Posts tagged ‘outdoors’
Heel, toe, heel, heel, toe.
Alert.
Training to walk to heel has been going on for about four days and Phoenix is beginning to get the hang of it. She’s still over stimulated by the outside environment so it has to be a balance between letting her explore new things and keeping her attention on Tim and the walk. Best way around this has been to walk her at dawn and dusk when there’s less info available to her and she can can focus on the task in hand. However, there were still enough stops to investigate badger and fox trails.
Phoenix has graduated from her PVC blue baby collar* onto her first proper clip collar which is doing the business with the flexi lead making heel training easier because it was impossible for her to ever pull on the lead. So Phoenix has the freedom to move around and the choice of coming back to walk to heel without getting into a tangled mess.
Flexi leads aren’t normally advised for training purposes but for heel training it’s proving to be invaluable.
*actually it’s soft felt but it looks like PVC.
Gotta love those ears!
Love those Ears!
First ride in New Sling.
Did we mention the baby sling? Well, it came a few days ago, and today we took Phoenix out to our nearest town, Torrington, as part of her socialisation programme. Phoenix can’t go on the ground until her second set of injections have taken effect.
Not many people around, the wind was strong and she found this a little disconcerting – ears a-flapping. We met a labrador and human friend, after checking his vaccinations were in order, they had a brief interaction which went well for everyone.
Today was also the day Phoenix discovered the joy of empty plastic milk bottles. Despite an array of expensive designer dog toys, she prefers to hurtle around with an old milk container in her mouth. This must be a variation on the “kid prefers the cardboard box to the toy inside” routine.
Ice is Nice.
Walking on Water.
First journey around the land – we live on five acres of land which is planted up with around 1900 trees and shrubs. There’s also a river and a woodland. This was the first time our pond had frozen up – Adam took a chance and walked out into the middle. Phoenix decided it looked like fun and slip-walked her way out too, causing mild heart attacks all round. The words “hip dysplasia” and “astronomical vet bills” echoed in our heads as Phoenix effortlessly glided over the ice. Luckily, she soon wandered onto land again.
Phoenix is more or less toilet trained now – apart from an occasional accident. It’s been the use of the crate that has regulated her bladder,we were unsure about the whole crate thing as it seemed like we were caging her up, but she has found it a place of safety and comfort, retreating whenever she needed to. A bit like a den in the wild.
This, along with clicking and treating at the right moment, in the right place, has worked really quickly and really well.
She seems to be a smart cookie this one…but then we would say that wouldn’t we?!
The Joy of Chicken Wings…
Meeting Indi.
This was the day that Phoenix met Indigo – Tim’s mother’s blue rescue Greyhound – as well as Tim’s mother herself! Phoenix was fantastically excited and tried to goad Indi into playing with her, sadly to no avail. Indi was very patient and long suffering as Phoenix romped all over her and it became a valuable early lesson in canine etiquette for the eager pup…
Phoenix flipped into seeing the outdoors as an adventure playground full of untold pleasures and sensory delights today, no longer afraid of the space around her.
Phoenix woke twice in the night and we took her out to go to the loo. Otherwise sleeping through to 7.00am without any problems. She’s sleeping in the bedroom with us (in her own crate, we’re not that soft) and finds the sound of our breathing comforting.
We started to introduce the raw diet to Phoenix today. She had her first chicken wing in the evening which she found to be the most exciting thing she had ever encountered. She was thrilled with it and demolished it over 25 minutes looking very pleased with herself as a result.
Belatarr Hungarian Wirehaired Vizsla. 