Size doubling.

Streeeetching to fill my bed in November...

Feeling a bit cramped in my bed in February....

(Rams has more than doubled his weight since we got him! 10-15 pounds until he's full grown)

Battle progression

It begins something like this:

Me: Rams, what do you have?

Rams: Hides his face and begins to bolt away.... 'nothing, Mom.....'

Me: Oh but you do! "Drop it!"

Rams: "No, I refuse to let you tell me what to do"

Me: 'You're going nowhere until you Drop it!'

Rams: Eyes turn to 'Devil eyes' (as seen above), he begins to focus his energy on ticking me off.

I'm the dominant one in the stage, if you can't tell, yes, yes I AM sitting on him. He's not phased, he's still focused.

In the end, I won! Sorta... the hair tie is ruined.

It's not about the hair tie. It's about the fact that I am the human and he is the dog who thinks he is the human. Facts need to be set straight around here!

Bad Kid in Class...

We are officially the "Bad kid" in obedience!

Rams was great the first 40 minutes of class, until.... 'Down.' He has always been fine with it, when I have a treat in hand. This class, we've been trying to get away from the treats. You want your dog to listen because you said so, not just because you have a delicious snack in hand!

After several perfect 'downs,' I put the treats away and following my command: "Ramsey, Down!" he blankly stared me in the face. He wasn't the only one (there may have been one other in the class of about 10). The instructor then said, if they refuse, pull the front of their chain collar to the ground, the will most likely slide into a down when they realize you aren't letting go. I did as I was told, Ramsey stared me in the face and blatantly refused to slide down. The instructor then added, 'really stubborn dogs might need a push from behind, this takes care of 95%.' How embarrassing is it to be struggling full force with a 30 pound puppy!? I could NOT get him to lay down. Letting up, says 'you win,' which will only reinforce this obnoxious behavior. After a little struggle, Rams decided to grab onto my pant leg. I immediately grabbed his snout 'No!' to which he switched to his leash. As I take my routine (do not kill the dog, do not kill the dog) deep breath, the instructor turns specifically to us: "Do NOT tolerate him chewing on that leash!" In my mind I'm saying 'Tolerating? You think I tolerate this #%!@??" I may have sounded snappy, in response and simply said, "I don't tolerate this." So she replies: "So take it from him immediately!" I know I can't. He has the devil eye look, which sadly means, I just can't win. So I look to her and say: "Will you?" This may have been rude, but I was interested in seeing how to deal with this situation since it's not rare (Any time he wants attention he acts this way).

The instructor comes over and attempts to grab the leash from his mouth. The entire class is now watching this scene. I can only describe it like the puppy version of a child throwing a temper tantrum on the grocery store floor. She yanks... hard... to which he yelps and snaps at her! Mortified! My dog snapped at the obedience instructor! He has NEVER snapped.... he mouths, and sasses, but hasn't actually snapped! She yanks/corrects again, to which he rolls over into submissive position and pees himself simultaneously spraying a rainbow of pee across our corner of the room. He gets up, he has dropped the leash. She pets him nicely, tells him he's a good boy. (You're always supposed to be nice after you're mean, in order to preserve your human-dog relationship.) She then proceeds and tells him "Down." Blank stare. She goes to force him down, major struggle but finally the two of us get him on the ground. Good boy!!! Praise! We try again, major struggle. This went on several times with exhausting struggles on our part. Finally... tail tucked, he goes down. He then glances at me, closes his eyes and puts his head flat onto the ground as if to say "This is so shameful, mom."

Although the instructor was harsh, I'm glad she showed me how to deal. It sounds horrible, and even my mother (a life long dog person) was shocked at how much force as used. I reminded her that she has always owned Shelties, and as I was told when I picked Ramsey up that first day: "Springers are NOT shelties." I didn't know what that meant exactly until now.

This episode was proof that Ramsey still thinks he is higher up in pack order than me. This is NOT acceptable.

When did I lose control of this little man!?

On a cuter note: he fell asleep chewing on his bone last night.

Westminster

We decided to watch Westminster to prepare ourselves for Ramseys glamorous future.

I wish the screen were more clear but take notice of Rams in the lower right corner staring intently at the sexy Foxhound girl!

We were routing for the English Springer in last nights Sporting dog group, but Champagne Supernova took third.

