Jaker helping around the yard…

In order to keep the Brita and Kobie from running the fence line and becoming “mudders” when it rains (no.. they aren’t girly girls.. that’s Olivia who wouldn’t think of that), the thought first was to put stepping stones by the fence until Kobie ripped a nail off when it got caught in one. Now the thought is to load the area up with tree branches and that's where Jake decided to help! This was his first weekend without being on leash in the yard so he's a happy puppy!  This is one of the first times I think I’ve seen him “smile” in the shots!  He just turned 5 months old.

Jake learns to dig…

….in the right place!  Ari was a digger – in both water and sand.  He had a sandbox from the time he was a puppy and I never had a problem with him digging in places where he shouldn’t because he was taught to dig in his sandbox.  When the snow melted and Ari’s sandbox surfaced, Jake knew instantly what to do!  He started digging so I started saying DIG!  What fun…and great exercise for him. 

These first photos are Ari as a puppy.  I forgot how dark he was.  The first picture was in New Jersey when we were visiting my cousin shortly after I got him.  The second one was from the same trip but in PA visiting my daughters.  Of course, he then had to have his own sandbox and swimming pool ….  for the rest of his life!! 

These are some screen shots of Jake taken from the video below.

 

This video of Jake is one only a mom could watch for 6 minutes!  What a guy!h

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Learning to walk…

“WALK” does not mean “bunny hop” and I think it’s finally sunk in.  I take him out in the yard and “mark” when he walks correctly and then give him a treat.  It’s REALLY working!  Now if the ear would only straighten up.  It was up but 2 weeks of the Elizabethan Collar pushed it over.

Training today at Edgerton

Warm enough to work outside comfortably!  I really need to hand someone the camera when I work Brita so I have pictures of her!  

Jake got his first hosing…

….and he LOVED it!!!  I was cleaning the garage and decided to hose some mats. Jake was in the driveway watching me and  he, of course, had never seen a hose because he is TODAY 5 months old.  I had wanted to give him a bath and then this opportunity came up so I went closer with the hose.  At first, he couldn’t figure it out but then when I made the water MOVE, it became very exciting and it didn’t take long before I was actually able to hose him down so no bath was needed…  at least today!

Brita and Jake – How did they do it?

Background…  Jake sleeps in a wicker crate next to my bed..  well not really wicker but the fake wicker.  If it was really wicker, he would have destroyed it by now. There are 2 latches on this crate and I usually latch the top one because the bottom stays shut just fine that way.  He has never gotten out of it.   Brita sleeps in the room on a bean bag chair on the other side of my bed.

The morning routine…  I get up and let Brita go out to the center yard and then walk Jake for a bit before putting him in a crate in the sunroom or kitchen.

This morning…  I got up late so decided to hop in the shower before doing the dog thing.  When the turn the water off I heard sounds from the bedroom that I shouldn’t have been hearing…  (if you are tuned into your dogs, you know what I mean…  it just didn’t sound right).  I quickly dried off and looked in the bedroom and, sure enough, Jake was out of the crate and greeted me so I grabbed him and brought him into the bathroom.  Now if he wasn’t still recovering from surgery this would not have been a problem but I didn’t want him to overdo it. 

So..  I get dressed, take Jake out and then to a crate and realize that I haven’t seen Brita…   I went into the bedroom and there she was, inside the closed and latched crate.

So I wonder – how did Jake get out of the latched crate and Brita get in and it’s still latched??  It certainly is a puzzle!!

Tracking…

I’ve started tracking with Brita since the snow is finally gone and I’m fortunate to be able to walk out my front door and lay tracks. I’ve described the terrain as hard grass/crap right now so I thought I’d take a few photos to get others opinions of the conditions. 

Brita is doing fine but, of course, her challenge is “doing fine” away from home!  The first photo is an overhead of the location and the other are just a part of it all beside the house.

The second photo is as I walk from my house and I often start the track there so she has to go down a hill.  The next are as I get past the pine trees to the field.  We also track across the road sometimes starting it there and other times tracking across it.  And we can’t forget the close-ups!

Jake 3 weeks after surgery…

Some random thoughts…

• I now have a spoiled BRAT! 
• Jake thinks he can do whatever he wants to do when I get him out of the crate and we are still in the rehab mode (NO… you can’t run and jump on the other dogs!)
• His total recovery will not come soon enough.
• He has a GREAT deep bark…  almost can’t believe it’s coming from a puppy!  He uses it when he’s demanding something from me.  When he’s asking the bark is high and squeaky.
• I wonder where he will potty now that the snow is about gone.  I realized last week that he always headed for snow because, of course, that is always where he has gone!  He still finds small piles of snow.

Here are some photos that were taken on a walk in the yard earlier this week. 

Jake, 2 weeks after surgery….

It’s been an interesting 2 weeks.  It’s been years since I’ve been as sick as I was these last 2 weeks with a cough that’s going around.   I had a class start on Tuesday and could barely talk!   It was tough but the students helped out by reading aloud paragraphs for me. 

Jake is amazing and the hardest thing is to keep him from doing more than he should.  “Walk” means all 4 paws are being used and there is no hopping (which he likes to do).  It’s hard to have him meet people because he gets so excited and tries to jump.  I’ve walked him numerous times daily and now try to do it where there is not so much excitement.  

TODAY, I discovered that walking in my back yard may be the best because there is no one around as long as I keep the other dogs inside.  AND I realized today that Jake had really never seen ground and woods other than snow covered.  We walked along Ari’s trails and it was like he had a hard time taking it all in.  He picked up twigs and branches along the way and dug just a little in the sandbox.  When we got to the rise in the woods, he stood there with a very self confident pose, looked down the hill where one can see for miles and then looked back at me as if to say “This is all mine now, isn’t it!”  And. of course, he is right! 

It will be a blast when the grass is green since he has never seen that either!! 

These photos were taken today with my phone…  leash in one hand, treats in another, phone in another..  oh wait..  that’s too many.. it was a juggling act!

New digs for Jake for the Sunroom!

 

How much better can that get!  
(Don’t ask Jake because he would say no crate at all would
be better I’m sure and I must say that I agree!)

There must have been food on the floor!