Since it has been so long since my first post there is a lot to say! And I will most likely need to split it into two parts!
Jay has been with us for a whole week now and at first we didn't realize how puppy-ish she was! However, the one day we fostered Sid, we could see just how puppyish her face looked and we could see her doing the puppy paw trying to get Sid to play!
Jay is still a puppy, as she is only 9 months old, and as such has energy to burn and loves to play!
But she also loves to chew. We are currently spending time teaching her what is okay and what is not okay to chew on. She loves chewing on her toys, but will sometimes pick up things like socks, pens, and unfortunately our TV remote and will chew on them if they are left lying around. But we think this is just an effect of her puppy-ness as when she is ready for bed she doesn't even look at things to chew on - she just wants to cuddle and go to bed!
The chewing will die down with exercise, training, and time/age. The chewing is greatly reduced after she has gone for a short run (as she is still too young for a very long one).
Because of the chewing, we are crate training her! And while the crate is not her favourite place in the world, since she'd rather be with us, she will still relax and sleep in it and after only 2 days of crate training she only give one little mini-whine before settling down for a snooze!
Another after affect of puppy-hood and the chewing is that at times she can get a little mouthy. NOT in a "I want to bite you and hurt you" kind of way, but a "Hey your hands smell neat, play with me!" kind of way! She is very gentle and she only gets a bit mouthy if she starts getting excited, and a stern "No" is usually enough to tell her off, or a quick tug on her collar lets her no that hands are not for playing! She is already improving so much! She is a very smart cookie!
She loves treats, but she is not food or resource or toy possessive at all with humans! I can stick my hands right into her food and rub her nose while she's eating and she doesn't care at all! And as I mentioned before as well, with treats and toys she is very gentle when you give them to her. Her lips are like velvet and she very carefully goes and takes the treat. She does not jump for the treats, but may jump if you have a ball (her favourite kind of toy!) but again a good "No" does the trick!
When eating Jay takes her time and actually chews her food! Mostly I see dogs try to inhale theirs, but she will eat it all but will take a few minutes to do so instead of seconds! That is a great testament to how she does not resource guard around people because she seems to already know that we aren't there to steal from her and she knows she won't go hungry with people!
While Jay is still a puppy and is still learning to be the best dog she can be, she is very smart, and a quick learner and she has such wonderful potential!!
Such as on the walks!
She is a great walker! Rarely does the leash go tight!
She may decide to run towards a crow or squirrel but it is not unmanageable, and usually a tug on the leash and a "Jay, come!" does the trick :)
But she loves to run and will run right next to you! And she walks so nicely on the leash! And when passing people she will stick her nose out for a good sniff but is not rude about it! :)
When you first get out the leash she will do a bum/tail wag and then come and go to the door and look at you. We tell her to sit and she does so calmly, and clip on the leash.
We are using a Martingale Collar (with the little piece of chain) and a regular fabric 6' leash.
When you come home she is quite calm and there is no jumping or barking or anything! She just gives a little wag of her tail and waits by the door to be petted! She was already doing this on her own, so to reinforce it we would ignore her for the first few minutes of being home and then give her attention, so that she knows that attention is not given right at the door.
When we leave she is also quite calm when left alone in the house and usually naps. Though sometimes she sometimes gets into mischief, so now she is crated when we are out of the house, and as mentioned above is doing very well with that!
At nighttime she can either be crated or sleep with you, she is fine with both. But of course her preference is snuggling with the humans ;P She usually sleeps on the floor of my room and if she is being very good and calm I allow her onto my bed and she promptly curls up and puts her head over my legs and sighs and goes to sleep! She sometimes drops her head over the edge of the bed and sleeps like that! And once she even woke me up in the middle of the night because she fell off the bed xD She was looking up at me from the floor like "What happened?? How'd I get onto the floor?" and then she gave an "Oh well" look and curled up on the floor and went to sleep :P
In the mornings she is just the sweetest thing! It's like watching a young child waking up! I get up about 8am every morning and she is still sleeping! If she hears me wake up she will follow me to the bathroom and then head back to my room once im in there. And I usually come back to find her curled up on the end of my bed watching me!
When she gets off the bed she slinks off! Head and front paws first then keeps walking forward until her back legs fall off the bed with a thud! And she is so tired she takes a few steps and then just goes back to sleep :P Such a sweetie!
She is such a cuddler and such a sweetheart, that everyone she meets falls in love with her! Once she has had her walk she is content to just chew on a toy or lay down at your feet and nap! She loves belly scratches! And if you rub her right behind the ears she gives a big sigh and closes her eyes :D
She is such a lovely dog with an adorable personality!
Well I have to head out now, but I shall post a part two with a couple of pictures soon!
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