Pointer Blogs Have Moved!

Other fosters have shown an interest in blogging their dogs, so I have set up a new central location for foster pointers in the TX/OK area.


GSP Foster Blogs GSP foster blogs

Dodge has a very sweet personality

Dodge loves to run and he loves to look for interesting smells and critters in the yard, but he also is really people friendly. Given his choice, he'll give the yard a going over, but then he's at your service.

He definitely wants to please. He'll check in with you in the yard and come if you call him (in a fenced area) but if you tell him it's OK to go play he'll do that too.

He hasn't shown much interest in fetching, but he will track the ball sometimes. Of course, real live birds and squirrels are more interesting than a nasty old ball, in his book.

As for toys, so far he has played with the tug rope, a racquet ball, and the Combat squeeky heart. He and Teddy spend just as much time just plain wrestling as they do playing with toys.

Dodge would do well as either a single dog or as a housemate with another young dog.

Dodge will be working on ....

Well, he's got a good start. He's pretty well housetrained, although he isn't perfect if he can't get outside. So he's doggie door good, but not necessarily locked up in the house good. He has engaged in a bit of counter surfing, so he can't really be left alone anyway.

However he does know "sit" and "no" and he's learning "outside" and "inside".

Although he has escaped from a yard with 4' chain link in the past, hot wire appears to be effective with him, no escapes so far.

Goals for him so far are:

• no feet first into the water bowl - he's getting this


• no trampling people or furniture when playing with another dog - he's getting this too


• getting more familiar with scootering - first time was good...


• "stay" (since he already has sit)


• "eat your own food" (no cruising back and forth from bowl to bowl)


• "go to bed"


• "off" (which he kind of knows but needs a little brushing up on)


• no counter surfing (I'm going to have to set him up and catch him for this one I think)


• no making a break for it out the door (see above)


• play with dog toys only - I think he's getting this one pretty well because he has started going to the toy basket when he wants to play

He definitely likes the birds and squirrels, and in general finding high ground and being lord of all he surveys. Found him on top of one of the dog houses today....

Introducing - Dodge

Wow! Dodge is tall, light, and handsome. He's working on putting on some weight right now. Dodge really likes to run, and was running himself silly all day.

Preliminary experiments show that he is a prime scootering dog (www.dogscooters.com is a good intro). So far about 2 in 8 of the pointers I have tried liked scootering, but I hooked him up with my guy and he really loved it.

I don't have pix of that yet, but I'll work on it.

Congratulations to Mark, Cindy, and Bob on their adoption of the Buddy and Steve!

Two great guys for a great family!

Yahoo!

Well, I've been pretty busy, so I haven't been doing as much doggie school as I'd like the last few days. Last night I got a chance to work with Buddy a little bit and - ta da! - he has gotten the rudiments of "lie down". It will take a little cementing, I'm sure, but he gave me a lie down when I aksed for it. I made a big deal about it and gave him pets and a bit of peanut butter.

We're also working on "out" - as in "out of the kitchen" "out of the bathroom", and on "go outside - out the doggie door". He has definitely gotten the hang of the doggie door. It's pretty cute - he sometimes goes out paw first, but he's getting much more comfortable with the idea of pushing it open with his nose.

The only thing that keeps him from going directly out is his social nature. When he comes out of the crate he wants to say hi, check things out, etc, but I send him straight out as a matter of principal.

Once again, he's under the dog bed in the office. Maybe the closet is too big for a dog used to being in a crate - maybe it's not enough like a den, but for whatever reason, he looks pretty goofy sacked out with the big bed draped over him.

Definitive proof that there is an under the bed monster!

So I really have no idea what this guy was thinking. For background, Buddy tends to get whiney when left in a crate in a different room. So, since I work from home, it's pretty easy to just move him around with me.

In my home office, instead of putting him in a crate, I put him in the open closet and just block him in with a pet gate. It has a lovely cushy memory foam bed in there, and room to really stretch out.

So I turned around from my computer expecting to see the usual sprawled out pointer, or maybe his favorite "ded dawg" pose - belly up, but no. For some reason he decide to go under the dog bed.

Buddy loves any kind of ball

You name it, racquet ball, tennis ball, even the kibble ball - he loves 'em. He does seem especially fond of tennis balls though. I showed him the basket of dog toys and he snagged the tennis ball and made a beeline for the bed. For other balls, he just hangs out with it where he found it.

I'm guessing he likes to fetch, but we'll have to wait a bit for that.

Is camo really effective?

Well, Buddy seems to think that if he gets onto the bed and then lies down next to the chocolate colored body pillow, that maybe he'll be invisible. Or maybe he thinks I'll consider him a matching accessory. I'd let him hang out on the bed and crash out with me and Teddy but they always start chewing on each other and then Teddy wants to wrestle, then its back in the crate for poor Buddy.

What a guy!

Buddy is a real charmer. Going through heartworm treatment is a real bummer for him, because he loves to snuggle - which is allowed - but he also loves to play - which is NOT allowed.

It wouldn't be so hard except Teddy, who we can charitably call energetic, really wants to have a good old rough and tumble wrestling match.

And Buddy, poor guy, wants to oblige him. So Buddy gets snuggles and belly rubs and then goes back to doggie jail.

other pointer blogs...

