Miss Annie is sitting pretty today. Why could that be?
Look at me, Annie, sitting pretty! Wanna know why?
That's right! Annie has been adopted and she has already headed home with her retired dad and part time working mom. She will be an only dog and living in Bellingham, WA with her people who think she is perfect in every way! We couldn't be happier for Annie and for her new mom and dad. Lots of belly rubs and walks on the local trail for her. She will be going everywhere they go and THAT is exactly what Annie loves! She has already showed them her snuggling expertise and no doubt will not be looking back. Happy Tails sweet girl.
Here are a few photos and videos I had left for blog posts. Enjoy!
Annie to Tim, "Hey Timken you wanna play with me?"
Tim tells Annie, "Bring it!"
This play session was the first real nice play Annie and Tim had together. It took about 5 weeks before they really played like this, it is always good to remember that dogs need to have lots of time to cultivate their relationship just like humans do. And of course sometimes dogs will never play. We had no expectations one way or the other so this was a pleasant surprise!
Skip in the chair thinking, "just keep that nonsense over there kids and I will be a happy camper".
These photos look gnarly but you will see in the video they were actually playing very well together.
Notice little Jenny just right in the mix. She doesn't let any of this worry her. She just wants to be part of the action.
And hey what do you know! Skip decided he would go ahead and give Annie a test drive playing, remember Skip is 11 and Annie is a spry 2 1/2 but he shows her some moves anyhow. He and she were rougher in their play which was different for Skip who is usually very gentle in his play. I like how Annie gives the shake (cut off signal) and Skip is like "ok we're done here". Good job! Also again Jenny is right in the middle of everything. Sweet girl.
After the play it was time for Tim and Annie to kick back and relax.
Tim is ready to sleep, I think Annie was ready to rock and roll if only someone would engage with her :)
Annie recently went on an excursion to Edmonds, WA with us. Here she is in her alert stance.
Annie loves to smell all the new smells.
Getting a drink of water from foster dad.
Mmmmm smelling and standing on the dead plant life that washed up on the beach. :)
Edmonds-Kingston ferry in the back ground.
This piece of drift wood got a lot of attention.
Annie also got to go to all The Best Pet Food store in Redmond.
Unlike Timken, Annie had no worries going into a public store and making herself at home.
Annie is so funny, she loves the belly rubs, even from strangers!
Annie and Skip getting treats from the store employee. I am always impressed with the employees at these stores. They always get right down to the dog's level and even Skip, who is not fond of strangers was feeling ok about getting treats too.
I love Annie's tail, a little blur from wagging. Skip is such a good boy sitting patiently. And one last video of Annie and her sit pretty.....
When my husband picked Annie up this morning to give her some loves he said to her, "Annie you are feeling so much lighter!".
It is true that Annie has done a fantastic job of losing 1 lb in just three weeks. Well... she had a little help from her foster parents with food portioning, and lots of fun walks and hikes almost every day, but she hasn't complained at all and has really become a fan of all the veggies/fruit and quality protein sources she is getting. We even noticed that her harness needs to be adjusted in today when we were out on our walk.
Along with less Annie has come a more frisky Annie! She can jump into laps easier, do even faster rattie runs, leap across small streams, and she can run up the stairs in the house like the breeze. There is no walk that tires her out and we are planning a longer hike in the very near future. Annie is a typical terrier, ready for anything with a bit of terrier tude thrown in. But we can save that for a later post. :)
These videos were taken three weeks ago when we had just begun working on recall while on leash out on our walks. These first two show how Annie was clearly more interested in the environment than in coming back to see what foster mom was calling her for. Terriers are hard wired to hunt and when they are in hunt/prey drive mode or just sniffing for critters recall can be a bit tough for them. Plus Annie hadn't realized yet that foster mom has really good treats! No worries...she figures it out quickly.
