New Stuff For Puppy Flash

Flash is getting so big, but her potty training still needs LOTS of work. She's just not getting it. I bought her an x-pen so she won't have accidents in unsecured spots while i'm at work. When i'm sleeping she is in her carrier but while i'm at work for 8-9 hours it's a problem. The x-pen is huge! It is way bigger than even I expected. It easily fits her wire crate and food bowl plus lots of room. I need to buy her more squeaky toys as she loves those. She runs when she hears squeaky toys. If i'm in the kitchen and she's in the living room she comes running over to me :)

She is now 8 weeks old by the way. Yay!

Picture of her x-pen:

Also, Flash's ID tag came yesterday. It's from Dogtagart.com or Facebook.com/dogtagart. I loved it! And Flash looked very Flashy wearing it. Everyone needs their own personal zombie killing sidekick, right?

The bad thing? Flash is getting so big that her x-small collar is getting tight so I took it off of her today. Need to buy her a new collar now. 

Her new carrier also came yesterday. It's a cross bag. It's only medium and although she fits perfectly in it she is growing so I want to buy a bigger one later on. I think this bag holds up to 10-14 pounds in size medium. When she reaches 10 pounds i'll pick a bigger size. She doesn't hate it and doesn't wiggle or anything in it. All she does is poke her little head out or tuck her head in to sleep. Going to take her in it to Petsmart next time I go. Getting harder and harder to take her there with my limited transportation. 

She is getting more adorable every day!

Flash's First Vet Visit

Wow, sorry for the lacking of posts.

I went to the vet on Tuesday at 4 PM. Flash was great. She was a bit scared, but she otherwise just slept beside or behind me on the bench. It did take them an hour to even get us into the exam room. Found out she is 6 pounds and 2 ounces and she is 7 weeks old. She was given a dewormer and it did it's job. That same night the worm passed through her. The vaccines is a 4-visit procedure meaning she has to go back 3 more times. But the vet and techs were nice enough and Flash loved the male vet tech (of course he was giving her treats). All in all the visit went well. She is definitely mixed. Her tail does curl over her back and to the side. I have no clue what she's mixed with and neither do they. The vet tech joked about mini eskimos and the vet joked about chihuahuas. :/ That would at least explain her constant yapping.

Flash, in the exam room, being a doll face.

Flash's New Quirks

Flash is doing a new thing that is both weird and cute. She is getting out of her "crate/bed" when I leave the room and instead of finding pee everywhere when I come back she is sleeping next to my office chair. I don't know what this means. Another thing is she has gone to the pee pad on her own twice now, so she is learning that the pee pad is where she must do her business. At least until she gets her shots done with. Then she may feel the earth and grass beneath her paws. I rescheduled her vet visit for Tuesday, February 19th at 2:30 PM at the Banfield Animal Hospital. I'll be doing their wellness plan so the fee will only be around $70. She'll be 7 weeks then and hopefully she'll be able to start her vaccines. I don't want to wait until 8 weeks D:  I do have to wait till then to get her flea preventative though unfortunately. She does have fleas and has some sores on her from scratching. I've been bathing her but have to give her another tonight as tonight's my only day off for a few days.

My brother got a new puppy without thinking it through. She is a boxer mix with her tail docked. She's a sweet puppy. But he only got it because "he wanted it". Which is a good thing but then he had to move out of my sisters and now is staying with us. We fight alot. And his puppy also has fleas, though more than Flash. Hopefully both puppies get on preventative soon. The puppy, named Bella, is food aggressive too. She always eats Flash's food because she likes Flash's food better and when Flash gets close to her she growls deep throaty growls and barks. Because of this Bella is no longer allowed in Flash's feeding area/my office. Flash is not aggressive at all. But then again i've had her since 4 weeks and Bella is already 4 months old and no shots.

But the puppies do get along and love to play with one another. I don't allow Flash outside so the only pics I could get weren't good at all.

