Somebody to Love

For some reason, the Queen song "Somebody to Love" was floating through my head when I took these photos.

"Somebody, Ooo somebody, Can anybody find me somebody to love?"

Some Sadie photos

Sadie really is a sweet girl who wants to please. She gets along with every person and dog that she meets. She is starting to really play with toys and her fetching skills are coming along. I teach obedience classes and a friend and fellow instructor, Beth, worked her in one of them for me and her report back was that Sadie was smart, focussed and tried really hard. I was good to hear it isn't just me being biased as the foster mum!! Beth is going to come to some of the groundwork agility classes when I am teaching and work Sadie for me too. She is also going to start to learn the flyball basics when our team starts practicing at a barn next weekend. It'll also give me an excellent opportunity for me to test her recall skills in a large open environment. Her recall is excellent in the house, yard, at daycare and she did well in a classromm setting when Beth was working her. She still has a tendancy to barge out of doorways and gates but we are working hard on this. Sadie is 40lbs - she went to the vet for some hotspots which are now all cleared up and won over the staff there.

So, as you can see from the photos above, as much as she loves to snuggle with cats or dogs on the couches, I am running out of couch room for myself!! So, do you have room on your couch and in your heart to adopt Sadie and provide her with her forever home????

The little love bug has arrived!

I drove to pick Sadie up on Saturday and the 3 hour drive home was spent with her in the front passenger seat with her head or paw resting on my leg. My dogs travel in crates in the car but I wasn't sure what size she'd need so I thought that she could settle on the back seat for the drive home - apparently that was not close enough to me - so the front seat it was! (She now has her own crate in the car).

She is just such a little wriggly, happy girl who longs for affection. She wants to be where ever I am and if that is on the couch - even better! She has been excellent with my cat and settled in really easily with my two dogs. She loves all the toys that we have and has tugged with Bracken and played fetch alongside my two. She only has a small, half tail (birth defect or trapped in a door) but it is constantly wagging and can clear my coffee table in no time!!

Her manners need a little work mostly because she is too busy wagging her way around you to sit exactly when you ask! She understands sit, down, leave it and drop and we are just working on the speed of her response. She is crate trained and is very quiet in the crate - she has a tendancy to barge out the crate door but is catching on that that behaviour gets her nowhere. She is fairly good on leash too- she doesn't stick right beside you but she is not a big puller either.



She is at daycare today and is apparently a hit with all the other dogs - apparently my two have also decided that she is really fabulous and are wrestling and chasing her - that hadn't happened at home yet. She has also been excellent with the puppies that are at daycare.

All adults and older children that she has met, she has loved. We do not know about younger children at this time - she was nervous of one that she met on our first walk.

The photos really don't do her justice but she doesn't sit still for long enough!!! I will try to get more ASAP!

Incoming! A new foster arrives next weekend!!

Sadie will be my new foster and I will pick her up next Saturday (22nd September). Check her out on www.bordercollie.ca

Spaz has found his forever home!

I am so very happy!!! The papers are signed and Spaz is now officially settled into his forever home and I couldn't be happier. Spaz was adopted by a member of our flyball team so I get to see him lots! Spaz is in obedience classes and also in advanced flyball. He will be starting agility training in September.

I would like to thank Debby and her son Jarad for recognising the love that the Spaz-man has to share and for giving him his forever home. Jarad is the junior handler on our team and him and Spaz have bonded so well in such a short space of time. Thank you for looking past his 'baggage' and helping him to unpack.

BAGGAGE (The Meaning of Rescue)

Now that I'm home, bathed, settled and fed,
All nicely tucked in my warm new bed,
I'd like to open my baggage,lest I forget,
There is so much to carry,
So much to regret.

Hmmm...Yes, there it is, right on top,
Let's unpack Loneliness, Heartache and Loss,
And there by my perch hides Fear and Shame,
As I look on these things I tried so hard to leave,
I still have to unpack my baggage called Pain.
I love them, the others, the ones who left me,
But I wasn't good enough - for they didn't want me.

Will you add to my baggage?
Will you help me unpack?
Or will you just look at my things,
And take me right back?
Do you have the time to help me unpack?
To put away my baggage, to never repack?
I pray that you do - I'm so tired you see,
But I do come with baggage,
Will you still want me?

by Evelyn Colbath (c)1995

The Travelling Spaz

Spaz just fits in wherever he goes and takes it all in his stride. He has been travelling alot to trials and hotels - 3 days in Prince Albert for agility, a weekend in Lloydminster for a flyball tournament, followed by a weekend in Edmonton for agility. He is as quiet as a mouse in his crate amongst all the flyball commotion and agility.

He is improving in flyball - can now be off leash and run up the lane, over 4 jumps, pick up a dead ball and come back over the jumps (although he is dropping the ball). However, after a few repetitions he realises that there is excitement in the next lane but we are working on maintaining the focus. He has the potential to be FAST!

He is also doing well at agility - working on go's with target training, jumping, table and he is unfazed by the tippy board movement or ladder work for back end awareness.

He is apparently coming out of his shell at daycare and has found his voice - although he rarely barks at home, he is very vocal with his growls. It will be nice if he learns some good playing skills as he is still lacking those.

Toys, focus and classes.

Spaz is slowly learning what toys are all about! He will now tug with me at home and likes to play with soft squeaky toys however once we are in a different environment, toys do not exist. I need to work with him in other environments as he doesn't even notice them in a class setting.

Flyball last week demonstrated that - the dogs on the other side of the room were far more interesting that me and our fuzzy jackpot-tug snake toy. We worked on going over flyball jumps to the tug toy and he was going over 3 jumps but we had to do it on leash so that he didn't head over to check out what the others were up to. I just have to be more fun and interesting!