Notice how I call her name once and when she doesn't respond I don't continue calling her name over and over. I have learned through many sources that once we start down that road of calling a dog's name over and over trying to get a response that it "poisons the name or cue word". To the dog it is similar to parents lecturing their child over and over about the same thing, the child will tune out and the words stop having any meaning. I have come to understand this is the same with dogs, if I were to call "Annie-Annie-Annie ANNIE!!!!!", trying to get a response, this is not the best way for me to set up my relationship with her, as she would learn to just tune me out and recall is so important, we want our dogs to be happy to come to us when we call their name
In this video I tried to call her name when she was in the process of turning to look at me so that she would be able to see I had a little pay check for her if she would come to me when I called her name. Her pay check is a high value treat, some really smelly homemade salmon treats. That got her attention!
Because we were just starting our recall work I tried to time my calling, "Annie!" with when she was not so interested in something in the environment. I wanted to set her up for success, catch her attention so when she heard her name she would look back and see foster mom always has something yummy to offer her. She nailed it!
I noticed in watching this video that Annie was giving me a head check as we were walking. This is great! She was starting to anticipate that I might be calling her so she was keeping a bit of her attention on me as well as environment. This is just one way we work on recall. There are many other recall games we do around the house formally and informally.
09-25-14 Annie's very first day in foster care, 3 weeks ago. She was at 13 lbs.
Someone said little Annie looked like a small Llama :)
Annie after losing 1 lb, her neck and chest has thinned out and she is getting a waist! She has always been a doll baby, but now she is looking more like her young 2 1/2 year old self.
And from the other side...looking good sweetheart! She is developing some nice muscle in her back legs too.
Looking down on this sweet girl, her little waist is starting to curve in. Such a good girlie....
Go for a walk in the woods with her foster family of course! In fact Annie could go for a walk any day of the year. She loves to explore and see and smell what there is out in this big world. Rain or shine she is ready to go!
Fall is the best time for hiking and walking, the temps are mild, the sights are beautiful, the smells are wonderful, and no bugs!
Pretty Annie in fall leaves...
Cute tongue!
Annie is wondering if you can tell she has lost 3/4 lb! Only 1 1/4 to go....good girl! Looking great!
Annie, Skip and Liza checking something out on the other side of this log...
Annie and Tim discuss the fun time they are having today.
Jenny and Annie
Little Jenny posing for a picture. She loves to go for walks even though she is 14 years old!
Skip and Liza on log. This log had a lot of action!
Skip and Annie
Great photo of Skip-Dawg
Mom stop taking pictures and let's get going!
Skip checking something out in the bushes
I call this Leaves With Black and White Spots 1
Leaves With Black and White Spots 2
Sweet Tim
Love Tim's big brown eyes...
Tim and Skip on log
Annie on log, she has the sweetest face doesn't she?
If you are wondering where is Birdie? She was home snuggled in her blankie on my chair. Birdie loves nothing more than to snuggle under a blanket if it is a little dreary outside like it was today.
Note to self: Edit Annie's long bio to include the fact that she loves to destuff toys. I had been out mowing the lawn and when I came back in the house it looked like a stuffing bomb went off in the living room. I think I might put the stuffing filled toys away as the house dogs don't destuff as a general rule. Looks like I have some repair to do....
Fluff everywhere!
Annie doing her adorable sit pretty, "foster mom, I swear it wasn't me, it was Tim!".
Annie is such a funny girl! She loves to play with toys. She will play alone, tossing them in the air and then pouncing on them and chasing them. She loves when her person will toss toys for her in the house to chase and she could do this over and over again.
Annie found the coveted egg babies, still the most played with toys in the house. :)
And to top it off she likes to play fetch with a ball in the yard. She really is a fun girlie.
And oh boy can she do a rattie run. I only got the tail end but I can attest it was epic!
And when Annie is done with her silliness and play-time, in her spare time she likes to be a seat warmer for foster mom.
Yes foster mom? Do you need something?
"I was thinking that since I am giving you eye contact that maybe I could have a treat!"
Looks like our work around eye contact is having some effect. ;) Amazing
what behavior changes one can get with just a little positive
reinforcement, consistency, and a really smart rattie!