Supernova looking nice!

(Rams is lookin ready with his new do! He would fit right in with these champs!)

Boarded and groomed

This past weekend we left Ramsey with his breeder while we made a visit to Pennsylvania. While we were away, Rams got rid of the 'Fro hair do and got a little glammed up. I think he's ready for the Westminster!

The breeder also re-asked (or semi told) us that we need to have him shown.... Maybe Westminster IS in our future! (We can dream right?) Maybe I'll get rams on board by watching a little 'Best in Show' later. (If you haven't seen that movie... you must)

Read to go home!

Quick glam shot for the camera! (I still think he looks a tad like a dinosaur with his hair so short! Who decides on standard cuts for the different breeds?)

Nap time in his favorite spot...

No words...

I let Ramsey out the other day while I changed for practice. I swear he was out less than 3 minutes. When I came back down this is what I saw:

Me: "Playing in the garden, Rams?"

Rams: "Of course not, Mom, I'm digging a massive hole! How Cool!

"

And... you really expect me to let you in the house like that?!

I couldn't even carry him to the tub without getting mud everywhere. Luckily it was 60 degrees out and I could hold his paws under the outside faucet!

No idea how to kick the digging habit.... I feel like it's always something new.

Also, my brief review of the Gentle Leader: Although it disallows him to pull as hard as he did before, it took 3 walks for him to begin pulling as hard as he can with a straight neck. I believe we are only strengthening his neck. I doubt Petsmart would refund it. :Sigh:

Dis-Obedience

Two weeks ago I attended Ramsey's Obedience class orientation, only to find that we had gotten closed out of the class because I didn't get the registration money in on time. We still have a few decisions to make: A spot opened up at a mid-day class, but we already missed one session and might be behind. It' also mid day.... not that this is a problem at this time, but if I find a job it will most likely include day time hours. (This is one of those 'what ifs' only, but... it's a possibility, and I don't want to waste money on classes we can't get to!). We could wait and join the next session, but that begins in March. I can NOT wait that long to get a grip on some of Ramsey's 'issues.' We have also been given the option to pay for a few private sessions in the mean time. Pricey, but might be worth it? We were semi thinking, maybe follow through the training book we got at orientation and for the skills we find ourselves struggling with, schedule a private session. We're still deciding! (There aren't really any other classes we could find, and this class is run by a friend of the breeder so I feel some sort of obligation...)

The largest issue as of now: Pulling on the leash. It makes walks miserable, when they should be fun and relaxing for all of us! Here is a list of strategies tried and outcomes:

Consistent tug when his leash gets tight and a happy 'Good boy!' when he is next to us. Unfortunately before the 'Good' is out, he is at the end pulling harder than ever again!

We then tried this with a choke collar. I know, I know, some people say these are cruel but really depending on the dog and if it's used correctly, I see no problem with it. The problem was that because Ramsey was pulling so hard, there is no room in the collar for a correctional choke! I really think he would let himself faint before relaxing. At this point, we're starting to think our dog has some learning disabilities...

During confirmation class the instructor told us to change directions quickly so that he has to pay attention. Turn around every time he pulls. This results in 20 minutes of pacing back and forth across the front of the drive way. No, I'm not exaggerating. At the end of 20 minutes, we are both frustrated and there is no less pulling.

With a little google research a lot of people swear by this one: When they pull, stop walking. I've been doing this for a few weeks, with no avail. So, this weekend we went to the park (Greg, Rams, and I). We got about 50 meters in 40 minutes before I got so frustrated I sat in the car.... I can NOT tolerate this. Thank goodness Greg has more patience than I do!

So now, I gave in, and bought a Gentle Leader. I didn't want to get a harness or anything of the sort because I don't feel like it actually teaches anything. I want to teach him to walk nicely, not just in the harness, but always. The Gentle Leader is basically a face harness. The straps go over the snout and hook underneath. Ramsey really didn't mind it (I saw mixed reviews about dogs throwing tantrums). When he pulls, it transfers the pressure to turn his face instead of hold him back. This apparently is annoying because dogs want to see where they are going. It definitely helped. Hopefully we can use it as a teaching tool, or a bit more control while we teach... and at the very least, he will get some exercise rather than walking around the block and coming home angry!

Being Gently Lead....

Other suggestions are welcome!!!