinkles under his chin.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Reyna’s Progress

A close up of Reyna when she was a puppy.

10/21/10 - Reyna – Phase 5

Monday, October 18, 2010

Poor Mr. Perez!

Perez laying on the exam table looking absolutely adorable.

Today I had to take Perez to the vet. I was doing puppy handling over the weekend with him and I noticed a strong yeast smell coming from his right ear. So I cleaned it really well and there was a lot of brownish discharge. I watched it closely yesterday, but it seemed to be getting worse, so off to the vet we went. I realized the one thing I did not get from Perez’s raiser family was his vet information!

Perez was such a busy boy at the vet. Just FULL of energy! We tried to get his weight but he would not stop wiggling. So our best guess at his weight is 36 pounds. When we got into the exam room, I put Perez up on the exam table. He was nervous up there at first. He only relaxed if I was standing right next to him or if I was touching him. I got a couple of cute pictures while we were waiting for the vet.

Perez laying on the exam table with his head tilted to the side.

A close up of Perez on the exam table looking very handsome!

He was pretty good for the first few minutes, but then he started to get mouthy and he tried chewing on his leash. Silly boy!

Perez on the exam table with his leash between his front paws as he chews on it.

Perez trying to chew on his leash!  Silly boy!

I had to put a stop to that, and Perez wasn't very happy about that. My son Tyler stepped and to console him a bit, and this is how they spent several minutes together. Ah, now isn’t this sweet?

Tyler with his head face down on the exam table while Perez rests his head on Tyler's head.

The vet finally came in and took an ear culture, and Perez had a pretty bad yeast infection in his right ear. We got two medications, so hopefully Perez’s ear will be better in a week or so!

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Meet Mr. Perez!

Perez on a tie down in a down with his head turned sideways a little bit.

I have a new puppy in the house! Perez will be staying with us for two weeks while his raiser family goes on vacation. Vienna will be staying with Judi, my co-raiser. Perez is the polar opposite of Vienna personality wise. Also, he is about three times the size of Vienna, although they are only a few days apart in age. It is sort of a nice change though. Although he is a “busy” boy, he is a good boy who just needs a little direction. He has been here for three days. The first night was a bit rough, but he is now settling in nicely. Here is a picture of him being such a good boy on tie down.

Perez sound asleep on tie down while he is on a dog bed.

Perez enjoys bouncing his Kong. He LOVES to throw the Kong and then watch it bounce. Here is a picture of him just as he threw it down and it started to bounce.

Perez throwing his Kong and watching it bounce on the floor.

Perez is adjusting to our house and we are getting to know him. I look forward to our adventures in the next two weeks!

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Reyna's Progress

Close up of Reyna's face when she was a little puppy.
10/14/10 - Reyna - Phase 4!
I was excited to get the phase report today because Reyna is offically half way through her training. I hope she continues to do well. Keep it up little girl!

Monday, October 11, 2010

Can you believe it? 29.8 pounds!

Vienna sitting on Tony's lap while we wait at the vets office to be taken back.

Vienna had a vet appointment today for her final shots. When we got there, they were pretty backed up, and they were also dealing with an emergency. So we had a bit of a wait before we were seen. Vienna enjoyed sitting in our laps as we waited. We held her because she was not fully vaccinated and the vet office id full of sick dogs! The employees laugh as Vienna had rolled on her back in my lap and sprawled out. They said she was the most relaxed dog they have ever seen at the office. I was excited to be there because I wanted to see how much weight she had gained since her last visit. She has had some issues eating when we first got her, so she seemed to be a little behind weight wise. Last time we were there she weighed 18 pounds at 12 weeks. Well, after what seemed like a long wait, we finally got her on the scale. And what do you know, she had gained 11 pounds! Good girl Miss V. When we finally got in a room, I put Vienna on the exam table. She was sitting up for a while, but as the wait got longer, you can see the progression in the photos below.

Patiently Waiting….

