Bosco got his CGC!!!!!!
Since they changed the rules on the separation portion of the test, Bosco finally passed because the evaluator was allowed to talk to him while I was out of sight for 3 minutes. He actually did quite well! Hooray!
We're now in Novice obedience class, and if we ever get the sit and down stays solid, we'll be ready to trial. We stopped agility, because Bosco's prey aggression gets activated when all the dogs are running around jumping things.
We moved this summer, so Bosco now has 10 acres to run around on (although he isn't allowed to run loose except when we're there watching him!). He also has matured so much that he is left in the den when we leave, instead of being crated. My baby boy has grown up! We even leave our Maine Coon, Warlock, in there with him sometimes, since Warlock likes to hang out in the den. I don't trust Bosco enough to leave Aerial or Lissa in with him. He plays with them, and while he doesn't mean to hurt them, he could accidentally put the paw down too hard or something. Or they could run. Warlock doesn't move much, so he's pretty safe. :)
Bosco's 2.5 years old now, and he's been really good lately. Yes, he'll still occasionally nibble on things if I ignore him for a bit, but overall, he's matured alot. He still can't be trusted when I leave the house, so I crate him then. But he has moved up to being left loose in the master bedroom while I shower. He waits patiently by the babygate until I return. What a Momma's Boy. :)
Training is going very well. We finally graduated from Advanced Beginner agility class. Going to class early and working offleash with no dogs helped ALOT. He's not 100% trustworthy yet, but he was doing well enough to move up to Intermediate where we can actually work on some more exercises that we would never get to do in Advanced Beginner.
So far, Bosco has gotten loose once and not come when called immediately (he did eventually come when called). For that, I put his leash back on, and had him do about 20 recalls around the agility field. I gradually dropped the leash and went farther away. Then I took him offleash and did some more recalls, followed by some work over one jump in the corner away from the other dogs. He had originally run off while doing a speed circle. So when we were done doing all the recalls, we went back and did the speed circle once onleash, then a couple more times offleash. He did great, and stayed with Mom. :)
I don't trust him on the speed circle when we first do it, so for now I'm mostly doing that onleash. But for some other things where I can use a target (plastic lid from a container with food on it), I'll take him offleash, as he's very good at going straight to the target. Last week, he ran off once and did a run-by of one of the dogs (more of a run-over), but he came immediately when I called him, and he stayed with me when we tried again. So he's improving ALOT. I have high hopes for him in this class. We'll be in Intermediate level for a while, I'm sure. I want to make sure he's solid offleash before we move up to Novice.
And on the digital camera front... we bought a new camera, so hopefully I'll be able to update the pictures section more often. I'm also working on some website updates (including creating a personal page for myself, replacing the "Nothing's here yet" place holder that's been there for about three years:), and will eventually redo this site while I'm at it. In my copious free time...
I now have a 2 year old, and he has magically matured a bit, but I think the real maturity will be at 3 years (or maybe 6 years:). Neutering went fine, and I also had his hips x-rayed again. Prelim results at 13 months of age were "mild dysplasia". The official 2 year old results are... FAIR! I wasn't expecting that! So I am ecstatic that my dog is now deemed free of hip dysplasia, when a year ago, they rated him mild dysplastic.
Classes are going well. In agility, we're working him off leash with no dogs in the fenced area. This is teaching him what he should be doing. It's also giving us a chance to work on things like making turns and directing him to particular obstacles... things that are too difficult to do on leash. I've been given some good pointers on what to do should he get into "rude" mode (giving him the "Wrath of Mom"), and I have high hopes for the next few months.
I hope to get some 2 year old pictures up on this site really soon. Unfortunately, the sweet little pupperoni knocked the camera off a desk and broke it. So I need to borrow one soon to get pictures. Aren't puppies fun? :)
Bosco is fast approaching the magic 2 years of age. He has matured *alot* in the last month or so. It's quite amazing to see the difference.
We had a health checkup a few weeks ago, and Bosco currently weighs 72lbs. He looks heavier than he is. Everything checked out great. He goes in to get neutered after his birthday next month.
Training is progressing slowly. We are in the novice obedience class at HOTC, which means we're preparing to compete at the novice level. Don't expect to see us at shows anytime soon though. <g>
We're still in Advanced Beginner agility. Bosco is a "rude dog", in that he likes to go off course and run up to other dogs to play. If we ever get past this problem, we can move up to Intermediate class. He does great on the course - very fast, and no fears of obstacles or anything. We're still plugging along on our "rudeness" problem.