Agility last night was good - worked on lots of handler focus, stays, hand touches and side commands. He did great with those but I need to work on duration of his sits and downs especially around other dogs. Again, he didn't want to play with his toys but I had a food container that I spent a few minutes getting him to pick up and bring back to me for treats - until he can tug in these more stimulating environments, I will keep his interest using the food jackpot type toys as food seems to be very motivating for him.

He has a big Easter Weekend ahead. We are heading to Prince Albert for 3 days of agility with my other two. I will use this new environment to try him under many different distractions.

Dog Sport Spaz!

The past two weeks have been full of new and exciting adventures for Spaz. We took a road trip to Calgary for a Training Troop agility trial. Spaz was excellent in the car, hotel room and being crated at the trial site - not a peep from him (despite the kids in the hotel hallway whistling to get the dogs going at 3:30am). I was really proud of him - he was excited when let out to take a walk for a toilet break but settled quickly.

We also started flyball classes and he was interested in the other dogs at the very beginning but settled in quickly and focussed very well on me. We worked on some clicker training and playing with toys. We then did work with recalls to me and a tug toy - he seems to respond to a really high pitched 'Spaz-ziiiii"!! Based on those few short recalls, I think he is going to be fast! I am excited to go to our second class tonight.

Last night we started agility groundwork. We reviewed clicker training, playing with toys, worked on waits and stays and reinforcement for fast downs. We then worked a little on the table and getting a fast down. He was excellent and focussed well.

He loves food and seems to lap up the training.
Yesterday at daycare he also meet two young children (Paul, 10 and Hannah, 7) - he was awesome with them and they were very taken by him - in fact they wanted to take him home :)

Why this super guy doesn't have a forever home yet is beyond me! He may have a few quirks but doesn't everyone? I am still working on his rawhide guarding issue and can call him off chewing one - he'll leave it and come to me to be rewarded or do an exchange for another treat. I have also found that the path of least resistence for me to trim his toe nails is to do it while he is eating his dinner - once he starts eating, I can pick up a foot and quickly clip the nails.

Check back for an update on his flyball and agility classes!

Spaz with friends

Spaz has been busy at 'The Spot' making lots of new friends. Here is is with Porter, Bailey and Zoom. I tried to get some action shots but he moves too fast!!!

Week 2

Spaz is doing awesome. He has settled in really well into our daily routine. He loves his crate -I set one up in the lounge for him - and he often goes in there while we are all watching TV.

He is enjoying having lots of toys to play with and is especially enjoying shredding any squeaky stuffies. He has shown signs of resource guarding toys and I am working on this by doing exchanges for treats and also teaching him drop. He is doing well with this and is a quick learner.

He has been to daycare for 2 days now with very positive feedback - he fits in well with the other dogs and he is excellent in a crate at nap time. We are going to continue to go to daycare 2x/week and are planning on starting a beginner agility class to start getting some focus in a working setting.

At home he is doing really well with sit, down, wait, and hand touches and is extremely responsive to his name.

Spaz is my first foster dog for Border Collie Friends Rescue (BCFR) (www.bordercollie.ca). I picked him up in Calgary on Saturday (17th February) from Cherie, another foster home. He was surrended to the Humane Society at 1 year old because he was hyperactive and food possessive. A border collie-lab cross hyperactive at 1 year - shocking!!! He has been in foster care with BCFR for 2 years and was well looked after by Cindy. He has had plenty of other dog interaction but needed exposure to new situations. Cherie had him for the 4 months previous and has worked with his food possessive issues as he demonstrated possessiveness around large rawhide sticks. He was moved to my house to see if the gains that they had accomplished translated to a new environment. More about that later.

Spaz settled in right away with my two dogs (Ceili - humane society rescue b.c. mix, Bracken - local rescue (www.nasap.ca) b.c.). Spaz is very loving - likes nothing more than snuggling on the couch next to you or lying at my feet as I work in the office). He is crate trained and goes to it on command - these last few mornings he has been racing to it as soon as he sees the stuffed Kong coming out of the freezer! Spaz is very good with his name recognition and come. He will sit, shake a paw and wait at the door/gate to go out. Since Saturday we have been working on down, hand touches and improved waits to be let of the crate, car, door, gates and to be released to his food bowl.

Hurry up - let's go for a walk!

I have tested him for resource guarding around his food bowl and have no reaction when I add food to his bowl, take away the food bowl or even put my hand in the food bowl. I did this on his own and with my two dogs present. No reaction at all. I have not yet tested the rawhides.

Spaz LOVES to go for walks and will run to sit at a door as soon as he thinks a walk might be forthcoming. He likes to pull a little so I implemented the - we are not moving forward unless there is a loose leash- routine and he caught on quite quickly but this will be a work in progress for a while yet!

I am fortunate to have a good friend who owns a doggy daycare and training centre (www.seespot-run.com). Spaz will be going to daycare on Friday to see how he is around a larger group of dogs. We have had him in the centre on an evening, running around with 5 new dogs and he has been very good. In the past he has shown signs of overstimulation around large groups of dogs so we are working through this so that he will be able to compete in the future in agility, flyball or RallyO. Last night he stayed very quietly in a crate in a room with 8 other crated dogs while we practiced agility. I then took him out into a corner while another class practiced. He was excited to see them but sat next to me with his tail wagging and his body quivering. I clicked and treated him every time he took his focus off the other dogs and onto me - the goal is to train him to focus on me even in extremely stimulating environments.