Where has time gone...

Beside the fact hat I haven't posted something new in a while, it seems like time has flown by... Sable has gotten soooooo much bigger. For whatever reason I've really noticed it in the last week. As for puppy updates:

Dog Classes
The first week we went without the puppy... we did get some awkward looks from the other people at the class, but we also got a good introduction to the trainer and some basic dog command introduction. The other puppies were totally adorable... there was a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever (which I have decided might be my next dog), a Cane Corso Italian Masiff, a 100lb. 1yr old Chocolate Lab (which is HUGE in case you didn't understand by the weight description), and a multitude of other puppies.

This last week we finally got to bring Sable with us to class and she did really well. She behaved much better than I had expected and flew through the obedience practice with a little trouble when it came to teaching her NOT to jump on people when meeting them. She currently thinks that all dogs and humans we encounter were put on earth to love her and play with her... not a bad attitude to have, but training the intensity of her jumping, playing, greeting attitude out of her has proven to be a little tougher than the other tricks she has learned.

Health

Well... she huge! Lol... she is definitely growing... I'm getting excited for the weekly photo montage when we finish it. You can already see lots of growth progress through the images.

She finally finished the antibiotics she was on, but is still seemingly on and off again when it comes to being healthy again, so there might be another vet visit in the near future... we'll see.

Finally on the topic of health... she is very much a Lab... she inhales her food now. Eating roughly 1/2 cup in a minute... I'm surprised she hasn't thrown up more.

Tricks
Sable is finally learning to walk on a leash appropriately... less pulling more walking and finally leaving the yard!

Sable knows commands for come, sit, stay, down, shake, fetch, bring, speak, kennel, and is in the process of learning quiet, heel, stand, and stay (in a position other than sit). Although she knows these commands she still isn't 100% with her follow through... occasionally she decides 'quiet' really means 'speak' and 'stay' really means 'come'.

Either way the commands are a work in progress :-) Until next time! Here's hoping we can make progress in the mean time...

Time flies when you're having funn... err... rriigghhtt

Haha... it's been a while since the last time I wrote...

In the last week Sable has given us a multitude of random things to worry about. Most of the issues dealt with bodily functions, so I'll save you the details. One injury was a much played up injury to her paw that miraculously healed itself within the hour. I'm getting the feeling that she's just as good a faker as any. She's getting no pity party from me from now on.

Today we went to the vet for a nice little check up and wound up coming home with some antibiotics and a recommendation to look into new food. Nothing too serious though... other than being a little extra lazy yesterday and waking up all last night, Sable seems to be in fine form today. So no real worries.

Sable will be getting her third/final round of puppy shots on Saturday so here's to some health and well being, wooo! Because Sable doesn't have the third round of shots we will not be taking her along to her first puppy class (tonight). Sounds pretty pointless to go without a dog, I know, but it should be a good learning experience for us, the trainers. Next week Sable will get to go for the first time... here's hoping she behaves relatively well :-/ but I'm not holding my expectations too high.

In the past week we've enjoyed some more Dixon play time, a new interest in walking, and some more crazy snow! Even though Dixon and Sable have only had a couple play dates, Sable is now fully aware of the front door. The sound of a doorbell on the TV made her go completely bezerk today and it was only after I opened the door to show her that no one was there that she finally calmed down. Apparently Jeff had a similar "Sable's gone nuts" experience after a door-to-door salesman stopped by the other night.

Speaking of crazy Sable moments... I recently found out that salmon makes Sable psychotic. As I was making dinner I place a teeny tiny bit of salmon fat in Sable's food bowl and after she sniffed out the food and devoured it she began to lick her bowl as if she was going to lick a hole to China. She then proceeded to spin wildly in a circle and do a sprint around the kitchen only to return to the bowl and realize nothing was left. I wish I had caught it on video.

Busy, busy, busy...

Yes, things have been busy...

Earlier in the week Sable got to enjoy a half day in a kennel... I have no doubt this was NOT her favorite thing. At one point it sounded like someone was torturing a bag full of puppies in the kennel (don't worry this was not happening, just sounded that way). Sable has certainly perfected her whining skills to the point that I have to remind myself that she's not being hurt and she has only been in the kennel for a half hour...

I'm sure Sable will eventually get used to day kenneling, but for now only a couple hours at a time. She's lucky she didn't have to start out with day kenneling.

Head/teeth lock

Sable crashing, Dixon wanting to play!

Last Thursday Sable got to meet Dixon (our friend's, James and Leah's, dog) at Dixon's house. The initial meet and greet freaked Sable out... she was definitely not as interested in rough housing as rapidly as Dixon was, but after about an hour I think she forgot she was ever shy. Since then, Dixon has come to visit us at our house and Sable immediately remembered how much fun another dog was. We're still waiting/hoping Dixon helps teach Sable some basic manners, but sadly I think Sable is teaching Dixon bad habits instead, whoops.

We recently started taking pictures of Sable in the same position each week... we're hoping to do this throughout her growth spurts so that in the end we'll be able to put together a sweet montage of her development. We'll see if we are able to keep up with it.

That's all for now, until next time! Here's hoping for more sleep and less puppy whining.

Coming up with a routine...

In the last few days we've gone back and forth from good Sable to bad Sable every couple hours. Mostly I'd like to believe she is getting better, but that could also just be me getting used to her unruly ways. She decided she LOVES to eat leaves no matter how much we try to dissuade her... ugh... here's hoping it's a phase.

Kennel  practice over her first week at home has gone very well, increasingly getting better.... which means I can get more work done, yay! (Booo Thesis) This coming week Sable will have to suffer through a short kenneling at home alone for the first time ever... wooOOOooo... we'll see how it goes. She's been doing fine though so I foresee it not being that big of an issue.

Yesterday a snow storm blew in and today it has been continuing... which means TONS of snow for Edmonton and hilarious confusion for Sable. She seems to understand the snow when it doesn't change... basically she can predict how deep it will be if she steps off the porch. Today she had more than one "white" out as she dropped into the fluffy abyss.

Anywho... less new things more new pictures :-)

GARAAGGGRRRRAAA....

Haha... the puppy is, well... annoying... cute and annoying.

Sleeping has gotten much better and more regular, basic commands are more than great considering Sable's age, and you'd think we never fed her based on her ravenous appetite. She must be growing! Soon enough she'll be in her awkward "teen" years... guess we need to treasure the puppiness for as long as it lasts.

Working from home to help ease Sable into kenneling has been interesting... I think she believes I'm there to entertain her 24-7 so when it's time for the kennel she decides she needs to play a little longer. The goal has been as she gets tired she goes to the kennel to sleep... in theory this happens approximately three times a day for an hour at a time. However, more recently she's decided that even though she can't keep her eyes open she's not actually tired... not sure how her reasoning works, but it becomes both hilarious and annoying to deal with.

Her new found increasing appetite seems to be helping with her obedience training... a hungry hungry puppy will do anything for a treat. Sable is getting much better at "come" which is funny because if she thinks she hears a crinkle of a bag containing treats (kernels of dog food) she "comes" at lightening speed... it's kinda like clicker training with ziplocks, who knew!

Anyway, I will keep the updates coming... but for now it's time to let the puppy out after a nice little kennel nap.




P.S. The post title is thanks to Jeff... it sounded appropriate for the current mood :-)

Sleeeeeeeeppppppp....

After the first two nights I began dreading the all night bathroom breaks and was only hoping for a dog that would one day sleep throughout the ENTIRE night. Last night Sable slept for 5 hrs straight... pretty much the largest chunk of time I have been allowed for sleep since Sable came home. The future is looking brighter!


We've had a few visitors over the weekend all of which fell in love with little Sable... she's so cuddly, adorable, and sweet with everyone we meet. Don't let the act fool you, she a little piranha in the morning... we're slowly working on the biting thing. She's learned that "fetch" can be a fun game, but "bring it here" is a little harder rule to follow. We've been working on "sit", "lay down", "come", and "stay" and while it seems like she understands some of those commands on a regular basis... I'm pretty sure she's just in it for the food without knowledge of the words.

Today was her first visit to the vet, just a regular check-up/meet and greet. The ladies at the vet's office loved her to death and were threatening to steal her away as she nuzzled into their necks for a quick nap while we waited for our appointment. We were told Sable was in great health and the vet was very happy to see that our breeder was so on top of their puppies health prior to their final release.

With great health, a good start on training, and moderate sleeping patterns I'd say Sable is doing well. We're hoping to rid her of some of her bad habits, but mostly just hoping she doesn't start progressing backwards in the scheme of things.

Whatever happens... who couldn't love that face! :-)

And the puppy gets to come home...

Yesterday Jeff and I spent our New Years Eve day picking up the puppy. Our decision between the two girl puppies wasn't made until about five minutes before we left the breeders and the name wasn't chosen until just there after. We settled on the runt girl and named her Sable.

While I had expected plenty of whining on the the 2.5hr drive home, Sable spent the first five minutes trying to explore while I confined her to my lap (which caused whining). After the first little bit she quickly fell asleep and never made another sound throughout the drive. We made one pit stop and there were no accidents... WIN!

We got home and Sable tentatively explored a little, but chose to spend most of the afternoon and evening napping on the giant bed/pillow we bought her. This was probably our first mistake given that Sable's morning alertness came a little sooner than I had hoped (none of us actually managed to stay awake until New Years at midnight either).

Today the goal is less sleep during the day, no accidents, and plenty of exercise. Two out of three isn't too bad (we had an accident here and there, but we're 75% making it outside). We also took a walk... Sable's first walk went well over all, a few nerves exploring outside met with an initial dislike of the leash concept.



Overall Sable has been a very mellow puppy with some solidly adorable puppy moments, here's hoping she stays well rounded and improves in both the potty training and nighttime sleeping habits.