149 replies to this topic

[Cheri]

Yes, good girl, Stella!  As you said a few posts up, some days it feels like you take many more steps back than you do forward.  It can be quite a challenge to turn a wild child rescue into a great dog, and we all know it doesn't happen overnight, but those days where you actually see the results of all your hard work and love and patience really make it worthwhile, don't they?    

[Arda]

You just said a mouthful, Cheri.  And in the end, YOU made a dog out of a mess.  Stella and Katie did not have a chance in Hades if it hadn't been for you and Trish, and yet they were so adorable.  Same with Ruby.  And Bedlum.  Remember, they never have a brain till they are 3 years of age.  They are just dumb puppies or a blank slate.  You do the programming.

[Stef]

Stella says 'Ma jest cause sweaters is on sale doesn't mean youz haz to buy em!'

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[Kari]

So darn cute !!

[Arda]

And so lucky!

[Stef]

She has had a really good December. She stayed with my brother and sis-in-law over Christmas and destroyed a lot of their greyhounds' toys. She was great with company on Christmas day and has only eaten one ornament.

[Stef]

I was thinking today as I was clipping her toenails, cleaning her ears and brushing her teeth that it's almost been a year. She is still that puppy filled with joy and wild abandon but she's also making huge progress in becoming the dog she will be. She is enjoyable more of the time and exhausting less.

We stayed over at my brother and sister in law's house on Saturday to watch their dogs and she was relaxed and followed me everywhere instead of me following her.

She loves me and her life. She is happy and looking back she has made huge gains. She was trying to crawl into Dan's lap last night - she's still skittish when he is standing up but her seeking attention from him is a major win.

[Cheri]

This is the very best kind of update!!! 

 

"She is enjoyable more of the time and exhausting less."  Yep, I think many of us have had this type of experience with either a new puppy or an adopted dog who has had a less-than-ideal start in life.  When you're living through it, in the moments of each day, it seems like forever, but one day you're able to look back and say it's been almost a year, and look at the progress we've made! 

[Arda]

A very old trainer of mine told me that it is 1/10 dog and 9/10 trainer.  We get the heavy load BUT it has to be done with knowledge of where we are going with it.  I'm working with Noel, Sugar Bear, and Bedlam who all got off to a wrong start just as Stella, Katie, and Ruby did.  It's looking up.  Spring is upon us.  In the end, the trophy is the dog we made into a good dog.  If we could get them all as young as Chaos, Bonnie, and Gus, we would have dogs like they are BUT we usually don't get them till they are like Noel and Sugar Bear.  Love what you have done with Stella.

[Stef]

My vet said that to me as well. She said that Stella was lucky to be with me. I had mentioned I was worried that I was a terrible dog trainer.... She didn't think so. <3