My First Beach Day!

On Thursday, Lily, got to go to the beach for the first time! We were prepared to just have her test out the water and wade in it a little bit. We didn't want to traumatize her and have her hate the beach. We did not expect what happened:

Yep, she loved it. She played fetch and tug in the water for about two hours straight and did. not. want. to. stop. She wouldn't even rest. She jumped over waves and dove under the water. I think it's safe to say she's a water dog.


Here's to many more beach trips to come!

Camp Bow Wow!

Lily had her first day at Camp Bow Wow last week on July 22. She passed her temperament test with flying colors and had a blast with the other campers! I got to watch her on the web cam on my breaks at work which was really cool. She liked to follow the employees around trying to get them to pet her. She also played with the other dogs and liked to go outside and run over the plastic mini dog walk type thing that they have. They said her favorite friend was a dog named Kate. They even feed her raw at lunch!

She had her second day today and was so excited when we started to walk in the door that she was pulling me and couldn't wait to go behind the gate to play with the other dogs!

Here are a couple of pictures that they took of her at camp:

She'll be going every Monday and most Wednesdays and I'm sure that she won't mind!

Weekly Weigh-In and Training Update: July 26, 2009

Momma and Mia were out of town last weekend so, unfortunately, we missed our weekly weigh-in day. Mom has also been kinda lazy since then and hasn't really had time to update our blogs.

We are now thinking that I may be a Black and Tan Coonhound Mix because I have really gotten long and tall and lost all stockiness. My nose and ears have gotten longer too.

So, as of July 26, 2009, I am still only weighing about 21-22 lbs. I am 18" long and 14" tall.

We have not done much with training in the last two weeks because they have been CRAZY. I had my first day at Camp Bow Wow last week (I had a BLAST!) and we've been to the dog park every other day. I have had tons of socialization.

Our homework assignments for obedience class are to learn a trick involving a down (I am going to learn to crawl) and to learn a trick involving a sit (we will work on high five). We are also supposed to be working really hard on "Leave It."

That's all for now. It's bedtime!

Exhausted after obedience class today.

Weekly Weigh-In and Training Update: July 12, 2009

As of July 12, 2009 Lily is about 15 weeks old and 20 lbs. She is 17" long and will not cooperate with me to get her height measurement.

Sit and Down: We have mastered the sit. She was reliably sitting on verbal cue in class today. She was also doing downs with the hand signal.

Leave It: I hadn't worked on it at all during the week but during class we got to the point where I could drop the treats from about 6 inches without her going for them.

Fetch: Fetch is going even better. I am no longer giving her treats when she brings the ball back and drops it. She very much enjoys the game now and brings me balls to throw occasionally.

Crate Training: Crate training is going a bit better, I suppose. She's still not thrilled about being in there but has been whining less at night. She also is whining a little less when I put her in there for "quiet time."

Potty Training: She has not had any potty accidents in the house that I know of and has only had a few poop accidents. They happen at night after I have gone to bed and Daddy is supposed to be watching her. He watches her but not close enough that he'd see her having an accident. I wouldn't be surprised if she went to the door but he just didn't notice.

Loose Leash Walking: I still haven't worked on this with her. I think I am going to wait to see what Rachel says about it before I start teaching her.

Goals for the next two weeks: Work on "Watch" and increasing the length of eye contact before she gets a treat, get "Down" on a verbal cue, work more with leave it.

First Puppy/Basic Obedience Class

Lily had her first puppy/basic obedience class today. I wrote a little about it over on Mia's blog.

Lily was not thrilled about having to stay in her crate in the car. She wouldn't stop whining and barking and about 30 minutes into the trip she knocked the crate over onto little Mia. When I stopped the car to get Mia out, Lily's cage was soaked with drool. She was so stressed that I just let her sit on my Mom's lap for the rest of the trip.

Lily did great during her class. She was focused (for the most part) and calm. I'm pretty sure there were six other dogs (a Golden Retriever Mix, a Pointer Mix, a Rottweiler, an Italian Greyhound, a Golden Retriever, and a Border Collie). Our trainer said that there would be a Jack Russell Terrier puppy next class too.

We mostly talked today and worked on leave it, coming when called, watch me, and sits/downs. All but one of the dogs already knew how to do sits and downs. Everyone seemed really nice. Two of the dogs have been in the class for a while: Ziggy the Iggy (Italian Greyhound) and the Rottweiler (Pita, I think). Most of the class Lily was sitting or lying at my feet. At one point she fell asleep under my chair. (Mia also fell asleep at her first puppy class.) She was friendly with the other dogs and really wanted to play with a few of them. I think she will do well in the class.

She definitely did not want to go in her crate (even with a frozen, stuffed kong) while it was Mia's turn though. So I held her while we were waiting and my Mom held her leash while it was Mia's turn. I think Lily might be developing some seperation anxiety and that has me worried. I am going to do some research tonight and figure out what I can do to prevent that from becoming any worse.

Needless to say, we are all exhausted. I'm surprised I am still awake. Mia and Lily have been asleep for about 3 hours.

Weekly Weigh In and Training Update: July 5, 2009

I have been really busy the last few days and haven't gotten around to writing this post yet!

As of July 5, 2009, Lily weighed 17 lbs. She was 15" long and 13" tall.

Sit and Down: Lily now knows the verbal cue for sit. We are still working on the verbal cue for down. She is also learning that she has to sit calmly and "ask" if she wants to get up on the couch or bed.

Fetch: She is now fetching further distances and doing a lot better with dropping the ball.

Crate Training: This is going a lot better. Last night she whined all night and we couldn't figure out why. I found out this morning that she needs more room. She didn't have enough room to lay down comfortably and now I feel bad.

Potty Training: Lily is now always going to the door when she needs to go outside. I don't think she is at a point where she would hold it if we weren't paying attention or couldn't take her out but I know that will come with age.

Loose Leash Walking: I am going to start working with her on this today in preparation for the walks we'll be able to take in a few weeks once she gets her second shots.

She is still pretty itchy from her staph infection but we haven't found any more pimple things on her. We have three days left of antibiotics so I think things are going well.

There are a few things that I need to start working with her on in addition to what we have worked on already. Obviously, we need more work on leave it and getting down on a verbal cue but we also need to work on her being calm when people walk into the house. She gets very excited and mouthy. We also need to work on her mouthiness because it HURTS. Those are the goals for the next couple of weeks/months.

We start puppy class on Sunday! I am hoping that she will enjoy it and that it will wear her out.

4th of July

Mommy and Daddy took me to a 4th of July BBQ last night! I had so much fun. Their friends have a big chocolate lab named Max and I got to play with him for almost three hours straight! In fact they had to keep putting Max inside so we could rest and not get over heated.

Here are some of the highlights: