Another milestone!

Neo enjoyed his first off leash walk today.

We're lucky enough to have the run of my in-laws farm with well fenced fields and not another person or dog to be seen. We have always intended to only let him off the lead there and not in public. I feel it is an unecessary risk to let him run free in a public place when we have the run of the farm, he is a breed with a bad reputation and will be a big dog who would easily scare someone who didn't know him, I know he wouldn't intentionally hurt anything but don't want to put him in a position to be hurt himself or blamed for something not of his doing. Besides hes got a long flexi lead which hes quite happy to jog along on and stop to sniff at regular intervals, hes not the most energetic dog in the world!

Anyway, we've practiced his recall at home and at puppy classes, also while in the park safely attatched to the flexi lead, each time the results have been good so I decided it was time to attempt it without a safety net.

As usual he was as good as gold, I called him to me a number of times throughout the walk and each time he trotted over took his treat and trotted off again. It was lovely to see him free and doing his own thing.

I had forgotten how social having a dog was. We have a small park at the bottom of our street which provides a nice half hour walk so if we've not been anywhere else I take him there for his daily walk, I've started to regularly meet the same people and they often stop and have a chat. Yesterday I had a natter with a couple of old chaps walking their terriers, they both thought Neo was lovely and kept commenting on how well behaved he was which I was really chuffed about. Its very gratifiying when your dog is praised for his behaviour and makes all the hard work worth it.

This is Neo indulging in his new hobby 'digging away at our foundations'
As fast as hubby fills it in its dug up again. I haven't the heart to stop him, besides that area is earmarked to be paved in the summer so the problem will be solved. We always know when hes been indulging as he comes in with it all over his nose.


Puppy class went very well again last night, Neo was very well behaved and did everything asked of him, almost first time! He thoroughly enjoys these classes and I'm so glad I decided to continue going. Hes certainly forming a friendship with two of the smallest dogs, Rocco the Beagle and Rosie the Daschund. Will try and get some photos of them together next week.

I took him to see a new vet last week which opened up in Jan. I had noticed he was scratching his ear and had developed a bald, slightly sore patch under it and I wanted a second opinion concerning his loose stools.
The vet was very good, a big fan of Rotties, apparently he did some work with the gentleman who origianally imported the breed.

He suggested that the dandruff and loose stools were all connected and if we sorted out the skin problem the rest would come right.

So I left with a bottle of ear drops and instructions to wash him twice a week in Vosene (sp) and to feed him nothing but his JWB food and treats. He also said to stop feeding the puppy food and start him on the adult one as the extra protein wasn't required and could be causing the problems.

I was a bit worried about changing the feed but others assured me it was ok and they had fed their pups adult feed without any problems.

Fingers crossed we'll start to see an improvement in a few weeks, the ear is already sorted so just the dandruff and loose stools to go!

Puppy Class #2

Just got back from his second week at puppy class, he was a little star again. We had to do a 'wait' command while we walked through a gate then call them through, he did this very well, twice!
Our recall was a success, the instructor held onto the dog while the owner walked away then turned and called them at which point the instructor let go. Neo came straight away, I'm in no doubt the hot dog sausage was his main focus, but hey it worked!
I'm pretty sure he'd go to anyone who called as long as there was food involved as while watching the others he was straining at his lead every time another dog was called to their owner!
I have to say I actually enjoyed it this week which is a relief after last week, this time I went with no expectations and just went with the flow. Its a pleasant group of people as well with a variety of pups.
Neo seems particularly taken with a Beagle and a Daschund, its so sweet to watch them play together and Neo is very gentle.
Will actually look forward to next Monday.

Puppy Class

Well what can I say!

Am not entirely sure what I expected but I didn't expect to be considering not going back!

Firstly I'd like to sing Neo's praises as he was exceptionally well behaved considering hes not been in the presence of so many puppies before, in fact I would say he was probably one of the calmest and best behaved.

Before we'd even entered the hall a woman pointed out to me that Neo's habit of putting his foot on top of other dogs is a sign of dominance, I already know this! we are working on it and hes ten times better than he was, I have to say the thought 'theres always one' went through my mind. A few mins later I found out she is also an instructor who is training our instructors dog!

We all entered the hall and sat in a circle while the instructor introduced herself and checked she had all the dogs and owners on her list. She then went through some other stuff which I struggled to hear above a couple of barking puppies (not Neo!)

She then asked if we all had our 'poop bags', everyone answered yes. I felt things were rapidly going down hill when she asked us to produce said bags! felt like I was in primary school!

Herself and the instructor who's acquaintance I'd made earlier then went round the room to check all the name tags. Now I know that Neo's is wrong as I have his name on it, after having it done I was told this is not such a good idea as if he were to run off someone else could claim him just by calling the name on the tag. I had not had a chance to get another one done, on checking the tag the woman not instructing pointed out it was not a good idea and I was a bit 'naughty' having it on there!
I think hubby was just getting ready to kick me under the chair as he could see by the look on my face that I was about to 'bite' said instructor!

'Naughty'! do I look 5 yrs old!

Next we got up and moved onto a rubber matting walkway around the hall. The instructor wanted to see if the pups would do a 'sit' and a 'down'. Neo has no problem at this at home but I wondered how he would be with all the distractions so while she was going around the hall I practiced with him and he did just fine.