We have quit Schutzhund for the time being. I can't make the drive to the club more than once a week, and that's just not enough training time for Bosco. Hopefully, a club will start up in Huntsville one of these days. We'll see. In the meantime, Bosco is enjoying obedience and agility. He doesn't really care what we do, as long as we do *something*. :)
Wow, it's been a while... Bosco is now 16 months old, and still a ball of energy. He's starting to show some signs of adulthood, like occasionally laying down for a few seconds if nothing is going on. It's progress. :)
We didn't get to start Intermediate obedience in May as I'd planned, but I think it turned out for the better anyway. Instead, I started reteaching him to heel, using only motivational methods. I dropped the leash, and taught him to heel for a ball reward, using a clicker style method, but without an actual clicker. This has worked beautifully, and I'm finally getting the results I've been wanting. We are planning to take Intermediate obedience at the Huntsville Obedience Training Club (HOTC) starting in September. I think he's now ready to start heeling amongst the distractions of a class situation.
In the meantime, we've been working on tracking and protection as well for Schutzhund. Tracking is coming along nicely with the help of a clicker to mark the article indication. That's helping alot. And in protection, Bosco has just started on the puppy sleeve. I'm starting to actually get coordinated during protection. It's always handler error. :) Our current Schutzhund goal is to get our BH at the club's November trial. This will consist of an obedience and a temperament test.
We also started agility in July. We took the Advanced Beginner class at HOTC, and have had lots of fun. We have one more class this week. Bosco's been great in agility. He's very confident about the obstacles. Our main problems are going off course to visit with other dogs, and not knowing where his hind end is on some of the thinner contact obstacles like the dog walk and teeter. He's fallen off both, but still has no fear of them. Ladder work helps this problem though. Bosco is like a bull in a China shop, and he really doesn't pay attention to where his body is. Typical teenage boy. :)
As usual, I'm slow updating this page. That's life with a puppy. :)
Bosco just turned one year old. He's a big boy now - around 27" tall. He's still skinny as a rail... typical GSD adolescent male. Bosco behaves fairly well, having learned some manners (still working on others:), and being a pretty good dog in general. Ok, I tell him he's the best puppy in the whole wide world, but I'm a bit biased!
Bosco has completed basic training at Obedience Training Center of Huntsville (OTCH). We will do an Intermediate class at the end of May. We have also joined the Central Alabama Schutzhund Club (CASC) in Birmingham, where Bosco and I are learning tracking, obedience, and protection. We're both having alot of fun.
Bosco's raw diet is going well also. We've got a great system going, and feeding is a piece of cake. Even my parents can handle it when I'm out of town. Having a freezer really helps.
We also still have the massive tennis ball addiction going on. Basically, any time Bosco is out of his crate, he has a ball in his mouth and wants someone to throw it. It doesn't matter how many hours you've been throwing it. It doesn't matter how dead tired he is. He wants to chase the ball. Hey, he could have worse addictions. :)
Ok, so I'm a slacker. I haven't updated this in like forever. But I have a good reason! This Bosco monster needs lots of exercise and play time! :)
Bosco is turning out to be a very wonderful dog. He tries my patience often, but he's a good kid overall. We're almost done with our third training class. We've done a puppy class, beginner obedience class, and now a manners/CGC-prep class. We still have alot to work on with the manners stuff, but it's certainly helped alot. We will continue with more training classes in January.
Bosco has lots of energy with the cold weather here, and he is BALL CRAZY. This boy can play fetch all day. We now walk to a park nearby and play offleash fetch with two tennis balls. As soon as he gets back to me with one, he spits it out and I throw the other one. He doesn't even stop moving most of the time. This game wears me out just watching him, but he really enjoys it. :)
Wow! It's been a whole month since I updated this. I'm a slacker! Anyway, Bosco's doing really well. So much has happened! First, he's about twice the size that he was a month ago. :) He's big enough to put his paws up on counters and tables now. We're working on stopping that!
Bosco started puppy training class two weeks ago. We're currently working on sit, down, and heel in class. I'm also working on stay outside of class (he's smart:). He enjoys going to class and seeing all the other puppies. He's also VERY tired when we get home, so he is well-behaved the rest of the day!
He finally killed Carrot's squeaker. It was a happy day for me and Doug. :) Carrot is still a favorite toy, even though it doesn't make more than an airy sound.
Bosco's little fuzzy brain is starting to show signs of learning things like "Don't chase the kitty!". He still thinks Warlock is a chew toy, but he will actually STOP chasing the cats when we say that phrase. Amazing!
I switched Bosco to a BARF (Bones and Raw Food) diet Saturday night. He's doing really well already. I think I'll have to make a page just for that. :)
Yesterday at lunch time, Bosco was running around with Carrot (his favorite toy). He decided it was time to stop and get a drink, so he carried Carrot into the kitchen, dropped Carrot in the water dish, and proceeded to drink. Poor Carrot was drowned! I picked Carrot up out of the water and gave him a squeak - it was a water-logged squeak. Very pitiful sounding. I drained him a bit and gave him back to Bosco, who happily carried him off, making Carrot squeak that feable, water-logged squeak. Carrot's going to have to get another bath today when I do laundry. :)
Last night while I was making cookies (which took amazingly longer than normal with a puppy running around the house!:), Bosco was playing in the kitchen. He went over on one side of the island, and Aerial the c*t (who beat him up last week) had come in and was walking around the other side of the island, looking for Bosco. She likes to watch him. Well, she went around to the end of the island and was peering around to watch Bosco, but he wasn't there! Then I saw Bosco come around the side of the island she had just been on. He walked up behind her slowly, then sniffed her tail. You should have seen the look on her face! While she had been trying to watch him, he had snuck up on her and caught her in the act! :) She jumped about a foot away, looked at him, then ran... with Mom saying "Bosco, don't chase the kitty!"
I just had to stand there laughing at them. :)
Bosco had a good weekend. Maybe I'll let him live to adulthood. :)
Doug was out of town, so I was home alone with the animals, supposedly cleaning house or something. :) Bosco had peed in his crate on a towel about a week ago, and while we'd removed the towel (and he hasn't peed in there since), the dog, the crate, and some of his toys still had a lingering urine odor. So Saturday was bath day for everyone. Carrot, Cow, and Rope went into the laundry (Rope still smells, so I'll have to attack him some more). I washed the crate. And last but certainly not least, Bosco had a bath. This was his second bath, since he didn't smell too good after his plane ride 2 1/2 weeks ago either!
Bosco wasn't real thrilled about the bath. I filled the tub with about an inch of water and dropped the puppy in. I got him to play with the water, which he liked to do. It was the shower sprayer that he's not real fond of, but he did pretty well. When I got soap in my hands, I rubbed him all over saying "Soap the puppy! Soap the puppy!" in a happy voice. He kind of liked that, but wasn't going to show it *too* much since he looked like a drowned rat. :)
After our bath, I wrapped him up in a towel and we took a nap on the couch. He layed alongside me with his head on my shoulder. While we were napping, Aerial hopped up on top of me, about 6 inches from Bosco. She took a nap with us. I was so wishing I could reach the digital camera that was just a few feet away on the coffee table, but I would have disturbed both animals. :/ Bosco did wake up a little while later, sniffed the kitty nicely, kitty hissed and ran away. :)
On Sunday, Bosco helped me around the house. He layed down in the kitchen while I emptied and reloaded the dishwasher. He repeatedly investigated the vacuum cleaner as I was using it - running up to it, then running about 10 feet away, then coming back. Then it was time for me to do my homework, which normally I would put Bosco in his crate for. But he was so good, that I let him stay out. He layed down on the A/C vent in a corner and slept for about half an hour while I worked. What a sweetie! After that, we played a bit, "policed the yard" (pick up numerous puppy droppings), then went over to visit Grandpa and Uncle Lazarus. Bosco and Lazarus played - had a great time. Then I took my dad out to dinner, while Bosco slept in his crate at the house. Then I took Bosco home and went to sleep. He did so well this weekend, and this morning, he didn't wake up until 4am (last went out at 8:30pm), and then when I got up at 5:30am, he didn't want to come out of his crate! He was a sleepy boy from his big weekend. :)
Well, last night, we had a breakthrough in the dog-c*t relationship. Aerial has been very intrigued with this fuzzy monster, and she'll usually come into the same room with him, get up somewhere high, and watch him. If she's on the floor, he'll chase her.
Doug was watching the monster while I worked at the computer. Suddenly, I heard Bosco screaming! I ran out into the hallway, and Bosco came running to Mommy, still whimpering. I checked him over for cuts, but he was fine (that puppy coat is a great protector!).
Doug said that when he looked over at him, Bosco was on his back with Aerial on top of him! She had apparently attacked him and knocked him over on his back! Doug pulled her off of him. I guess Bosco can see that as an alpha move on the c*t's part. :)
After that, Bosco definitely had respect for the kitty. He still chases Warlock though (the other kitty). Warlock is a pacifist, so I don't know if he'll ever do anything that drastic. But I'm glad Aerial finally told the pupper off. He already weighs about twice as much as her probably (she's 8.5 lbs, which is what Bosco weighed two weeks ago).
I think I need to start singing "R-E-S-P-E-C-T..." when Aerial walks in the room. <g>
Bosco may be young, but he's already learning the art of making it a Bosco Day. :) Gets under my feet, plays tug with the comforter, chases the kitties, chews on the ironing board leg, chews on my chair leg, chews on the refrigerator, squeaks his carrot while Daddy's trying to sleep, dribbles water all over the floor everytime he drinks, helps me untie my shoes when I really don't want them untied, sneaks into the master bedroom and comes running out with Daddy's shirt that was left on the floor, sneaks into the master bedroom and comes running out with Daddy's heating pad, chews on the door mat by the backdoor before coming inside, chews on the sliding glass door as he's coming inside (or going out), chews on the frame of the sliding glass door on his way in or out, performs the "Death Shake" on the towel that's holding his water - spilling water everywhere and requireing Mommy to get a dry towel, etc. And this is only one day! :)
Bosco got to visit Grandma and Grandpa, and Uncles Frisky and Lazarus today. He did very well! Uncle Frisky didn't like him (not surprising), but Uncle Lazarus had a great time playing. Actually, he herded Bosco quite a bit. Bosco was a little shy at first (neighbor's dogs have been barking at him and scaring him), but he eventually got the courage to snap at Lazarus' face in play.