Vienna in a sit on the exam table patiently waiting for the vet.

Still waiting…... .

Vienna gets tired and she lays down on the exam table, still waiting.

More Waiting….

A close up of Vienna laying dowm on the exam table with her big eyes looking up at me, still waiting.

Fell asleep waiting…….

Vienna falls asleep on the exam table waiting for the vet.

Finally the vet made it in and gave Vienna her Rabies and last Distemper shots. The Vet said she was really impressed with how well behaved Vienna is. She gave Vienna some love and then she was done!

The vet giving Vienna one of her shots.  Vienna just stays in a sit without a fuss.

Vienna says, where’s my treat? Don’t I get a treat for all of that people? Ugh.

Vienna sitting on the exam table after her shots thinking she should be getting a treat for all of this.

I am excited that she is now legal and I don’t have to worry about where I take her. Adventures, here we come!

Art and Wine Festival and Dogs!

Yesterday we took Vienna to the Art and Wine festival. I know she is young, but I knew she could handle it and if it was too much we were fine with just leaving. This was a great experience for her because it was one of her first real exposures to crowds. I thought the crowds would be more of a distraction for her, but they really weren't. She was distracted a little bit if someone made a huge fuss over her, but other than that, she was a champ. They had a live band there, so she was exposed to loud music for the first time. It didn't phase her in the least. And, of course, there were also a ton of dogs at the festival! I was careful to keep Vienna away and not let her greet the dogs. I got a little video of Tony walking with Vienna at the fesitival. In the video, a Bassett Hound shows a lot of interest in Vienna, and Viennna does a great job of not getting overly distracted as she keeps walking by without a problem. Pretty good for a little pup! Take a look.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Reyna's Progress!

Close up of Reyna's face when she was a puppy. 10/7/10 - Reyna - Phase 3

I am happy to report Reyna is in phase three of training. Every Thursday when I get the phase report, I have such mixed feelings. I am exicted and anxious to see her progress for the week, but I am also sad because it is another reminder that she is no longer with us. Wow.....I really miss her this week. It looks like it has been raining up in Oregon. Imagine that! Well despite her name, Reyna really dislikes the rain. I guess she'll get used to it eventually :)

Monday, October 4, 2010

Tennis Court Fun!

Vienna and Wendy sitting together on the tennis courts with huge smiles on their faces.

Today Vienna and I went down to visit Glenda and Wendy. We thought it would be fun if we took Vienna for her first run in the tennis courts! The tennis courts are a great, safe place to let your dog off leash for some real running. Wendy gets to do this quite a bit, but this was Vienna’s first time and I wasn’t sure if she was going to be as enthusiastic about it as Wendy. It is about a 25 minute walk from Glenda’s house to the tennis courts. So Vienna was tired when we got there. Glenda took the harness off of Wendy and I took off Vienna’s puppy coat. And then…….they were off! Wendy took of running and Vienna was right behind her. They ran around the courts and Vienna was having soooo much fun!

Vienna and Wendy as they took of running in the tennis court together.

Vienna followed Wendy around for the most part. Where ever Wendy was, Vienna was not too far behind. It was funny to watch Vienna run because her legs are so long right now and her coordination is off. She would be running right along side Wendy and then all of a sudden she would just fall down. Sort of like she was tripping over herself. Poor little girl. But then she would pop right back up as if nothing even happened.

Vienna and Wendy running like crazy in the tennis courts.

Vienna had no idea that she couldn’t run right through the tennis net. It was the funniest thing because she was running all out with Wendy and she was headed straight for the net. At the last minute, Wendy turned quickly and went around the net, and Vienna ran straight into the net! She went flying into the net and then sprung off of it like a rocket! I don’t think she had any idea what hit her. I rolled on the ground laughing so hard, and Glenda wondered what was so funny. I tried to explain it through my laughter, but it was one of those things you really had to see. She actually did it one other time, and then she finally realized she had to stop when she got to the net. It is so much fun watching her explore her world for the first time!

