Charlie has made strides during the last few weeks. He's gone from 18.4 pounds the day I adopted him on November 6 to 34.2 pounds on January 3. So he almost doubled his weight in two months.
And he's only six months old. He's going to be bigger than I thought. 😬
He's doing well with his training. He's really hard to walk, soooo strong and tries to pull me along, which I can't let him do. I've invested in different harnesses and a gentle lead that goes over his snout. That works best, but no matter which we use, our walks are very short. If he's pulling me or fusing with his lead, the walk ends and we turn around. Other than that, he takes direction and training really well.
I've been called for jury duty next Tuesday, so I found a doggie day care in town that will take him.
He loves the owner, Anissa:
We've gone for three or four days in the last two weeks, just 2.5 to 3 hours each time, but on Tuesday if I'm chosen for the jury, I guess I'll be there all day? I haven't ever been on a jury and have always wanted to, but my brother is a retired Sheriff in California, and that might keep me off the jury. We'll see.
I'm gong to keep bringing Charlie to The Dog Shak because he LOVES it and it's great for socializing him with other dogs. He has two best friends, one is a small one year old dog that the owner adopted, and the other is a day care dog, T, who is a large black lab. They are both SO GOOD with Charlie!
Luckily Charlie loves it there, the other dogs like him, and Anissa, the owner, likes him. This will also be nice if I need some time without Charlie to get things done. He's too young to leave alone at home, and I wouldn't leave him in his crate for too long.
He was neutered two weeks ago, and also had a dangling dew claw removed, so he had to wear a cone for a while. Poor Charlie!
Believe me, it hurt me more than it hurt him! With a Heeler, instead of having his nose on the back of my calf all the time, I was crashed into with the edge of a plastic Elizabethan Cone. OUCH! I ended up taking it off early, and everything healed well.
Here's Charlie with Buster and Bibi, Irene and Scot's dogs, (my neighbors and friends). Charlie loves play dates with these two, they love to run and play, too. 😎
Some of Charlie's tricks - since he's deaf, he has to watch me for hand signals.
SIT
He knows a lot of words/signals now, but SIT, STAY, LAY DOWN, PAW, PUZZLE, and WALK are his best ones.
Thanks for stopping by. Lots of things going on here, more next time.
From Me and Charlie, have a great weekend! ❤ 🐾🐾
Charlie is really growing and is good company for you too. Such a nice dog and he learns quickly.
ReplyDeleteHe's amazing. What do you puzzle for? He is smart as a whip.
ReplyDeleteI've read and been told that Heelers need jobs to do, and puzzles are a job for him. This is his second one - when he gets really good I'll introduce his third puzzle. But that one has little drawers with rope pulls to pull out the drawer with the treat in it. I'm hoping he won't start opening all the drawers in the house! :) He loves them. We have a sign for Puzzle, and he gets excited when I sign that word.
DeleteWonderful post. I've had almost exactly the same experiences with my black lab, from being poked with the dumb collar after neutering (I think it may have lasted 3 days) and I couldn't count the times I take him out and turn around and come back in when he won't listen. I guess if we can just live through it, we will have great well-behaved dogs in the long run.
ReplyDeleteYes, that's kind of what I thought from the very beginning. It gets easier every day, but in the beginning, it was really hard and very time consuming. But it' starting to really pay off!
DeleteWhat a good boy!! It looks like he loves the doggie day care!
ReplyDeleteGlad that you've made progress with Charlie. Seeing him play with the other dogs no one would suspect that he has a handicap. Keep at it, you're doing well.
ReplyDeleteBe Safe and Enjoy!
It's about time.
I've read stories of deaf dogs being introduced into day cares and those types of settings, and the dogs don't seem to notice any difference. That's because they don't "talk" to each other. Most of their interaction is done by movements and doggie signals. So I guess it doesn't matter to the other dogs, if they notice it at all.
DeleteBeautiful pup. Love his coloring.
ReplyDeleteI went thru leash training this summer with my latest dog. Used a prong collar which was very effective. They look kinda painful but the prongs only pinch if the dog pulls, so they learn very quickly not to pull. In the long run it's much less painful than weeks and months of being choked at their larynx by a regular collar. I held treats in my left hand to help keep her interest. Granted, I had a private trainer, but she was heeling at the end of our first lesson !!!
https://www.chewy.com/herm-sprenger-ultra-plus-prong/dp/141938
I was going to suggest the same thing. My friend who is a Veterinarian, and a dog lover got one of those prong collars for her 82 year old mother's dog. We had to take him for a walk once and I didn't use it at first because I felt it would hurt him. I quickly realized he needed the collar and what a difference it made when we put it on him. You might give it a try. It looks dreadful but Heidi assured us it wouldn't hurt him.
DeleteI know some people cringe when they see those collars, but I remember a German Shepard we had who was so big and strong, and I was so tiny at the time, I coudln't handle the dog. I took him to a trainer who said I needed to get that kind of collar for the dog, or he wound't be allowed in the class. And you're right, they don't hurt the dog.
DeleteI read in one of my Deaf Dog books just today about suggestions for various helpful aids to use until the dog is trained, and she said she used a prong collar until her dog stopped pulling. Walking Charlie has gotten better, but our walks are getting shorter and shorter because he really pulls me and I'm worried about hurting my wrists and hands. So I just might get one. Thanks Bonkers and Karen and Al! Good to know that you've used them and they work. :)
He's a lovely boy, it's so good that he is going to day care,life is much easier with a dog that socialized.
ReplyDeleteYour doing a fine job with the hand signals, he sure is a smart little guy. And play mates is always fun for them.
ReplyDeleteHe even looks cute in his cone!
ReplyDeleteYou know, it's funny but he really didn't mind it. He'd just crash through things hitting the sides of the cone, and keep going. He's a spotted tank. But crashing into my legs all day was what finally made me take the cone off. I'd much rather a soft nose pushing me along than the edge of a hard plastic cone. LOL I didn't post photos of him sleeping in his crate, but he always had a toy or two inside the cone resting against his face or wrapped over his head. I have some really cute pictures.
DeleteLooks like he sure has a lot of fun with the other dogs!
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear from you again. Charlie really has grown. He could be really big. I know you love having a new BFF around the house. Life is so different when you don't have a dog. It my not be for some, but it is so much companionship for me.
ReplyDeleteWhat a cutie! I did a loose-leash walking class (multiple sessions) with one of my dogs once. It was a great investment. Like some of the other commenters above, we had to get a prong collar to use temporarily -- but most of the dogs in the class didn't need to. By the time we were done with the class, we didn't need it any more. I've been able to use the same skills with the other dogs we've had since. With the way Charlie is growing, it wouldn't hurt to invest in something like that soon, even if you have to drive a ways.
ReplyDelete