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And baby makes three!

That seems odd to me, too, to not allow the dogs to play. They can wrestle all they want, until they bash into a snake rack, or bark, then it's over. So they don't get too out of control. Their play consists of a lot of someone has a toy, the other one takes it, chasing ensues, the other one gets it, repeat over and over, all without any possessiveness or aggression. More like tag, and then the head chewing, which they could do for hours. Ella does a lot of falling on her back and kicking. That's how she plays with Rich, too. I have zero tolerance for crashing into things, though, so they don't get too wild.
 
Well crashing into snake cages isn't possible as my snake room is closed and no animals allowed in there. There are two display cages in the livingroom but they are up on a table so that wouldn't be a factor. They don't do a lot of racing, mostly wrestling in place. Occasionally my one ridgeback will stand in the hallway and dare the puppy to chase her down the hallway into the bedroom....she'll jump up on the bed and then chase the puppy back down to the livingroom and then they start all over again. It's pretty funny to watch! If they get to wrestling in the livingroom then usually I send them outside as they end up getting in the middle of us watching TV or something....
 
I just can't imagine not letting the dogs play around together or what it would achieve. As Trevor is a retired police dog handler/trainer maybe that's how you get dogs to focus on you and their training, but I can't see how it would be useful in a normal (!) multi-dog household.
If any of you have ever met an early-weaned or orphaned foal, you'll know how much better other horses are at teaching manners and respect, and hand-reared puppies and kittens are hard work precisely because they haven't learnt the rules from their own species!
This weekend, Flash has been training me to give him a treat if he sits quietly and looks hopeful while I'm cooking. In return I've taught him to spit out bits of fluff or plastic instead of trying to swallow them.
 
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Absolutely correct Janine. Dogs are the best teachers of other dogs, which is why my pack is so useful to me when I work rehabs and in training other dogs. I wouldn't have gotten as far with my current feral foster if it wasn't for my own pack of balanced dogs!
 
A red-letter day today! As the puppy can't go for extended walks and the areas we can reach aren't safe for Bertie to be off-lead, I've noticed poor Berts getting frustrated. So a bit of exploration found an area which is enclosed on 2 sides by ramparts which once formed part of the Naval defences of the area and on 1 side by secure fencing, leaving only a narrow entrance. With a trailing lead for safety I could let Bertie run! I didn't have any balls or treats with me, but I got perfect recalls from him every time, with lots of praise for him recalling to my feet.
This is near one of the areas he previously found his way onto the road following a fox so I scoped it for escape routes very carefully before I let him run. Following his bout of freedom I got some lovely heelwork and got all 3 dogs to 'stay' for a photo
 

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The plan for today is to go back there, with a tether for 2 dogs while one dog gets to run. With balls to chase, cubes of cheese and sausage as treats and the secret weapon in case Bertie gets bored..... a squirrel tail on a rope!
 
Mick found a road-kill squirrel a couple of weeks ago and cut off the tail for them. We're quite normal really........
 
Foiled by someone else with the same idea and with 4 or 5 bull terrier mixes, 2 of which were not friendly at all. I had done a circuit of the area which showed there is an opening if Bertie carried on running, but it led further on along the walled area and then showed an exit into houses and roads, so not quite as safe as I'd thought. I was still going to let the dogs off at the far end and rely on the lure of cheese cubes and the squirrel tail, but luckily my dogs were still leashed when we almost ran smack bang into the other dog owner so no harm done. We still had a lovely walk and then some intensive heelwork to finish before getting home to discover Flash's smart new collar had arrived.
 

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Gorgeous collar! Perfect for that little whippet neck! Glad there were no disasters with the other dogs....
 
diamondlil said:
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I like this picture. Like a family portrait.
 
I'm so excited! Ray who makes the collars wants my dogs to feature on his website! I love his stuff so much I carry a bunch of his business cards around with me as I kept getting asked where I got the collars from. There are at least 5 local dog-owners with his collars now, and I've given out cards when taking the dogs out and about to country fairs.
 
I knew they had star quality! Just don't let it go to the divas' pretty little heads, or they will become quite impossible to live with!

Congrats!

Kathy
 
There's a girl here who makes collars too. I have special "dress" collars for the three dogs when we go places. They play so much they destroy their everyday collars.....they are just ragged messes...but they were once very pretty!
 
MegF. said:
There's a girl here who makes collars too. I have special "dress" collars for the three dogs when we go places. They play so much they destroy their everyday collars.....they are just ragged messes...but they were once very pretty!
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That's a good idea, Meg. Although the leather starts off lovely and bright, the exposure to mud and water soon dulls them, even with using leather conditioner and cleaners.
 
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