My baby's growing up

Today I hosted a cookout for Father's Day, and Teddy was amazing (ok - not truly amazing, but the progress he's made is remarkable.) My sister's in-laws are in town, and they brought their dog, Rudy (Ranger's brother) over for lunch. All 3 dogs get along, and had fun playing together. The amazing part was that Teddy was not scared of any of the men. He now goes directly to my brother-in-law, and even sat on his lap for several minutes, which is something he still doesn't really do with me. During dinner, he sat right next to my sister's father-in-law, hoping for some steak to drop, and licked his fingers clean without any fear. He let my nephews pet him, and didn't run away from them. It made me think of how he was this time last year, when he hid under the dining room table, and ran from the room when a man walked in. He was relaxed and playful - like a normal dog, which is something I thought I'd never say!

Teddy is banned from agility

No, not an official banishment, but until his behavior improves, I have imposed a ban. He pulled the same stunt this past Thursday that he did the previous week - he barked, and Ranger ran off the course. I could see the struggle in Ranger's eyes - he wanted to obey me and come back to me when I called him, but he also wanted to see what Teddy wanted. Ultimately, Teddy won. Ranger ended up in a crate (one up high, no less, which he hates) and he faced the wall the entire time (his choice, not mine!) When it was our turn to run again, he did much better. Teddy barked and Ranger wanted to go to him, but my treats, and the threat of more time in the crate, won out and we finished.

There's no class this week, but next week, I may bring a friend, with strict instructions to have her remove Teddy from the room if he barks. I hate to leave Teddy at home, as socializing during class has helped him tremendously, but I'm paying money for Ranger to take the class, and if he runs off the course, I've wasted my money, and that drives me nuts. Hopefully my plan will work.

Ranger and agility

Ranger has been back in agility for a few months now. Teddy was just too stressed out by the people, and I felt like I was torturing him, so I pulled him out of class and put Ranger in his place. Teddy was very relieved. He likes going to the place where agility class is held, but only for the treats people give him, not to do any actual work. Last week at class, I was running Ranger on a course, and I heard Teddy bark twice. We were doing the weave poles, and on hearing his brother bark, Ranger stopped in his tracks, looked to where Teddy was, and ran off the course, directly to Teddy, to see what was wrong. He has never run off the course before during a run, so I was a little surprised. I suspect that Teddy was concerned because he couldn't see where we were (a tunnel was right in front of him blocking his view) and he was calling for his brother to help him. I was not happy that Ranger left the course, but when I walked back to them, both dogs had such a happy look on their faces that I couldn't stay mad for very long. We have class again tonight. I hope we don't have a repeat performance!

Teddy's haircut

Teddy got his summer buzz cut this past weekend, and I have to say he is absolutely adorable. Ranger always looks better with his hair a little long, but Teddy gets a 'fro when his hair is long and it makes him look much bigger than he really is. When his hair is long, he looks like a bulldog, or a linebacker, but after he goes to the groomer, he looks so tiny. It's like getting a brand new dog every two months! Every morning as I put his leash on (a process he is still afraid of, by the way) I wrap my hands around his tiny head, and tell him he is so cute that I just want to eat him up. I just wish I could get Ranger and Teddy on the same grooming schedule, but Ranger's hair grows much slower, so he only needs to go every 3 months, while Teddy has to go every 2 months. Poor dog!

Happy Birthday, Ranger!

Ranger is 8 years old today. While I occasionally see signs that he is getting older, he is still the playful little dog he was as a puppy. The play sessions just don't last as long as they used to, and I have to admit, I'm a little relieved about that. Who really wants to play tug-of-war for an hour? And lucky for Ranger his fur has been gray since he was little - he doesn't have to worry about that additional sign that he's getting old, something I've been battling for a few years now. It's hard to believe that I've had him for this long. I barely remember my life without him always being there. Sometimes I wonder what I will do when he leaves me. I can't imagine ever getting another dog to replace him. I adopted Teddy more for Ranger than for me, and while I love Teddy, we haven't had the connection that Ranger and I have. Ranger is one of those dogs that sometimes seems more human than dog, while Teddy is all dog all the time. I've read that there are 'once-in-a-lifetime' dogs, and I think that is what Ranger is to me.

Teddy and agility

As mentioned in previous posts, Teddy started agility this year. I'm doing this not for the glory of winning, but because I'm trying to give Teddy the confidence he needs to live a happier life. I had to keep reminding myself of that at the first few classes, because I felt like I was torturing Teddy instead of helping him. At one point, I asked the instructor if I was being cruel by making him do something he clearly wasn't enjoying, and she said since he wasn't running out of the ring and was still taking treats, I should keep trying. And I'm glad we stuck with it. The first few classes were rough, and I was sweaty and exhausted at the end of the night. For a few classes, I brought Ranger with us, and when Teddy seemed especially nervous, I would bring Ranger into the ring and have him do the obstacle. Once Teddy saw Ranger doing it, he instantly felt more comfortable and would copy whatever Ranger did.

The last class is a run-through of a course, in front of the entire class. I was very nervous about how Teddy would do. We had been able to put 6 obstacles together the previous week, but would he be able to do 14 obstacles, in front of lots of people? Would he move freely from one obstacle to the next, or would I have to carry him? If there is one thing Teddy has taught me, it is to always keep the faith. He exceeded my expectations. The entire class was cheering by the time we finished. No, we didn't break any speed records, and we skipped a few of the obstacles he hadn't been trained on, but he did everything I asked of him. He ran (trotted quickly, really) next to me, went through the tunnel like he had been doing it all his life, and walked on the dog walk like it was no big deal. We had the chance to run the course again, so I did, just to prove to myself that it wasn't a fluke, and he did even better. He seemed to realize what we were doing and did the first 4 obstacles with very little prompting from me. So we signed up for another session, which starts next week. My little champion! We may win a ribbon yet!

10 things I love about Ranger

1. He's a good listener, and he doesn't judge.
2. He loves to snuggle. He's a great electric blanket.
3. He does agility not because he loves it but because it makes me happy.
4. He's never met a person he didn't like.
5. I never have to clean my kitchen floor when he's around.
6. I love the way he tilts his head when I talk to him, as if he understands every word.
7. He welcomed Teddy into our home and became his best friend from day one.
8. He is always ready to play, and he gets me out into the world.
   
9. He has no sense of humor whatsoever, which is an odd thing to love, but his lack of humor always makes me laugh.
10. Did I mention he loves to snuggle?