New puppy pics!

Katspaw..

How adorable!!! She is growing up so fast. I can't get over how much she has changed and grown since your last pics. What a pretty baby.

I couldn't help laugh at the antics. You had me cracking up here. I remember them "puppy" days, and am still going through some of that with my baby Rotty, who is a year now. She thinks she is still a puppy, and thinks she can run across the room and "LUNGE" on mommy's lap at almost a 100 lbs. Talk about a take down tackle. I am sending her to the Saints camp to teach them to tackle!! LOL.

Keep on sharing pics of your baby. I really enjoy seeing her grow up! And it is fun to hear all the fun things she does.

Well of course! LMBO!!!!

awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Thanks, y'all. Kids and critters....they both trade on cute, don't they? My daughter's an expert at that.....

No, I go to the one in Slidell, Dar, but I imagine they all have about the same standards in training; their trainers are certified. I have found, though, that there are a LOT of different philosophies on training. The head trainer in Slidell is absolutely against any kind of aversive training, including choke chains. I talked to her for about two hours the other day...we'll agree to disagree on some things, though she made good points. I personally think a lot depends on the individual dog.

Jumping and pulling are two things that concern me. I worry about my older and getting-frailer parents, so my dog flat-out can't jump, since my parents expect to babysit her if we go out of town (my folks really hate boarding animals, but they'll rearrange their lives endlessly to accommodate dogs and cats).

PetSmart trainers teach that when a dog jumps, you fold your arms and look away (and plant your feet). Theoretically, when the dog realizes that it's not getting the desired attention with two feet on the floor, but LOTS of attention with four feet on the floor, it ceases jumping. Of course, that assumes a dog that can control its excitement, and well as a really sturdy foundation for the jumpee! I have to say, I did see it work quite well and quickly, even with rambunctious puppies.

When I got my labbie, Mollyll, 13 years ago, she was a determined puller, even on a choke collar, and jumped on everyone. As much as it killed me, we did the "knee to the chest or solar plexus" with her. When the dog jumps, you bring up your knee---note, the dog runs "into" your knee, you don't savagely knee your dog in the gut...BIG difference in force--and the dog cartwheels backwards. Molly hit the floor several times. Each time, I went off to the bathroom and cried, even though she wasn't hurt, just surprised. After the third time, she never jumped again, but it certainly didn't break her spirit, as some people claim.

With choke chain training, the choker is snapped and released on the dog's neck to indicate which direction it's supposed to go, or what it's supposed to do. True, the dog has less incentive to look up at you in motion, because you're telling it exactly what to do, but it does't hurt the dog. Pinch collars look a little barbaric to me, though. Now, in training, the corrections were pretty vigorous sometimes, but the dog learned very quickly and always walked like a lady.

We're doing loose-leash walking now, and I really don't care for it. It's against everything I've learned before, and I'm having as hard a time learning it as Phaidra is, mostly because now I worry about tripping over her and falling. I guess I just prefer my dog at a close-in heel, rather than dancing around on the line. Molly was trained to heel and to sit if I stopped walking, and after 10 weeks of training, she did it for the rest of her life with no trouble....only occasionally pulled, and with nowhere near the force. Phaidra, on the other hand, at 20 pounds, has already lengthened my left arm at least two inches!

Good luck, Dar! I took Molly to Dee Wild, who trained some of the LA search and rescue dogs, here in Slidell. Not sure if she's still training or not, though.

She is too cute katspaw!!!!!!