Vienna as she finally discovers she must go around the tennis net!

After that, Glenda did some obedience work with Wendy and Vienna. They were really excited, but the both managed to focus. Here is Glenda working with Vienna and Wendy on “sit”.

Vienna and Wendy both in a sit as Glenda works with them.

Here Glenda is working on recall with the dogs. What good girls!

Wendy and Vienna both running towards Glenda when she ask the to come.

Glenda gave both the dogs some water since they had been running around a lot. Here is a picture of Vienna drinking water out of Glenda’s hand.

Vienna drinking water from Glenda's out of Glenda's hand.

Vienna giving Glenda a little love.

Once both pups where refreshed with water, they both just walked around the court together. They were pooped out, so they just wouldn't run anymore. But they still had a great time wondering around together!

Vienna and Wendy just walking around the tennis court.  They were pretty tired!

Vienna and Wendy just stand next to each other with their faces touching each other.

I think it is safe to say that Vienna LOVES the tennis courts. I think we will back here another day for some more fun :)

Sunday, October 3, 2010

First trip to Petco!

Vienna in my husband's arms at Petco.

We went to Petco yesterday to get Vienna a new toy since she has been teething.  My husband carried her because she has not had her final shots yet.  Plus, there is a Parvo and Kennel Cough outbreak in our area.  Fun, huh?

Vienna smelling the yummy stuffed sterlile bones that she cannot have!

So we ended up at the sterile bones, and we let Vienna explore the bones a bit.  Some of the sterile bones were stuffed with a meat type filling.  Of course, that is the kind Vienna wanted, but we had to convince her that she wanted a plain old sterile bone without that yummy filling!

Vienna in my husband's arms watching the birds.

As we were leaving, we stopped to let Vienna watch the birds.  She was so cute just sitting in my husband’s arms  staring at the birds as she was trying to figure out what they were all about.  These birds were not only moving around a lot, they were also very noisy!  Vienna handled this just like she does everything, like a puppy mature way beyond her age!

Puppy Teeth, Puppy Teeth!

A photo of Vienna's teeth with two teeth missing on the top and two missing on the bottom.

Vienna is teething and she has lost four teeth so far! I must be crazy, but I think puppy teeth are so adorable! I just had to get a picture of her cute little teeth. You can tell from the picture that she is about to lose a few other teeth on the top. And do you know what amazes me? How quickly her permanent teeth come in once her puppy teeth are lost. I really love this part of puppy raising!

Training in cars

Vienna sitting on the floor board of the truck. Yesterday Vienna got some practice with riding calmly in different vehicles.  She always rides in my car without any problems, so I thought  I would take the big diesel Ford F350.  It is just a big loud truck, and a totally different experience for Vienna.  The first problem we encountered was getting in.  I can barley get into this truck, and if it weren’t for the running boards, you could just forget it.  So basically there is not way Vienna could get in own her own right now.  So I just pick her up and put her in. That is probably best for her joints anyway.

Another photo of Vienna sitting on the floor board of the turvk being a very calm little girl.

Vienna started in a sit on the floor board of the front passenger side of the truck.  As we drove down the rode a bit, she started slowly sinking into a down.  She laid there with her eyes open for a few minutes, then her sleepy face came over her and I knew it wouldn’t be long before she was sound asleep.

Vienna laying on the floor of the truck with her sleepy face.

At first, she curled into a little ball on the floor.  Then the dream barking started.  Even though the truck was loud and bumpy, it didn’t stop Vienna from falling right to sleep.

Vienna is now curled up in a ball on the floor of the truck.

Before I knew it, she was sound asleep in that half pretzel position she just loves so much.  She is such a well adjusted little puppy and nothing really bothers her.  Not even the roar of a diesel engine!  Looks like we can start working on something else!

Vienna is now laying on the floor of the truck in a half pretzel position while she is dreaming.