Sunday, January 31, 2010

Danny Turns One!

Yep, today is Danny's birthday. Dad gave him an extra doggie treat plus cornflakes and everyone made a huge fuss over him ... before he was unceremoniously tossed into the garden.

Poor thing really. He likes to follow people around. So I got him into the garden by stepping in first. When he shot past me, I made a mad dash back into the house and slammed the door shut right in his hairy face. Boy, did he look surprised!

I haven't been blogging much recently because crowd-phobic me has gotten addicted to blogshops for my supply of clothing. Also, he's been quite a good boy for the last couple of weeks.
He's starting to mature a bit (finally!) and enjoys his me-time in the garden. He's also quietened down a lot. He still has his naughty moments though...

...but the last time he was seriously bad was in December when he gnawed through the telephone wire. Hubby went out and came back with three canes.
They must have worked cos, now, he likes sitting on laps and licking the person to death.




And, yes, he IS getting scruffy again. Hubby thinks the messy-look makes him look like a boy. But I'm sending him in for a trim before Chinese New Year, so he'll look all girly soon.

Hope Bryan doesn't put another ribbon on him!

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Somebody's watching me

Danny gets a little ...er... disconcerted when people follow him. Especially when he's looking for a good spot.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Reversible ears

You know those bags and hats that can be flipped inside out and look completely different? Danny's ears can do that too!

View 1
View 2

Doesn't affect hearing in any way.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Garden dog

Danny has a strange dilemma. He prefers being in the garden cos that is the one place he is free to roam, but he loves being with people even more, even if it means he is restricted to the balcony.

On normal work days, he spends the day in the garden but is brought in at night. We tried leaving him out after we come home but he kept yelping to be let in.

On Saturday, I decided to brave the mosquitos and hang out with him in the garden. He really is a very good dog when there is nothing around to steal. He followed me wherever I went. At one point, he was happily chewing his bone and when I walked off, he quickly grabbed it and trotted after me.

I think if I had a farm I could milk the cows and have a wonderful little Danny follow me about my chores. He'll probably annoy the cows though, but they would set him straight in a second.

I hurled tennis ball after tennis ball down the path.

He'll actually bring the ball all the way back...except when he is tired. Then he will give you a "go fetch yourself" look and make himself comfy on the floor. After a while he got really pooped.

I let him loose in the house and he was a good boy for the next hour.....only an hour...

Monday, January 4, 2010

The last training session

Yes, I know, this post is seriously late. Danny had his last training session a couple of months ago actually. I've just been an absolute sloth getting round to posting it.

Right up to his second last lesson, Danny still wasn't quite getting the hang of walking. Lance had previously recommended the choke chain but our friend turned out to be immune to it. Appearantly his neck muscles are quite strong or something.

So, for the last lesson, Lance brought along with him a pinch collar. In a previous post, I said that I didn't like the sound of a choke chain, but if you're like me and think this sounds better, you haven't seen a pinch collar either.
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This is Danny's now-useless choke chain.
The idea is that when he does something wrong, you do a quick tug on the chain and release it. Most dogs would learn quickly because it cuts off their air supply for about a second. Danny didn't care.
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This is Danny's new pinch collar, also known as the prong collar.

Looks scary? Totally! I freaked out when I first saw it. Correction is also a quick tug, if not, the collar sits on his neck like an ordinary collar.

Terrifying as it looks, this collar is actually physically better for the dog than the choke chain, which can cause spinal damage if used incorrectly or too often.

And yes, the ends of the metal bits sticking out are blunt.


As hesitant as I was to using it, it worked. I still don't dare tug too hard, but even so, he seems to get the message. Walks with him are great now. I can even go jogging and he'll run nicely by my side.

He also ignores the neighbours' dogs. He still doesn't auto-sit when we stop (he's supposed to), but he just needs a light correction to do so.

And, you can see in this video, the scary metal bits, don't seem to bother him at all.





And, oh yes, that's my voice at the end of the video. Nooooooooo, I don't normally sound like that. It's just that dogs like high pitched, excited voices, so when praising him that's what I use.

FYI, when I scold him, I sound like the Exocist.

Saturday, January 2, 2010

It's a brand new year, Danny

I know I said that I would sleep my way into the new year, but I ended up watching the fireworks with the family.... on TV, that is!

When it ended, I decided Danny should join in the celebrations. I headed to the basement, woke him up and hauled him upstairs. He was probably in some deep doggie sleep, cos even though we set him loose in the living room, he meekly went up to mom and dad and licked their hands.

Dad was snacking on cornflakes and offered him some. Danny took about 6 or 7 handfuls.



After that, he fully woke up, or maybe he was feeling a bit weak earlier from his new diet plan. Whichever the case, he poke his snozz into mum's handbag and fished out her towel. When I finally got that away from him, he went back for her make-up kit.

Dad eventually caught hold of him and chucked him back in the basement.

I guess his first new year experience was a bit too exciting for him. Danny spent the whole morning and part of the afternoon of New Year's day all hungover in his favourite napping spot.

I tried to sneak a beer can in this shot for effect but he moved.
Oh well, I hope dogs' necks are more limber than humans cos I'm not sending him to a doggie chiropractor.
Zzzzzzz....