Bella is a bit bigger than her but only weighs 12 pounds at 4 months. Flash already weighs over 5 pounds at 6 weeks so she is probably going to be a bit bigger than Bella full grown. I do notice that for a puppy Bella is amazingly low-key. She is very easygoing and chill. Unfortunately, Flash is not. She is all "go,go,go!", but i'm glad that Bella is here to tucker her out a bit. She actually slept in her bed without being told to "lay down".

I freaking adore Flash. As more days pass i'm glad I made the decision to get her.

Flash laying by my desk chair

I Love Dogs

Flash is getting so big and I swear she understands English  On the big part, I hadn't noticed how big she was getting. She looked a bit taller to me and her muzzle is getting more pronounced, but other than that I can't tell. My sister dropped off her boys for me to babysit and she remarked on how big Flash was getting. Flash was chasing her boys and keeping up with them so my sister said that she's getting so big and  she ran fast now. I noticed then. Flash is getting bigger. I can't tell that much still but I admit she is getting bigger than the 4 week old puppy I rescued two weeks ago.

About the English thing I said before i'll explain. Flash sleeps in a pink laundry basket. I couldn't afford a kennel when I got her so I used it. In it are towels, her toy, a chew, and her sweater that she never wears. She can climb out of it and when she wants to play she either gets out by herself, but most of the time she whines or barks at me. When I am working I usually shush her. Today I pointed my finger down and in a firm voice I told her to sit. I didn't expect her to listen to that, but she did...sort of. Instead of sitting she lays down. Realizing she thought sit meant settle I told her to lay down instead. Again she lays down. When I repeated she did it even more (tucking her head into her blanket). D: How does she know this?! She barely knows touch and sit, yet she knows how to settle/lay down all on her own?

A cute new habit she is doing. It's actually kind of gross too though. When I put her on her pee pad she sometimes lays down when she doesn't have to go. She just lays down with her head between her paws. I got on my hands and knees to get on her level and she came over to me, got in between my two hands, which were on the tile floor, and lays down the exact same way as on the pad. WHY DOES SHE HAVE TO BE SO CUTE?! And then  when I sat down with her she was the sweetest pup! I gave her her toy while I was on my camera (taking pictures of her) and she just played by herself before slumping down for a nice rest. Honestly I think my nephews tuckered her out. But these wonderful times make the bad puppy times seem not that bad (accidents, nonstop whining when I don't want to wake up, etc.).

I never thought i'd be a dog person but I guess I sort of am now. I love my doggies :)

Training and Fleas

Flash will be 8 weeks on the 26th, in 16 days. Hopefully by then I can start taking her outside again. I was taking her outside to potty but someone told me it was dangerous for a young puppy to be outside without shots. Her exam is on the 14th and they'll tell me how old she is. I'm not quite sure. But if the vet says that she's old enough to receiver her first shots i'm going to do it of course. The sooner she gets vaccinated the sooner I can start training her more outside.

She is still learning on her sit and stay. Flash is selectively food motivated, meaning she will go gaga for certain foods and others she won't. For example hotdogs are okay but diced ham is even better. Regular dog treats (even liver flavored) don't faze her. I'm out of diced ham but will buy more today so I can commence her training.

She has some scabs on her skin which are from scratching or flea bites. That's one of the issues i'm going to ask my vet about. I've been washing her with dawn dish soap but that can only do so much. I need her to be 9 weeks old before giving her most flea drops or pills.

Flash playing with her sock monkey.

Flash's Training Begins

I can't say "begins" exactly. I've already been training her bite inhibition (trying to) and how to pee on the pee pad. I say trying to because the other people in the household don't work her like I do. They let her bite their hands, etc. But I say begins because I started teaching Flash how to target or touch. If you remember the KlikStik I bough a few weeks ago, well it's come in handy. Below is a video of her learning how to touch. I've not put a word to it yet. I'm just working on the action so far. I've gotten an overnight job so it will be harder and harder to give her the attention she needs. I hope it doesn't mess me up too much. I still need to find 93 people to socialize her with. The rule is to find 100 to socialize her with by the time she is 12 weeks. She is now 6 weeks. Six more weeks to go.

