At first he was giving me lip....
Then he realized there were cookies involved....
My new all time FAVORITE photo of him:
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
Practicing "Stay"
We went for a nice walk yesterday. I brought my camera and tried "posing" Muffin several times...
Unfortunatley, I didn't remember to bring my memory card with me to work... but I can assure you I will post the pictures tomorrow....
rest assured, some of them are very very cute.... of course I could just be biased, since I think the subject is so incredibly cute himself! :-)
Unfortunatley, I didn't remember to bring my memory card with me to work... but I can assure you I will post the pictures tomorrow....
rest assured, some of them are very very cute.... of course I could just be biased, since I think the subject is so incredibly cute himself! :-)
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Muffin's Full Portrait
I hade allie do this a while ago, way before I started this blog, so I never added it... but here's my little guy in his full portrait! :-)
Agility was SOOOOOO fun last night!
Well, last night was our first class!
I love the instructor! She's awesome, and incredibly patient and sweet. Muffin was afraid of the tunnel at first, and she just sat there holding him, letting him sniff it as much as he wanted. He went halfway and in and than came back out A LOT! and she just stood there, until he decided he was ready to walk the whole length of tunnel on his own. She even made it a point to say that she will NEVER force a dog to do any of the equipment, they have to decide on their own that they're ready to do it.
We only introduced the dogs to the tunnel and the weave poll, but I still just had so much fun! I'm really looking forward to all the classes to come! :-)
I love the instructor! She's awesome, and incredibly patient and sweet. Muffin was afraid of the tunnel at first, and she just sat there holding him, letting him sniff it as much as he wanted. He went halfway and in and than came back out A LOT! and she just stood there, until he decided he was ready to walk the whole length of tunnel on his own. She even made it a point to say that she will NEVER force a dog to do any of the equipment, they have to decide on their own that they're ready to do it.
We only introduced the dogs to the tunnel and the weave poll, but I still just had so much fun! I'm really looking forward to all the classes to come! :-)
Monday, October 19, 2009
I went to meet the breeds in Jacob Javitz!
It was actually really fun!
They had a demo ring set up where they were showing you what ralley, agility, obed, etc looks like!
They had some amazing doggie performers too! :-)
Other than that, it's been raining here ALL weekend, so I didn't get to do much of anything.
I found out muffin is dealthy afraid of the agility wait table on saturday. I was finally able to get him on the table after much much louring... but he would actually shake on the table he was so scared... poor guy, I wonder what happened to make him so afraid.
We start our agility classes tomorrow... so hopefully he gets over this fear.
They had a demo ring set up where they were showing you what ralley, agility, obed, etc looks like!
They had some amazing doggie performers too! :-)
Other than that, it's been raining here ALL weekend, so I didn't get to do much of anything.
I found out muffin is dealthy afraid of the agility wait table on saturday. I was finally able to get him on the table after much much louring... but he would actually shake on the table he was so scared... poor guy, I wonder what happened to make him so afraid.
We start our agility classes tomorrow... so hopefully he gets over this fear.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Don't blog when you're tired!
I reread my post from yesterday about agility.....
Don't post when you're tired... your brain may know the correct spelling of a word, but that doesn't mean your fingers do!
Don't post when you're tired... your brain may know the correct spelling of a word, but that doesn't mean your fingers do!
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Signed us up for agility!!!
So, I signed us up for a Tuesday agility class.
I know that I should "stay focused" on obed so we can get a CGC and TDI as soon as possible... but what is life without a little fun!
Actually I think the class will really help. It seems that there is a very tight bond formed between a dog and their person as they progress through agility. It is a "team" sport after all. I'm hoping going on all these "scary" new things, filled in a class with new dogs will help him build some confidence. Plus, agility requires a dog to learn to focus on you and only you, and it also reinforces the basic components of obed (sit/down/stay/come).
And if it doesn't do anything else, it will allow us to hang out and "play" for an extra hour every week regardless of the weather.
I know that I should "stay focused" on obed so we can get a CGC and TDI as soon as possible... but what is life without a little fun!
Actually I think the class will really help. It seems that there is a very tight bond formed between a dog and their person as they progress through agility. It is a "team" sport after all. I'm hoping going on all these "scary" new things, filled in a class with new dogs will help him build some confidence. Plus, agility requires a dog to learn to focus on you and only you, and it also reinforces the basic components of obed (sit/down/stay/come).
And if it doesn't do anything else, it will allow us to hang out and "play" for an extra hour every week regardless of the weather.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Just some pictures...
Since he's just sooooo cute, I'd thought I'd share a few more! :-)
We're not doing much today... my school schedule is a little weird today. I have a meeting at 3:15 with a prof to discuss my research paper, then at 7:30pm I'm meeting someone from Craigslist about a bike. I have my brother's old bike rack on the back of my car, and I'm ready to go! Hopefully this means we can make our Sunday bike ride a regular thing!
Monday, October 12, 2009
Forgot to mention...
Muffin had an appt with a new vet on Sunday.
