Hard decision

I made the decision that Joey is not my perfect dog. I think if I didn't already have Abby he'd be great, but as my super confident never-met-a-stranger dog he isn't exactly right. He sounds quite a bit like a male version of Abby - very handler focused, driven, 'biddable', trainable - but without the bitchiness. He sounds like he is fine with strangers when handled correctly, but he isn't the type of dog who actually derives enjoyment from attention from everyone. I want a dog that I can bring anywhere without worrying about how he'll react and who will run straight up to people who come over without a second thought. That is the dog that will boost Abby's confidence, and that would make me happy. Joey also has to be reminded not to protect his owner, which sounds very much like Abby. I already have my 30 lb mini guard dog, so I think I'll be fine without another (or without one at all, but Abby seems to think otherwise). So, as hard as it was, and as much as it feels like I just broke up with Joey, I told his foster mom that he wasn't the perfect dog for me. I feel so bad for Joey, but as was pointed out to me - there are millions of dogs that need homes and I can only adopt one, so I should adopt the one that is the best fit. I really do hope that Joey gets adopted soon.

Ooooh Boy...

So, I told myself I was going to wait until May. In fact, I promised myself I would wait until May. But seriously, who was I kidding? I've been online perusing the rescue sites for months for another dog. I gave myself lots of reasons why it would be better to wait until the end of the year, but I've now found a solution to each of those problems. It comes down to...once you have one, how much more trouble is two?

-It's more expensive: food and vet bills double. For food, I just have to suck it up and spend more. Vet bills, luckily, are practically non existent since I work part time at the vet and get a very very good deal. Other than those two big ones, there are small expenses like extra collars, leashes, toys - but I already spend way too much on those and have tons of extras.
Oh - I just remembered that agility is the other big expense. I think each dog would only get to go once every other week, because it would just be too expensive to double the agility cost. That isn't too bad though since I have weaves, targets, jumps and a tunnel in the yard.

-It takes more time - but only in some ways. Two dogs do interact with each other a lot, and do tire each other out a bit. Training time is doubled, but at this point with Abby we mostly work on practicing the commands that she knows throughout the day (while on walks, while playing fetch, etc.). During the time set aside for training, I've run out of tricks to teach! No, I know that isn't true, there are always more tricks to teach, but I have been teaching her lately to ride a skateboard. Some people say I have a bit too much time on my hands when they see that one ;) So what I'm getting at is that Abby is at a point where she doesn't need formal training sessions during the day, so I have that time to devote to training a new dog from scratch.
The other time consuming activity is walks, possibly. This would depend on what the other dog is like. There would be the possibility that I would have to take each dog on a separate walk on weekday mornings, which would mean getting up at least half an hour earlier. Hopefully, though, I could manage them together on the field after a few weeks. Weekends aren't a problem because we usually drive to our doggy activities anyway.

And now, introducing....Joey:

"Date: 10-01-2006 Dog Id: JOEY Gender: M Age: 1 yr - 2 yrs

We are not sure if Joey is a border collie or a border collie mix, but we do know he has a border collie's energy level...medium to high. Joey is just a little over one year old and is good with other dogs, okay with most cats and adores his people. Joey has a docked tail and only weighs about 30 pounds which makes him a very compact little dog! He loves to go places with you, is house trained and crate trained. This is a very smart dog that learns quickly and would be great at agility or flyball and has shown an interest in sheep as well. "

He is just too freaking adorable! I keep going back to his picture because he reminds me so much of Abby! There is something in his face and his expression (plus he's her size and has a docked tail). I started emailing his foster mom, and I'm going to talk to her on the phone tonight or tomorrow. If he does sound right, I might go meet him during reading week.

This is, of course, a huge decision. I can't be my normal impulsive self, which is exceedingly difficult. This Joey dog just sounds so great...

Learning with a long line

I hope I don't have to take all this back tomorrow, but the long line worked wonderfully on the field this morning. We've actually had a very good week as far as training goes. Last night on our walk two little dogs on the opposite side of the street were staring at Abby as they came towards us, and when they got close, they went nuts barking and lunging. I asked Abby to focus, which she did perfectly, even though her ears were completely back and twitching in the direction of the little dogs. At the field this morning there were two dogs playing medium intensity games of fetch, so it was a perfect opportunity for training. Abby tried to take off after them 2 times, and both times I stepped on the long line a split second after I said "no, leave it" - so great timing. The third time, Abby stopped her break for the other dogs as soon as I said "no". So there is hope after all!

As I write this Abby is dragging (literally, by the scruff) Mia around my bedroom floor, and Mia appears to (miraculously) be loving every minute of it. They are so cute - Mia tries to copy everything Abby does. Abby lies down, Mia lies down. Abby shakes, Mia shakes. Abby grabs Mia's neck, Mia grabs Abby's cheek...errr that one doesn't go so well. It's neat to see how their play changes though as they get more comfortable with each other. Abby lets herself get rolled a lot more, and there is a lot more nice side by side wrestling.
Ok just as I wrote that I looked over and Abby was about to hump Mia...and then Mia ran into the side of the crate by accident. As long as they're both having fun!

Right now for training Abby and I are working on: perfecting 'by me' (walk away), learning to ride a skateboard (she'll push it around the room right now) and attempting to teach jump into my arms (good for after an agility run).

Cuddly sisters

Sam

This just made me so sad all of a sudden...I realized that the second dog that I want so badly is Sam. I don't know how it didn't click before now that every characteristic that I listed was found in my wonderful, perfect Sam.I started thinking about him because I was reading some posts on a message board about peoples' favourite ear types on dogs. Sam had the best ears in the entire world. They were thick, squishable, and silky soft, and they stuck out at just the right angle.

Bitey Face

The contest over who could make the ugliest face took place this morning in my bed.

Abby starts us off with a pretty mild expression
Mia shows her how it's done, and shocks Abby with her added tongue-out move
Abby resorts to her classic wrinkley face...
...but Mia wins that round, shocking Abby once again with the size of her pearly whites.
Abby has one final move to be unveiled, though...the Demon Dog! This move is unbeatable in its ugliness.