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?

Ranger is retiring from agility

Lately it seems that Ranger hasn't been enjoying his agility classes. He is slow, unresponsive to my commands, and just looks like there are other places he'd rather be. It's embarrassing to get up in front of the class and do as poorly as we do. I'm starting to think that maybe Ranger feels like he has proven he can do agility, and he doesn't need to prove anything anymore. He's wrong, of course, as he's not that good at agility and has plenty of room for improvement, but that's an argument I'm not winning right now. So I decided that Ranger is going to retire, and Teddy is going to start. At some point, Ranger may come out of retirement, but for now, he's done.

Because Teddy needs lots of time to learn something new, I decided to start working with him now at home, before classes start in January. I have a small tunnel, and I made some jumps out of PVC, and surprise, surprise, Teddy loves it. He learned to jump very quickly, and the joy on his face as he jumps is amazing to see. I didn't think he would like it, as he is built like a brick, and I thought he would jump as well as a tank, but he sails over the bar like he's been doing it all his life. Of course, once we leave the safety of my family room and get to class, he may pretend he's never seen a jump before in his life, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

We survived Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving has always been a large affair for my family - it is not uncommon to have anywhere from 18 to 33 people show up. Ranger, being the social butterfly he is, loves all the people and the food they give him, and all the new laps to sit on. Teddy, on the other hand, is scared of new people and large crowds. I debated for weeks before Thanksgiving on whether I should bring the dogs, leave them both at home, leave Teddy at home and just bring Ranger...But I hated to deprive Ranger of one of his favorite days because his less-secure brother couldn't handle it, and I thought Teddy would not like being left home alone for 8 hours, and would take his frustration out on my shoes, as he sometimes does.

In the end, I decided to bring both dogs and would just take Teddy home if it got to be too much for him. But once again, he surprised me. I arrived early to help my Mom get things going, and brought his favorite toys and treats to help him feel comfortable. Then people started to show up, and he was fine. He let people he knew pet him, and he stayed away from people he didn't know, but he didn't cower, or put his tail between his legs. He watched us all from a distance, sat under the dining tables to catch all the food that dropped (as all smart dogs know to do!) and after dinner, he even let some new people pet him. I had visions of him barking at everyone, and pacing around the house, as he has done in the past. But he did much better than I expected, and made me realize how far he has come in the past 11 months.

So I decided it is time to stop underestimating Teddy. For the past year, I've had no expectations of Teddy, and I just let him do whatever he felt comfortable with. But now I know he is capable of more than I thought, and I think it is time to start asking more things of him. Watch out Teddy - agility starts in January!

Guess who sat on my lap for 8 minutes!!!

Teddy the Brave, that's who. I was out of town last weekend, so my sister watched Ranger and Teddy for me. She said Teddy slept (yes, slept!) on her lap for 15 minutes. I was insanely jealous, as Teddy has never spent more than 2 minutes on my lap, and during those 2 minutes, you can see him plotting his escape. I asked my sister how she did it, and she said she put a big, furry blanket on her lap and put Teddy on top of it. So last night, I put a pillow on my lap and put Teddy on it, and he laid down on it and relaxed. He let me rub his back for 8 very happy minutes. Who knows - maybe someday we'll work our way up to 15 minutes.

Happy Anniversary, Teddy!

This month is an important milestone for Teddy. He was rescued one year ago from his former puppy mill life. I've only had Teddy for 9 months, as he lived with his foster mom for 3 months before finding his way to his forever home with me, but I felt like this was an important milestone. To celebrate, he and Ranger split a plain hamburger from McDonald's (maybe not the healthiest treat ever, but thoroughly enjoyed by all, and after all, isn't that what a celebratory treat is all about?!)

For the first 8 months he was with me, Teddy never approached me for anything - he never sought out my attention, never tried to sit in my lap, never asked to go outside, never begged for treats or food (although Ranger is teaching him that little trick.) Although he still obsessively follows me around the house, he doesn't act like he needs me for anything. Quite the opposite of Ranger, who kicks his back feet behind him like a bull if he wants something and is very vocal about letting me know if I'm not doing enough for him. But this month, for the first time, Teddy approached me for affection! I was laying on the couch, and Teddy came up to me and put his paws on the couch, asking me to pet him! The significance of that didn't hit me until later, when it occurred to me what happened. The next time he did it, I made a big deal of how smart and good he was, and I could see he was very pleased with himself. Now it is becoming a regular event. Who knows - maybe I'll get him to sit on my lap for longer than 15 seconds.

It's been awhile...

Have you ever had a friend who lost weight and you didn't notice until they lost 20 pounds, and then you feel really guilty for not noticing sooner? That's how things are with Teddy. I've had him 8 months now, and I stopped noticing any progress. Then I thought back to how he was when I first got him, or even to 4 months ago, and I realize how far he has come. It hit home last week when I had some friends over, and Teddy let my male friend hold him. And not just for 10 seconds either - for a few minutes (for those of you who don't know Teddy, a few minutes is like an eon in Teddy's world!) Teddy doesn't trust people in general, and men in particular, and especially not tall men. And he let a very tall man hold him! Of course, I had to pick him up and give him to Dave to hold, and after a few minutes, he squirmed out of Dave's arms, but still....He also approaches me for affection. In the beginning, if I went to pet him, he would roll over on his back, and just wait for it to be over. If I held him in my lap, he fought to get off. Every so often now, he lies next to me on the couch and scoots over until a small part of his body is touching mine.

I took the dogs on vacation in July - a week at the beach. It was like Disneyland for the dogs - an entire beach to themselves, to run and play and sniff to their heart's content. I think being around lots of people for a week really helped Teddy. I'm sure all the treats he got didn't hurt, either. Since we came back, he has been better about letting strangers pet him. He may never be like Ranger, who lives to sit on my lap and believes that everyone we see on our walks is his best friend and wants to pet him. He may never win ribbons in agility the way Ranger has, or learn new tricks to impress my friends, but he is special in his own way, and has his own place in my heart.

Teddy graduates!

Teddy is set to graduate from beginner obedience class tomorrow. I wish I could say that he was graduating with honors, but I think he is one of the students that is being moved up only because the teacher doesn't want him to repeat another year with her! There is only 1 other dog in his class, and neither Teddy or the other dog has made much progress. At the end of each class, the instructor visibly sighs in relief. The only thing Teddy has learned is to lie down, which took about 5 weeks. He will only stay if he can see me. If I walk behind him or out of sight, he tries to find me. In class, when I call him to me, he walks as slowly as he can. For the first few classes, the teacher thought that he had a physical disability, because he never ran. He doesn't like the other dog in class, so he won't go anywhere near him. The instructor tried to walk both dogs together, and she had to drag Teddy around the room with her. It's hard for dog lovers to be around a dog that doesn't like them, and I feel for the instructor. I don't think she takes it personally, but it must be hard to try to work with a dog that won't have anything to do with you. So I haven't decided if we will repeat the beginner class, or move to the next level. At class last week, the instructor pulled me aside and said that she didn't think Teddy would do well in a class with more dogs. Maybe that was her subtle hint for us to just call it a day!