We just went in for a checkup so I could meet the vet/check the place out etc...
Anyway, it's Dr. Wen's office (if you google him, he's a very well known holistic/alt-medicine) vet. Dr. Wen only sees dogs with Chronic/life threatening problems, so he has an associate vet that does all the annual checkups. I'm fine with that because they practice the same style of medicine, and I know he will be able to go to Dr. Wen with any questions he may have... where as another vet wouldn't have that fast pool of knowledge at his finger tips.
Out of all the vets I know who have a clinic, I liked them the best. Muffin only has rabies and DHPP, they didn't push any other vaccines, they didn't push getting Muffin neutered now. He did say it's better for his "health," and should probably be done around 2 yrs of age.
They do both conventional and alt medicine, which I like.
AND! They confirm their appt the day before! :)
We just went in for a checkup so I could meet the vet/check the place out etc...
Anyway, it's Dr. Wen's office (if you google him, he's a very well known holistic/alt-medicine) vet. Dr. Wen only sees dogs with Chronic/life threatening problems, so he has an associate vet that does all the annual checkups. I'm fine with that because they practice the same style of medicine, and I know he will be able to go to Dr. Wen with any questions he may have... where as another vet wouldn't have that fast pool of knowledge at his finger tips.
Out of all the vets I know who have a clinic, I liked them the best. Muffin only has rabies and DHPP, they didn't push any other vaccines, they didn't push getting Muffin neutered now. He did say it's better for his "health," and should probably be done around 2 yrs of age.
They do both conventional and alt medicine, which I like.
AND! They confirm their appt the day before! :)
What a weekend!!!!
***apologies in advance, but I did not bring a camera with me at all this weekend. The D90 is a bit much to lug around most places... I think I will be looking into getting a smaller one... hopefully this one won't get stolen!!!!***
So we woke up early Saturday and headed to Bay Shore for our Group Class. Once again, Muffin was AMAZING!We were working on Sit/Stays.... namely on the walking away from the dog part of a sit stay. This was the very first time that I had ever tried this with Muffin. We usually do sit/stays and down/stays with me by his side.
Anyway, I was able to walk the full length of the leash(about 6 ft) away from him and turn my back to him. I only tried for like about 1 minute each time, because we were next to the divider and there was an obnoxiously loud agility class on the other side... I'm not sure what they were doing but the dogs kept slamming into the divider and barking non-stop. I didn't want to chance waiting too long.... I think I'll be stopping by the pet store to pick up a 15 ft training leash... I have a 30 ft one... but that's probably a little tooooo big to bring with me to class....
Afterwards we played in the school yard for a while, he got to run around like a maniac!!! :-)
On Sunday, I decided to go see what my brother was up too... first we walked all the dogs down to the beach(Muffin, Chowder, and Bassie)... they got to run around the park at the beach and play for about 30 minutes...Then my brother and I decided to go biking through the woods.
He knows a nice trail that goes from Manorville to Riverhead, it was a fantastic trail! There was NO ONE on it at all, we passed a river that the dogs were able to play in, and it was a 4 hour trip!
So not only did Muffin get to run and expel a lot of energy, but I got some exercise as well! The trail was nice and flat for the most part, so I was able to bike more or less without problem...
Once we got to riverhead, we stopped at a taco place, and we split a giant burrito and chips, then we headed back to the car.
By the time I got Muffin home on Sunday, he was so tired he didn't even want to get up to get out of the car!!!! But, as they say, a good dog is a tired dog!
So we woke up early Saturday and headed to Bay Shore for our Group Class. Once again, Muffin was AMAZING!We were working on Sit/Stays.... namely on the walking away from the dog part of a sit stay. This was the very first time that I had ever tried this with Muffin. We usually do sit/stays and down/stays with me by his side.
Anyway, I was able to walk the full length of the leash(about 6 ft) away from him and turn my back to him. I only tried for like about 1 minute each time, because we were next to the divider and there was an obnoxiously loud agility class on the other side... I'm not sure what they were doing but the dogs kept slamming into the divider and barking non-stop. I didn't want to chance waiting too long.... I think I'll be stopping by the pet store to pick up a 15 ft training leash... I have a 30 ft one... but that's probably a little tooooo big to bring with me to class....
Afterwards we played in the school yard for a while, he got to run around like a maniac!!! :-)
On Sunday, I decided to go see what my brother was up too... first we walked all the dogs down to the beach(Muffin, Chowder, and Bassie)... they got to run around the park at the beach and play for about 30 minutes...Then my brother and I decided to go biking through the woods.
He knows a nice trail that goes from Manorville to Riverhead, it was a fantastic trail! There was NO ONE on it at all, we passed a river that the dogs were able to play in, and it was a 4 hour trip!
So not only did Muffin get to run and expel a lot of energy, but I got some exercise as well! The trail was nice and flat for the most part, so I was able to bike more or less without problem...
Once we got to riverhead, we stopped at a taco place, and we split a giant burrito and chips, then we headed back to the car.
