I took him back. It was one of the hardest decisions I've ever made, because I adored so much about him (see last post). Mick, as I named him, is extremely responsive (came EVERY time I called and clapped), very happy to investigate new things, is not sound sensitive, was already fetching, and was starting to play with Will. He is going to be a great dog for some lucky person.T But the primary reason I got a puppy was for Will. He needs a playmate, and he needs to not have exclusive access to everything in the house, me and Jim included, for too much longer. I need a dog who is going to get along beautifully with Willie, and who, unlike Will, is totally comfortable around unfamiliar dogs. I want a dog who is bomb proof with people and children, a dog who loves other dogs and will be a Read More
Archives for May 2010
Final Exams — Puppy Style
My UW students just took their last exam, and along with grading all 150 of them, I'm off with Jim to pick up the pup tomorrow. He'll be nine weeks, a male Border collie of excellent herding lines who are also carefully bred for health and temperament. I've known his dad for years, always considered him a "bomb proof" dog--so much so that he was the first dog that Will was allowed to be in physical contact with after a year of classical and operant conditioning to turn his dog-dog aggression around.) Some background: Two days after Lassie died I was online looking at rescue sites and shelters. I've never done that before, always needing a long time to let the other dog go. I'm not sure why I did it after Lassie died. Her death was profoundly difficult for me; the loss of her was hard Read More
Miscommunication about Meta-Communication
Well, I just hate it when I mess up. And I did... instead of clarifying something I confused it. Sigh. Let me see if I can do a better job this time: In my last post I talked about saying "Ready" before I lifted Will's paws to clean them, and how valuable I felt it was to communicate to a dog what you are about to do. Readers responded (so beautifully I might add) with their own examples of the value of communicating one's intention rather than always just giving a "cue" asking the dog to perform an action. All good so far, and if you haven't read the comments yet, I'd advise you do so, because there are so many good ideas about how to help your dog prepare for what is about to happen. (I liked them so much I printed them out.) At the end of the post I labeled this as Read More