Grandpa gave Bosco a big Nylabone as a present to take home (Frisky and Lazarus chew them all the time). Bosco loves his new toy and can already carry it around!
This morning, after Bosco had successfully peed in the backyard, he decided to become psycho puppy, so I took his leash off and let him race around the yard (it's fenced). Well, he was pretty close to doing the scoot-butt thing - probably just not balanced enough to do that yet. :)
But the funniest part was when he discovered the hill in the yard. We have a ditch that runs behind the house, and the yard slopes down toward the ditch. When we put the fence up, about halfway across the yard, we placed the fence down the hill a bit. The other half of the fence is on the flat ground (bushes in the way). Well, when Bosco discovered he could go down the hill, he decided that ROLLING down the hill would be great fun! So he would run to the start of the drop, then lay down and roll down the hill. I swear, he was doing this on purpose! This wasn't clutzy puppy - it was puppy having way too much fun! :)
Bosco's a clutz at this age (8 weeks)! He will be chasing the kitties and run head-first into the leg of the ping-pong table. Or he'll be racing through the living room and go under the coffee table, hitting his head on it at the point in his stride where his head goes up higher. He's run into the glass sliding door once, after having no problem with it several times before. This boy is going to have brain damage by time he's a year old. :)
He also falls over and does weird flips. Yesterday as I was putting his dish down for lunch, he got up on his hind legs a bit, then fell over backward! Then he gets back up and sits down nicely, looking at me as if to say "I meant to do that". Too cute. :)
This morning, after Bosco had eaten and gone outside again, I let him race around the house and play while I fixed up my lunch and got ready for work. At one point, he came racing into the kitchen and stopped in front of his water dish next to the fridge. His food dish goes there when he's fed. A towel sits under the water (and food) dish. So one side had a water dish on it, and the other side of the towel was empty. When Bosco stopped at this point, he sat down and looked up at me, his right ear standing up with the tilt of his head, giving me this look of "I'm a perfect little angel". I think "Awww... how cute!". I walk over and scratch his head and tell him he's a good boy, then I go back to what I'm doing.
He then becomes psycho puppy - grabs the free end of the towel and performs the "Death Shake", then races through the kitchen into the living room to attack his stuffed carrot.
My little angel. :)
Bosco discovered 4 milk bottles sitting next to the trash can today. He knocked one with his nose, pushing it under a folding chair against the wall. He then barked ferociously at it - a gruff little bark! Then he pushed some of the other bottles around the kitchen floor. Finally, he figured out how to pick one up, so he carried it into the living room to play with it some more. :)
Bosco has arrived! His flight was fairly uneventful for him, but when he arrived, the cargo people were looking in the wrong place for him, so they first said he wasn't on the plane. Then a little while later, they found him. Phew!
We took Bosco home and let him out of his crate in the backyard. He immediately started playing with us and was happy to be out of his crate! He's such a sweet boy!
During the day today, I stayed home from work and played with the puppy. I left the crate in the middle of the living room floor, so when Bosco got tired, he would go in there and sleep a bit while Mommy took a nap on the floor in front of his crate. Mommy didn't get much sleep the last few nights, and she really should have!
One more week until he ships! I can hardly wait! His breeder says he's very cute and he's such a happy guy. :)
With the Delta pet embargo starting June 1, we've decided to ship Bosco May 30. Hooray!
Bosco's toys and 1 crate came in today. Warlock likes the stuffed carrot. We'll see how long Bosco can hold onto his toys without them being stolen by the cats!
Bosco is discovering shoe laces... how to pull on them to untie them. He has a beautiful coat, and is always one of the first to say HI.
We saw Bosco when he was 11 days old. He was black with some tan hairs mixed into his front legs, and some tan across the top of his head. He was absolutely adorable. When stretched out (asleep), he was the length of Doug's forearm. He fit in one hand, hanging over a little bit. His ears and feet were so tiny. And he would yawn and show off his tooth-less mouth. He licked us a little bit - something he was just learning.
We also saw several family members - 7 all-balack and 1 black and tan 7 month old. His grandma, Fai, was a real sweetheart. And his mom had no problem with us handling him. Zasko was a big, friendly boy. All of the dogs loved seeing the "puppy petters"!