By the time I got Muffin home on Sunday, he was so tired he didn't even want to get up to get out of the car!!!! But, as they say, a good dog is a tired dog!
Friday, October 9, 2009
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Kirkland Chicken and Rice... the miracle food!
I dont' have that long to write...
It's been about a week of full meals, nutrical, and some peanut butter! He's gaining weight and looking like a normal dog!!!!
When I run out of Kirkland I'll re-evaluate the food... I'd like him to be on something a little better.... but right now the most important part is that he actually eats it!!!
It's been about a week of full meals, nutrical, and some peanut butter! He's gaining weight and looking like a normal dog!!!!
When I run out of Kirkland I'll re-evaluate the food... I'd like him to be on something a little better.... but right now the most important part is that he actually eats it!!!
Monday, October 5, 2009
oh yeah, on the weight thing
So he wasn't eating the EVO, or the TOTW... so I decided to try Instinct Rabbit dry.... not a big fan of that either....
Well I was at Costco on Tuesday since I had the day off... and since I had to start buying all kinds of canned(aka really expensive) foods, I decided I'd pick up the Kirkland Chicken and Rice... not the best food, but for the price the ingredients are actually pretty good.
Well guess who started chowing down on the dry kibble without the need for canned foods!!!! Yes, that's right! Mr. Picky! *rollseyes*
At least he's eating though. I'm still mixing in some canned, and giving nutrical. I guess I'll wait till he's a good weight and then decide which direction to take. Ideally, I'd like him on a better food... but if he's not going to eat the better food?
Well I was at Costco on Tuesday since I had the day off... and since I had to start buying all kinds of canned(aka really expensive) foods, I decided I'd pick up the Kirkland Chicken and Rice... not the best food, but for the price the ingredients are actually pretty good.
Well guess who started chowing down on the dry kibble without the need for canned foods!!!! Yes, that's right! Mr. Picky! *rollseyes*
At least he's eating though. I'm still mixing in some canned, and giving nutrical. I guess I'll wait till he's a good weight and then decide which direction to take. Ideally, I'd like him on a better food... but if he's not going to eat the better food?
I'm bad at updating
OK, so I'm horrible at updating this already. Between work & school all my free time is spent either sleeping or with Muffin. I don't even watch TV anymore!... but that's ok bc TrueBlood is over until the summer. LOL.
Anyway, Group class started this past Saturday. Muffin was the best behaved in the whole class. I was very proud! :-) They made me so nervous on the phone when I booked my spot in the class bc I thought that everyone was going to be WAYYY more advanced than us... but they weren't.
To break up the constant obed and do some fun things, we've decided to take an agility private lesson on Monday's at 9pm. So that's a half hour private once a week, and an hour group. I was also doing sit/stay and down/stay in the woods on Sunday. He was doing them great! :-)
As far as the agility.... I'm still a bit iffy bc I don't really want to start jumping him yet. He's still only around 14 months, so he's still growing. I'll start with simple things like the tunnel, the wait table, and possibly the A frame... I'll leave the real "jumping" things till he's a bit older.... Maybe another 4 months or so... I know the AKC allows dogs 15 months and over to compete... but I would feel better waiting till he's about 18-20 months to start him on the jumps.
I definatly think he gets to a point where "enough is enough." I had some time to kill Saturday after class... so I was waiting outside a store with a HUGE field behind it. I thought I'd train a little there... Muffin was just not listening to me. I thought it was because it was a new place and we had to work on focus... so when we got home I tried training a bit again... and again he just wasn't listening to me. But on Sunday, when we went for a walk in the woods... he decided to act like an angel... So hopefully breaking up the obed with agility will help keep him interested.
ok, that's all I have to say for now.
Anyway, Group class started this past Saturday. Muffin was the best behaved in the whole class. I was very proud! :-) They made me so nervous on the phone when I booked my spot in the class bc I thought that everyone was going to be WAYYY more advanced than us... but they weren't.
To break up the constant obed and do some fun things, we've decided to take an agility private lesson on Monday's at 9pm. So that's a half hour private once a week, and an hour group. I was also doing sit/stay and down/stay in the woods on Sunday. He was doing them great! :-)
As far as the agility.... I'm still a bit iffy bc I don't really want to start jumping him yet. He's still only around 14 months, so he's still growing. I'll start with simple things like the tunnel, the wait table, and possibly the A frame... I'll leave the real "jumping" things till he's a bit older.... Maybe another 4 months or so... I know the AKC allows dogs 15 months and over to compete... but I would feel better waiting till he's about 18-20 months to start him on the jumps.
I definatly think he gets to a point where "enough is enough." I had some time to kill Saturday after class... so I was waiting outside a store with a HUGE field behind it. I thought I'd train a little there... Muffin was just not listening to me. I thought it was because it was a new place and we had to work on focus... so when we got home I tried training a bit again... and again he just wasn't listening to me. But on Sunday, when we went for a walk in the woods... he decided to act like an angel... So hopefully breaking up the obed with agility will help keep him interested.
ok, that's all I have to say for now.
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