I get paid on the 14, in a week, so i'm taking her to the vet then. Also I did my taxes and will be getting $908 back so that will be fun. Prepare to be spoiled, my doggies!

Learned to touch instantly :)

She is getting bigger right? Is it just me or does she seem very small? She is supposed to be 6 weeks now, but I can't tell if she's any bigger. I will start keeping track of her weight better. I guess the vet will tell me how she's doing on the 14th.

One Week With Flash

I've had Flash for over a week now so instead of being 4-5 weeks she is now 5-6 weeks. She is a bundle of joy; playful, sweet, and just plain adorable. EVERYONE still loves her. She still is not completely paper trained but I knew she wouldn't be. Everytime she wakes up or gets out of her basket I put her on her pads and she goes pee. I was at my sister's babysitting for her while she hung out with friends and drank. The puppy stayed home with my dad and brother. She fell asleep on my dad's bed and when she woke up of course she peed on it. He got all mad but she is a puppy, of course she'll have accidents.

I can't tell if she's getting bigger yet though. We'll just wait and see. She does like raw chicken, so i've been using chicken or liver treats to train her.

Flash Tries New Things

Today I took Flash outside for the first time. She was scared of it. She kept following me and whining. Flash even tried to climb up my leg. I'm going to keep taking her out so she gets used to it though. I can't have her scared of anything. I need to socialize her with everything, and I suppose that starts with my backyard.

I was cooking dinner and had some raw chicken left. Cut off a tiny piece and cut it into more tiny pieces. Flash was relaxing in her basket but when I put the meat to her nose she went crazy. Her tail was wagging crazily and she wolfed the raw chicken down under 30 seconds flat. Safe to say I found what she loves. This I will use in training. I used to give my cats raw meat but they didn't take to it as quickly as she has.

Flash can now get out of her basket so I need to buy a kennel :/

Enter Flash

A few days ago, on the 26th, I was given a pure bred border collie puppy, or so I was told. They got rid of mama before the pups were even 6 weeks old. I took the last puppy then. Found out later there were a handful of lies.

1. Lady said no fleas. The puppy has flea dirt near her tail and around her scruff, along with a tick on her neck that I removed.
2. In the ad she said the puppies had first shots and were wormed. She told me they didn't have first shots but were wormed. Though puppy still is very wormy.
3. Said she was 5 weeks old, then said born on December 26th, making her only 4 weeks at pick-up. 
4. Possibly not purebred. She's too scruffy and small (an x-small collar fit her neck). Also her tail curls over her back. Not a collie trait. 

Other than that she's a complete doll. I paid $100 for her which i'm upset at but I love her. EVERYONE DOES. My family, who usually dislikes mutts, are completely in love. They always want to touch her, look at her, hold her, etc. She is a cutie, though She loves to tug as most pups do. She's eating hard food mixed with water, and wet food. I bought her a pink collar and ID tag today. Monday is her vet visit.

Ticks and Training

Everytime I let Holly out she comes back in with a new tick. I guess the preventative only works for fleas. I have an appointment at the vet Monday at 2 PM to get her rabies shot. Also going to buy some preventative.  Maybe theirs will work better. They have reasonable prices at the vet thank goodness.

I got the rest of my dog haul off of ebay.com. Below is the whole lot together.

1. Dog treat jar

2. Freeze Dried Chicken Breast Treats for Dogs and Cats

3. Bandana that doesn't fit

4. 2 dog training books

5. Clik Stik (clicker and target stick in one)

6. 15 ft leash tie out (not pictured)

I love Holly so much. She's such an awesome dog. For cheese she'll lay down automatically. I now have to teach her what word and hand signal goes with lay down. Food lures aren't out yet :)

Random Holly stuff.

1. Holly prefers cheese instead of hotdog as treats
2. She watches you when you eat but if you look at her she turns away
3. The bandana didn't fit :( Need to get a size bigger.
4. She's getting very good on her lay down.
5. She wants my ice cream i'm eating.

