| My Dogs! Aren't They Gorgeous?! :) |
| Etta has re-taught me everything I ever thought I knew about training dogs. As a puppy she was brought to the veterinary hospital where I work by an elderly man who discovered that she was way too much for him to handle. She was, at the time named "Cocoa", which was the name of a dog that I had just had to put to sleep. It felt like fate, so I called my fiancé and asked him to meet me at the hospital after work. We were getting married in a few months and our song was "At Last" by Etta James. It fit perfectly, because, WOW, can Etta hold a note/howl! We did not realize how sad our other dog, Maggie, was about Cocoa's passing until we saw how happy she was to have Etta around. They are the best of friends. |
| Etta Continues to teach me something every day. She is a fun dog to learn with and our current undertaking is working in Free Style and Rally Obedience. |
| Name: Etta James, a.k.a. "James", "Little One", "Super Fly Jimmy Snooka" (that one came from Chris, don't ask!), and "Monkey". Breed: She is at least part Blue Tick Hound, the rest is Whippet and ??? She has a curly tail, we have no idea where it came from! She is my good old American Who Knows What! Color: Brindle Date of Birth: November 15th, 2002 Biggest thrill in Life: Eating, sleeping, finding sunny spots to sleep in. Dislikes: Loud noises and cloudy days. Favorite Toy: Anything that holds food in it or moves. Once it stops or is empty, it is not interesting anymore! |
| Best Trick: "That Was Easy" - Etta loves to use her "Easy Button" from Staples! Training Goals: Expanding on her Freestyle behaviors, she knows spin, Hi Ho Silver, and bow, we are working on weaving through my legs as I walk. |
| Etta is my training partner when working to help "reactive dogs" become comfortable being around other dogs. Etta seems to have a real skill for this, I attribute this ability of hers to living with Maggie, who is uncomfortable around any dog except Etta. It seems that Etta just somehow knows how to read their signals and is able to help them read hers. When working with these scared dogs, Etta sits or lies down quietly by my side while we are standing and talking, then she walks nicely by my side when we move onto the walking exercises. Etta's strong points are her lack of reactivity if the dog does happen to react and the way she tells me information about the dog. There will come a time in our walking that Etta will suddenly refuse to move any closer to the dog. I unknowingly made her move closer twice and the dog reacted. All of a sudden in dawned on me (stupid human!) that Etta saw that the she was too close the dog for it's comfort. I have since learned to listen to my dog! |
| Name: Maggie, a.k.a. "Pie", "Mag-Pie", "Pie-Dogger" Breed: Labrador Retriever Color: Yellow Date Of Birth: January 31st, 2001 Dislikes: Baths and people who do not freely give her cookies! Best Trick: "Get a Manicure", Maggie offers her paw for nail trims. So much nicer than wrestling for a basic need! Favorite Toy: Kongs, Frisbees, Tug Toys, Tennis Balls, Anything! |
| Training Goals: Maggie is a very Type A personality! We are working on getting her to relax and have more fun with her behavior. There is more to life than perfect heeling and staying! |
| Maggie is our "First Born". Chris and I got her early on in our relationship. We drove over three hours deep into Vermont to go get her! :) Having never had a dog, Chris let her do all of the things that I gasped at and said he couldn't do! Despite the fact that she was supposed to be mine, she is all his girl! She has been a wonderful dog for him to learn with. She is sweet and smart and so very forgiving for any mistakes anyone might make while training her! Maggie and Chris are the best of friends, and it is so cool to watch the relationship they have in action. |
| Maggie was enrolled in a puppy class shortly after we got her. I signed her up so that Chris could get a feel for what it was like to train a dog. I learned a lot in that class, sadly it was what not to do. Chris and I had decided to take turns each week handling Maggie in class. The instructor was so mean to Chris that he begged me each week to work Maggie and he promised that he would do the work at home. She was more like a drill sargent than a puppy class instructor. I also learned how important it was to speak up for my dog. The instructor asked to use Maggie in a demo one class. I said yes, not questioning the instructor. She sprinkled food on the floor and waited for my 10 week old puppy to go for it. At that time she ripped back on Maggie's leash and screamed "NO" at her. The rest of the class Maggie would tremble if she heard the word no. In a way, Maggie is also greatly responsible for me teaching the way I do. I feel bad that she had to go through that class, and I am lucky that she is such a great resilient dog. |
| Through positive training, Maggie has learned many tricks. At orientation night she often performs her heel work, staying while I leave the room, speak, whisper, sit up, high five, wave, stand, back up, play dead, crawl, roll over, and my personal favorite, get a manicure. Get a manicure involves Maggie sitting and offering her paw to have her nails trimmed. Not only is it a cute behavior, it makes trimming nails a breeze! |
| Every year Maggie has a great time visiting pre-school and kindergarten children. Maggie goes there to teach the children about safety in approaching dogs. She also had a great time showing off her tricks and being loved on by all of the little children! |
| Me and my girls on July 4th, 2007 at the Hopkinton Everett Dam after a day of swimming! |
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| Our newest endeavours include learning agility! Etta is a pretty lazy dog but when she gets on course her eyes just light up and she comes alive! Etta is one of the oldest dogs in class and it is pretty cool to see an older dog learn a new trick. |
Puppy, Please! Dog Training, LLC ~ www.puppyplease.com ~ (603)261-9283