Marley is a lean mean fetching machine. He's fast and fun but also loves a good snuggle.
Marley


Steve is a very handsome guy with a truly mellow personality. He gets along well with other dogs and is learning appropriate household behavior.
Steve

Congratulations to Elizabeth and Sergio.

Congrats to Elizabeth and Sergio on the adoption of Daisy. Their meet and greet went well, and now Matilda and Daisy are playmates!

Cheese is the answer!

Well, I think the sit thing is starting to come together for Daisy after a bit of a slow start. I found that upping the ante a bit, specifically using cheese as an inducement, helped her make better progress.

Daisy continues to be a total love hound, snuggling whenever possible, and when not snuggling, playing with the other dogs.

We still have a few instances of her choosing an inappropriate item as a chew toy, but she has really improved about that, especially with just a quiet "no" when she starts to go for the wrong thing. I still wouldn't leave her unattended for any amount of time, but she's great with her crate, so it's not going to be a problem.

She seems to be a collector, at least somebody in the household is gathering all of the dog toys and putting them in one spot that happens to be her favorite place in the living room. Maybe she's just a very neat dog.

Working on "Sit"

Well, Daisy is still pretty skittish, but she is starting to get the hang of "sit" at least some of the time. It's not smooth yet, but the training is going a little slowly because of her shy nature.

She also shows a t least a little bit of an inclination to play fetch. We have had a couple of sessions out in the yard with a raquet ball. Like all pointers, she loves to run, and will tear around the yard in circles when she is first let out into the back yard (as opposed to the dog run).

Daisy's ideal home would be with one or two quiet adults. Although she hasn't shown any problems with children, sudden noises and motions startle her. However, she has shown absolutely no signs of agression, neither with me nor with other household dogs. When frightened, she yipes and runs for cover.

I have been working on desensitizing her, and overcoming her reluctance to come when called (because she doesn't know if something bad will happen).

To try and increase her trust of humans, she has been sleeping in the bedroom.

After she goes outside, she comes back in and looks around anxiously until she finds me. If I'm in another room, she sometimes whines until I call her to let her know where I am.

As for eating, she eats in her crate, but still shows strange food behavior with the other dogs' kibble. She will slink up to an unattended bowl, snatch a few pieces in her mouth and then retreat into another room to eat the few pieces she "stole".

I have been hand feeding her outside of her crate and trying to overcome her apparent belief that she can't just walk up to a bowl and eat, but it is often tough to get her to actually eat what she is given without running away.

By George, I think she's got it!

Wow! What a successful day with Daisy! Not only has she been 3 days without a lost carpet accident :-), today, even though I have purposely left her alone long enough to get into trouble, she has only chewed on "approved dog toys"!

She is using the outside doggie door on her own now, but is still tentative with the one between the house and the back patio.

Poor little girl is scared to death of sticks - or anything else that looks like it could be used to beat a dog. She darted into her crate and cowered against the bacl wall when I picked up a dressage whip yesterday.

She's also not too happy about thrown objects - we're working on those issues. I got her to come to me today despite the fact I was holding a piece of 2x2.

Two days and no accidents!

Wow! Two days and no indoor potty problems. Daisy really seems to have gotten good about not going in the house! She has been sleeping through the night in my bedroom, out of the crate, with no mishaps and then eagerly goes outside in the morning when I get up.

This despite the fact that the doggie door is a little challenging right now, because it startles her when it flaps in her face (like after another dog). She's still pretty shy, especially about new noises and situations. Tried to do a little clicker with her the other day, but she's scared of the clicker.

We're still working on the concept of "an approved toy" - she wants anything that's soft or stuffed. She's really a lot like a little puppy on this one - almost like she was never taught some of the basics.

Speaking of the basics, we're working on "Sit" also. She's not resistant at all, just still getting the hang of it.

Daisy loves snuggles

Daisy definitely loves snuggles. She is respectful of the household's other dogs and their space, but she can manage to squeeze her way in to collect some pets or some touching time.

Daiasy is very eager to please, but tentative about what's expected of her. Already, after just a day, she is getting more confident about the household and what she can and should do.

She loves to play, and she and Teddy have done a lot of racing around the yard.

Daisy in motion

Daisy loves to go out in the yard and play. She is currently working on learning to use the doggie door so that she can go out when she wants or needs to. Right now, she clings to being inside, but once she figures out that she can go in and out as she pleases this will probably change.

Daisy is a petite girl - probably about 40 pounds. She needs to put on a little bit of weight, but she probably won't ever top 45 pounds as a healthy weight.

Daisy is a love dog

Daisy is a bit timid at first. She's been through a lot of changes recently, but she is friendly and happy to share your company.

She may have been hit in the face in the past, because she is a bit hand shy around her head.

Daisy is working on houstraining.

Daisy loves her crate

Daisy plays in her crate, and often goes into the crate if the door is open, just to lie down and relax.

Meet Daisy!

Daisy is a gorgeous pointer, probably English, who is a super sweet, super good dog. She's a little shy at first, but she really loves human contact.

She's good with large and small dogs - she gets along with my maniac GSP Teddy, plus with my two little 15 pound dogs. She has her shots and is microchipped.

Daisy's owner got ill and couldn't take care of her any longer, so she has to find a new home. She crates very well, and will actually go in her crate just to hang out.

GSP Foster Blog v. 0.01

There's not a ton of space on the adoption page, so here's my go at blogging my foster dog - whoever he or she may be - so that people can get a good sense of the dog's personality.