Where the Wild Things Are

[barbarianoftheuniverse]

I have an eight month old Border Collie called Meg. She is far from perfect (and so am I).
Today she has been about 60/40 good. The 40 included chewing up my camera memory card which DH is sure he put safely on the mantelpiece. Every time I look down at this screen she takes a quick munch of the coffee table with her eyes on mine. This despite a 2 hour walk which included much in and out of streams.

[NCISaddict]

Great video Moose They look so full of joy.

I was surprised at how Finn was but we have been doing a lot of training with my dog trainer (there are advantages to living opposite!) Off to another one on Sunday so we'll see how he reacts.
He has now succumbed to waiting 30 seconds before he hares off after joggers and bikes so we're getting somewhere. He's on a long line so can't run after properly. We've stopped throwing any toys for him either at home or out so he doesn't get that 'running after something' fix.

[soddinghormones]

ncis - I'm v impressed that Finn looks so relaxed at a cricket match

Fitz almost explodes with excitement so I have to take him for a walk well away from the action (ds2 plays cricket so it's not like he's not had plenty of exposure but the lure of a moving ball is just too great ...)

[soddinghormones]

gosh moose, Pip is enormous now!

They look like they're having so much fun - the beach really is a magical place for dogs :)

Agility was a big hit - Fitz 'got' what he needed to do instantly and the trainer said she'd managed to cover a lot more than she'd normally be able to get through in a first lesson. He was absolutely shattered last night though, couldn't wait to get to bed ... I don't think we'll be able to fit a regular class in for now but we can have one-to-one lessons every 2-3 weeks for the time being which will keep dd happy (she's spent her pocket money on a couple of jumps for the garden and we've got the dc's old tunnel out from the shed so have a mini (very mini) course at home

[moosemama]

Link to a short video of my two enjoying the whole beach to themselves on the only day we had bad weather.

here
or
<a class="break-all" href="http://i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w675/waggintailz/Ireland%202014/VID_20140802_113529_zps6952cf2f.mp4][IMG]i1335.photobucket.com/albums/w675/waggintailz/Ireland%202014/th_VID_20140802_113529_zps6952cf2f.mp4[/IMG]" rel="nofollow noindex" target="_blank">here

If the first link doesn't work, try the second one.

[moosemama]

Ah, Finn really is such a handsome lad.

Off to bed now, but will post a link to a video of my two running free on the beach tomorrow.

[NCISaddict]

Your pictures look fabulous, very chilled pups.
These are pics of Finns first cricket match, very good for him as we are trying to train him out of chasing joggers and bikes so watching people running and balls being thrown is very good for him.

[moosemama]

Hi all

We're back from our holidays, but I've been struck down with a migraine since Saturday evening when we arrived home.

We're supposed to be attending another workshop this Sunday, with the Lurcher trainer we went to a couple of months back. Unfortunately a few people have dropped out and it's looking like we won't have enough numbers to be able to go ahead. Really hoping some more people sign up at the last minute as Mum has agreed to have the dcs overnight, so dh and I were planning to make a day of it. The training is taking place near Burnham on Sea, so a long journey for us and the dogs, but well worth it if it goes ahead.

Pip had a blast on holiday, loved the beach and was ecstatic to find he was allowed on the sofas in the holiday house (it's owned by my family and everyone else lets their dogs on the furniture). He had definitely started his teenager stage though and was a touch gobby to say the least. Fine with on-lead dogs, but really barky with those that were running free. I think it was leash frustration for the most part, because he just wanted to run with them along the beach, but I have to be so careful when/where I let him off and with what dogs as he has absolutely zero body awareness, would topple pedestrians like skittles and trounce small dogs in his wake. Thinking of doing some Ttouch with him to try and improve his body awareness and see if that helps him develop some brakes and better control over how rough he can be with off-lead play.

I have put up a couple of holiday pictures for you, including one of when Lurcherboy dug a hole, then the dcs buried him in it. He loved it and lay there for ages cooling off under the nice cold, wet, sand!

[NCISaddict]

Agility, what fun! Would love to do that but can't commit to a run of classes due to shifts and all the ones our way seem to want you to go every week.
Thank goodness my trainer is used to police, fire and army owners so does it on a 'when can you turn up' basis.

[soddinghormones]

Hope you and Finn have fun

Fitz has his first agility class tomorrow - will report back!

[NCISaddict]

Hope all of you and your pups are well. We've got a busy week ahead, 2 hour training class today and Thursday, social walk with trainer tomorrow, big dog training social on Saturday lasting three hours and a dog walk with another Border Collie owner who contacted me as her dog is nervous around both other dogs and people so I'm going to advise her to come to training with me.

I'm going to be knackered although I'm sure Finn will still be up for more fun. He will be well trained if it kills me.

[insanityscratching]

Well I think Eric is struggling with the school holidays a little, he's so used to the general routines that the change hasn't been welcomed. Half the trouble is that he has to be in the midst of everything and so the naturally quiet times that he's used to don't happen and he's not having his naps. He's also missing doing the school runs even though he rarely gets out of the car He's also got a new annoying habit of sitting on the back of the chairs and sofas and clonking (me in particular) on the top of the head with his paw not quite sure what that's about . Sticking with his walks and food at the usual times and hoping it settles down and doing a bit more training and extra playing to calm him down. Have discovered putting a treat put in an old tissue box keeps him busy for a while so will try and find more stuff for him to do like that.