When she got to us she asked for his treat, I had brought some 'Probiotic Healthy Puppy Treats' she took one look and said 'Oh i don't think these will work'!!!!!!!
Oh my god! how long has she known my pup? oh all of 10 mins, versus the 8 wks I've had him and trained him perfectly well with said treat!
Apparently I should have come with cheese or some other smelly treat. That all very well, yes, he loves cheese and I do use it for his training sometimes but I do try and limit it preferring to use something slightly less fatty.
I couldn't bite my tongue and I did point out that the treat was perfectly adequate for my dog. Neo then proceeded to do a perfect 'down' for her!

Ok I know I'm not the most patient of people but I really did feel like I was a 5 yr old back at primary school! and to be perfectly honest I was bored!

I am going to go back next week in the hope things improve, we're going to do 'recall' and thats not one of Neo's strong points so hopefully we will learn something and the socialization is good for him. Think hubby will have to accompany me again though to keep me under control!!

Toys and Bones

Many years ago I had a wonderful Black Lab, he was the kindest, most gentle creature, loved everybody...........until he got hold of a bone! Then he turned into a snarling, growling monster! It would start the second you got within a few feet of him, he would never bite, you could still get your hand on the bone but it wasn't a pleasant experience so we tended to leave him to it. It was totally our fault as he was never taught not to be possessive, he was the same over his food.

This is not a mistake I intended to make with Neo so from day one he was fed with us sitting with him, fussing him and putting our hands in his bowl, the time spent doing this has paid off and we have no problems with possessiveness over food.

Hes 16 weeks now and I've been putting off giving him bones as haven't wanted to deal with the fallout! then someone rightly said 'wouldn't it be better to do it now rather than wait till hes bigger!' of course this made sense so off I went to the pet shop for some bones.

When I got back I did a few mins of training with him then gave him the bone. For the first 10 mins I held onto it which he was fine with then I went out and made a cup of tea came back and took hold of it again, asked him to 'leave' which he did, I even pretended to have a gnaw of it myself! The only time he snarled was when the cat decided to get in on the action. In my house the cat is higher in the pecking order than him so I told him off and made him allow the cat a sniff at the bone, he waited patiently until the cat wondered off again. So all in all it was a success.
I'll give him another one next week and repeat the process.

Hes also now having Tripe Sticks, these smell awful! but he loves them and has shown a little bit of possessiveness over them when hubby has been with him so that's being nipped in the bud at the moment.

I'm afraid I spoil him a bit when it comes to toys, each trip to the pet shop I like to get him another one as don't want him to become bored and start on the furniture, so far we've been lucky and he hasn't destroyed anything, I'd like to keep it that way! I swap the toys around every few days.

So on Tuesday I arrived home with this
Well, this is a very scary and dangerous toy, you wouldn't believe it to look at it but Neo assures me it is and shouldn't be approached without extreme caution and lots of barking and dancing around! I've seen him scared of the vacuum, the ironing board and the pushbike but never a toy! It is very funny to watch. Hes only happy when the scary toy is back in its box.


I'll keep getting it out and perhaps as he gets older he'll feel less threatened by it!

Hes growing up.

Hes growing so fast! Two and a half weeks ago I weighed him down at the vets, (hes too big to sit on my scales) he weighed in at 11.5 kg, I went down a couple of days ago and he is now 16.5 kg, seems at the moment he is putting on a steady two kg a week.

Certainly filling out nicely, developing his adult shape and putting on some muscle.

Hes becoming quite a vocal boy, loves to grumble while he is playing or being towelled down, I'd heared about the 'Rottie Rumble' and they certainly do, its pretty funny to hear, I do try to dissuade him from it outside the house as to those who are of a nervous disposition or don't know Rotties it would sound like hes growling but if you heard his growl you'd know the grumble is nothing to worry about!!

We've had a couple of challenges last week, he objected to having a piece of stick removed from his mouth, something I've done many times without a problem, this time he decided he wanted to keep it and put up a little protest! It was a short lived protest and he was left in no doubt as to who the boss was! the incident hasn't been repeated since although I'm sure there are many challenges to come.

Last week his perfect world had a slight hiccup, we went to a friends house where he was playing with their Jack Russel, one minute they were playing and the next things had turned nasty. Although I was in the room with him I didn't see exactly what happened to set it off but I suspect he got a little boisterous and didn't heed the JT's warning so things escalated, to be fair to Neo he did submit but the JT didn't back off. Thankfully there was no damage and he didn't seem to bothered but since this altercation he is much more respectful and a little cautious when meeting new dogs which is a good thing as he did tend to go at them with both barrels which dogs didn't appreciate.

A couple of days ago I went for coffee at my friends who owns the Springer Spaniel and the Cocker Spaniel, both female, I've mentioned them in a previous post. Both the dogs have been round to us separately to meet Neo so we thought it would be good to introduce him on their own territory. I was a little nervous about how he would react after his little upset the week before. Initially he was a little nervous but both the other dogs greeted him with waggy tails and within minutes the three of them were chasing around the living room like the best of friends, in fact by the end of the visit we decided that they are both a little in love with him!

Socializing is going pretty well now hes able to get out and about, we have a local country park which is a great place to go and meet other dogs and children, hes so well behaved, rarely trys to get their hands in his mouth, keeps all his paws on the ground when meeting people and dogs and doesn't pull on the lead, hes doing us proud and appears so much better behaved than many of the dogs we've met. Lets hope this continues next week at his first puppy class.