Package Arrived

I finished a $88 commission so I bough some stuff off of ebay. My haul:

1) Treat Jar (I filled it with milkbones for medium dogs)

2) Dog Tricks & Agility for Dummies

3) Dog Tricks for Dummies

4) A pink peace and flowers bandana for dogs

I still need to get 4 more things in the mail but it should be here by tomorrow or at least the beginning of February. I am hoping these books will help with the training. Holly is a stubborn one. 

Holly still reeks. Like swimming water. I asked a friend and dog groomer of mine but she hasn't responded yet. I'm hoping she can help with this. This is the ONLY thing that my family doesn't like about her. 

On a random note; I think Holly is part Cocker Spaniel. She has the fur for it. 

Cats can be trained too!

I want to show you that cats can be trained just as well as dogs. Kali is almost two and very smart. In this video she is doing her "sit pretty" trick. Her cue to do this trick is I wave at her.

 Kali has been missing for 19 days now though so if you live in Texas and see her please tell me :(

Slow Down

Well the training has slowed a bit. I've been trying to study more and finish up my commissions but i'm still training her every day at least a little. She will almost always sit for me but her touch isn't all the way there. I've started teaching "lay down" and if I work it a bit she lays down quickly but I always have to use a food lure or she won't. Oh well, practice makes perfect.

I found some obedience classes only 15 minutes from me called South Paw Training School. I want to train her in basic obedience, which is $80. Very cheap compared to Petco/Petsmart's training classes. As soon as I round up enough commissions to pay for the class i'm going to try and sign up :)

Holly got away from the yard yesterday. Our back door swings open sometimes so she runs for it. I was warned about this. Border collies are known to roam in new situations. Their chase drive can take over and Holly has a high chase drive. Rabbits, squirrels, you name it. I've had to give her two baths in the past two days. I don't like to bathe her often because with cats their skin becomes irritated. I don't know if it's the same with dogs but don't want to take the chance. Her skin was irritated when I adopted her. She has sores on her rump, near her tail, and on the base of her tail. She bites the sores so they bleed. It's horrible. I'm thinking of buying her a cone to stop it. Up till now i've tied cloth around her tail to hide the wound. It always comes off though.

As soon as my next check comes she goes in for her rabies shot as well :)

Question for my followers: How do you get your dog to smell nice? I've given her multiple baths since I adopted her and she still smells strongly of...well, dog. I've been bathing her in an oatmeal and vanilla shampoo and spritzing her with doggy cologne. Still my family complains of her smell. I don't mind animal smells as much as them but I don't want her to be miss stinky either. Any help would be terrific.

Goals

Training with Holly is going well. She is learning better on Touch and Sit every day. She is housetrained except in the laundry room where I put her when I leave for long periods of time, since I haven't aquired a crate yet.

My goals for her are
Basic Adult Obedience Class I
Basic Adult Obedience Class II
AKC Training Class

I want her to get her AKC Obedience Title and Trick Dog Title. I need to read up more on this as I don't know how to go about this.

Introduction

I started this blog to keep track of what happens with Holly in my life. She is my first dog that is completely mine. She is also a rescue. Holly is a two-year-old border collie mix that is already house trained. This blog will be about her training, classes, and anything else about her. She is such a wonderful dog and deserves to be told about. I already took her to the vet and besides having fleas and sores from biting at fleas, she was good to go. I gave her heartworm and flea preventative. The fleas went away almost over night and now i'm just trying to clean up the sores. She will be so gorgeous once she's all healed up. She's a beautiful, thick-set black and white dog with fluffy ears and tail with curly fur over it.

Currently she knows:
-Housetrained (unknown)
-Touch (taught by me)-incomplete
-Sit (taught by me)
-Give your paw ( unknown)

Every week I will try and teach her a new trick. She learned touch and sit in a matter of sessions so I think she's a pretty smart canine so far. I can't wait to see what else she can do. I plan on taking her to obedience class. It's around $80. I plan to do this after I get her rabies shot done.