[soddinghormones]

Happy birthday Finn! Hope he's enjoyed the rest of his day

[insanityscratching]

I find Eric just the same with older bitches, he adores them, they put him in his place which just makes him adore them even more He loves it when we are out and we meet up with one of the "girls" there is a tiny chihuahua half his size who dictates where and how they play with nothing more than a yap and sitting down until Eric complies

[NCISaddict]

Cake for me, he'll have a large bone and he went for a walk with his girl friend this morning as a birthday treat. He's now fast asleep under the hedge where he can keep an ear open for her, I'm not entirely sure she repays his adoration but regards him with slightly amused tolerance combined with bossing him around.

[insanityscratching]

Oh he's lovely Happy Birthday Finn Will there be ?

[NCISaddict]

Finn is one today. Can't believe he was ever a cute puppy but he is a very handsome almost grown up now.

[NCISaddict]

It has meant a whole new way of looking at training, toys are no good either as he just fixates on the toy and ignores any command. So good to find a trainer who understands this.

[insanityscratching]

It must be really difficult when treats hold no interest NCIS. Eric would walk coals for a morsel of ham, we have to spell out the word nowadays as the mere mention of the word has him sitting by the fridge waiting. We did think of renaming it but Eric picks up words really quickly so for example hat has him looking at our heads to see who has the baseball cap for him to retrieve so I think it would only be a matter of days before he had us sussed.

[NCISaddict]

Finn is one tomorrow and a typical teenaged boy. You can almost see him say 'whatever' when told to do anything.

We now go to training twice a week for two hours each time plus as many social walks with our trainer that I can go on. Don't know about the dog but I'm shattered and very well trained!

For the whole of September he's going to the trainer three days a week as I'm at uni so hoping that will keep him on the straight and narrow. He's loves her and her enormous white long haired GSD is the love of his life. Am hoping by October we will have cracked recall and he will have stopped chasing bikes and joggers which is our problem at the moment.

Am so pleased to have found a trainer who understands what it's like having a dog who is not interested in treats however high value they are.

[insanityscratching]

Well I think Eric must be hitting teendom as he's being a stubborn little mutt at times. He completely ignores anything dh asks most of the time (a lot like the dc tbh ) but then is faultless when I ask the same He also seems to have perfected the look aimed at dh if he so much as dares to make a demand when Eric's not in the mood. Dh thinks I've gt the magic touch but really it's more that Eric knows he'll consistently get a reward from me whereas dh is a bit hit and miss

[reikizen]

I have had to call in professional help with my giddy lab. She is ok with us but a complete clown with strangers. She goes to nip almost everyone she meets after a display of mind blowing giddiness (way beyond what I would find acceptable in a 9 month old dog). Charges towards other people/dogs on walks and fails to return if any distractions around. We have had one session & already seen improvement. I no longer have to use a harness to stop her dragging me along and even my 7 year old could hold her lead with confidence. Fingers crossed.

[insanityscratching]

Well hopefully this will work, here is our beautiful boy with his beloved dinosaur toy.

[moosemama]

Fantastic news insanity.

Can't wait for the photos!

[insanityscratching]

Well photo will be later as I seem to be experiencing technical difficulties but grooming was a total success and Eric looks very tidy, clean and small.
Groomer said he was brilliant, she said she can't understand why the last place had a problem as Eric just wants to please everybody and he will do anything for a bit of fuss.
She had him four hours and because he's a baby he got lots of breaks when he got bored so it feels as though we have put his bad experience behind him.
He was delighted to see us when we oicked him up but made me laugh as just before we left he ran back to the groomer to give her a kiss

[moosemama]

Not till the middle of next week. I'm sure they'll be fine, I am just a worrier by nature. Dh is getting so fed up of me, especially as I had the whole pet passport wobble last Autumn which ended in us postponing our holiday while we sorted passports and then getting caught in all the awful storms in December on top of dd coming down with Chickenpox while we were away. Honestly - you couldn't make it up!

That's precisely why we've been doing the same holiday for so long. Prior to ds1 we used to go off and visit places in Wales and Ireland, tour around a bit using the holiday house as a base etc, but since we've had him it's been a standard number of days at the house, doing the same things we do every year. Dh and I are soooo fed up of it now and I think ds2 is starting to get fed up of it too - but the chance to stay in a big house with no neighbours and spend hours outdoors makes up for it.

Even knowing where we're going and what we're doing ds1 is still stressed, having upset stomachs and displaying OCD behaviour. The only saving grace is that he visibly relaxes the minute we arrive and is a different child while we're there. Not sure if it's connected to us living there for 6 months when he was a toddler or if it's just the sea, the space, the quiet etc. Whatever it is, it's worth sticking with, because it gives us all a break.

The Gower is lovely - it's dh's favourite based on lots of very happy childhood holidays there. Fingers crossed ds will cope and you'll have a lovely time.