Teenagers...*sigh*

Although, at almost two-years-old Finn should be past the rebellious teenager stage, right? He's gotten so difficult lately, exhibiting all these dodgy behaviours that we hope are not permanent.

This morning he growled and snapped at a dog that he's known for almost a year and the two of them have always had positive interactions in the past. The dog is a German Shepherd and is an intact male, both of which are things that seem to be new triggers for Finn. He did have a nice romp with a seven-year-old GSD female named Bella later in the day, so it really might just be the "intact male" part that is an issue.

We've also had to put him the in "penalty box" at the dog park quite a few times recently. He loves it there and he's great friends with most of the owners and the dogs but he's been misbehaving a lot and we're really not okay with some of the things he's been doing. The "penalty box" does seem to work well for most of his indiscretions but there have been a few times that we have just taken him home early. We really want him to behave well at the dog park because he gets such good exercise and socialization there.

There are a lot of dogs around Finn's age at the park so almost everyone had stories to contribute about the bad things their dogs have done. While it's nice to know that we're not alone and that everyone still thinks of Finn as a friendly, gentle dog, we have to watch him so carefully because he is just so big. He can make the same mistake as a smaller dog but his mistake will likely have greater consequences.

We are lucky that we live close to this awesome park with lots of amazing calm, friendly and forgiving dog owners. We've seen dogs pee on people, knock people over, get into tussles with each other, nip, wrestle and pin each other, and yes, grab at clothing or hands with their mouths. For the most part, everyone tries to help each other out with advice, separating dogs, reinforcing boundaries and rules, watching one dog if the owner has to attend to another dog, and just generally being great company. And all our dogs have good and bad days, and people are really good about calling it a day if their dog is acting out.

I am hopeful that Finn is just going through his adolescent phase a little late due to all the upheaval he experienced in his early life and that soon he will go back to being the super friendly, gentle giant that he's known as. I feel that we keep a close eye on his behaviour and are able to spot when he's about to get testy, and I know that we have a pretty good handle on his triggers. We just have to be patient and firm with him and put in a few extra hours of training.

They calm down around three years old, right...?

The boys are getting a baby sister!

This is Darla. She and her 5 brothers and sisters were born on December 17th, 2011 to a King Shepherd mama and a German Shepherd papa.

Despite being a dog lover all my life I've never had hands-on experience with a very young dog. My family had always adopted older dogs; at 11 months, Finley was the youngest pup I had ever brought home. We've still got a couple weeks before we bring Darla home to live with us and it's going to be a huge adjustment. We've been non-stop reading up on how to raise a puppy; in the process we're also learning some new things about how to care for Finn and Miko.

We're excited about adding a new pup to our lives. I mean, how can you resist this little face?!

More snow!

Andrew took advantage of Miko's afternoon nap and took Finn out for a long wander around the off-leash trail nearby. Best part of the snow so far? No joggers on the off-leash trail!

Snow!

Andrew brought the boys to the dog park yesterday to play in the snow. We needed Finn to burn off some energy before our dinner guests arrived. Andrew was able to get some awesome shots of the dogs, including a gorgeous face-on picture of Miko! I think this brings our total of good Miko pictures to about 4?

A good day was had by all :)

Sigh...

We need to remember to have the kitchen doors closed at all times...Finn ate half a container of honey...

Doin' some learnin'

Just finished reading two of Stanley Coren's dog books: Why Does my Dog Act that Way? and How to Speak Dog. Both were super interesting reads and now I'm obsessively analyzing both dogs' every ear twitch and tail wag. We still have so much work to do on training Finn and it's nice to have a better understanding of what he's saying and feeling.

Here he is feeling fat and sassy :)

Starting 2012 off right!

We recently discovered that Finn had learned how to open the cabinet where his food is kept and has been eating right out of the bag whenever he pleases. Now we know why his once-lovely waist has bulked up despite our attempts to adjust his meals and treats.

So, Finn's 2012 is starting off with a lot of exercise to get him back into shape! Andrew took him on a 1.5 hour bike ride this morning with a stop at the dog park. We're going to try to fit in a run each day (in addition to his regular walks/dog park visits), and go back to using vegetables and fruits as treats when working on training inside the house.

Nomming on a watermelon last summer