Bye-bye Teddy Bear

Sadly, we have decided that Teddy will do better in a foster home with more experience dealing with his issues (the list of issues has grown daily, and now includes 'play' biting when he doesn't get his way). We're really sad to see him go (well, except for Susan, who's never warmed up to him). He really did make a lot of progress while he was with us, but the play-biting thing was getting out of hand, and we didn't feel equipped to help him learn a better way to release anxiety. Here's one last picture of Teddy, on the very first day we had him. This is back when we had to bribe him with treats to come into the house:

Kennel Up!

Teddy has been making progress every day since he came to live with us! He has learned to sit and is well on his way to learning down, and loose leash walking. The biggest issue we have been dealing with is getting him to not nervous-pee whenever he's in his kennel. For some reason, being in the bare kennel w/ no blankets or towels is doing the trick. He even seems to like it! We're hoping to teach him to "kennel up" before too long, because dragging a 65-pound dog into a kennel every night is not my idea of a good time.

Introducing ... Teddy!

Teddy is our very first rescue dog through Second Chance rescue. He was picked up as a stray, so we don't have a lot of information about his background. He's about 5 years old and appears to be a lab / golden retriever mix. Our best guess is that he was kept outside in his prior home, as he has an extremely thick coat, is absolutely terrified of entering the house and isn't housebroken. He also seems to think that the cat is some sort of strange squirrel-like creature. :)

However, he has made fast friends with Bailey and has already learned to sit! He has a very sweet disposition and will make someone a great pet, once we can get him to walk through the front door...

Very Interesting ...

Here's a great article about how the brain perceives sounds differently coming from the right ear vs the left year. Maybe this explains why I never want to do what I'm told! :) 

In one ear... | News Cut | Minnesota Public Radio

One of the dogs is performing a wonderful sit / watch ... while the other has clearly discovered where mommy hides the treats during training sessions.

How To Make Dog Treats

This is a great recipe we just discovered for making homemade doggie treats. You can use all organic ingredients and still spend less than $1 for 40-50 treats ...

3/4 cup flour

1 egg

1 Tbs honey

1 tsp peanut butter (crunchy or smooth)

Heat honey and peanut butter until runny (about 30 seconds in the microwave). Mix ingredients together and drop by 1/2 teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for approx. 8 minutes.

It will look super dry before baking - you can add more honey and pb if you want, but you'll have to cook them longer.

When finished, they'll be about the size of a quarter and all toasty-looking.

And you will have some very very happy dogs!

The Murder Weapon

Just more evidence that the previous owner of our home had some very odd ideas ... it's a hand-held gardening tool that he taped to a long stick to avoid spending the $7.99 on a longer one. Of course, it's also a fabulous murder weapon if you're mad at your wife for making you help clean the garage!