Hi from North Georgia

moweeks

New Member
Hi All!

I live just north of Atlanta; it is creeping closer every day! I have had a dog (or two or three) for most of my lifetime. I currently have three dogs and two cats.

My dogs:

The Huskies – Fairly well behaved but not really out and about kind of dogs.

Luka :dogunsure:– 14 years old – 50 pounds – Husky Mix – Cinnamon with pink nose and golden eyes. Luka is a shy old lady in the twilight of her life. Luka is declining but I am pampering her as much as I can.

Cyber :dogwacko:– 11 years old – 45 pounds – Siberian Husky – Classic Black and White with Ice Blue Eyes. Cyber is a true Drama Queen who loves to run and hates to be restrained.

And the Baby Boy Light of My Life ~

Buddy BoJangles:dogtongue2: – 20 months – 110 pounds – Labrador Retriever – Yellow with Dudley (Pink) Nose and Golden Eyes. Buddy is the first dog I have ever purchased, a registered AKC dude. I had an elderly adopted lab before who was so sweet and well behaved. I knew I wanted another one, and one that I could raise from the beginning with the goal of becoming certified for Visitation Therapy at nursing homes and hospitals. I picked Buddy up at the tender age of six weeks and he has been with me 24/7 since then.

He goes everywhere with me. He is very well socialized and has been exposed to every type of noise, crowd, scent, animal, building, and machinery that I can get him next to. We have been camping in Florida where he rode in the boat down the river with us several days and next week we are going canoeing on the Hooch, weather permitting. We recently drove a friend cross-country to Oregon and came back by ourselves and it was a truly wonderful trip. I think my husband and son missed Buddy more than me during the 5 weeks we were gone!

Buddy is very smart and picks up “tricks” pretty easily once I find the way to make him understand what I want from him. He follows verbal and hand commands. So far he does the following:

Obedience Commands – Come, Sit, Down, Stay, Heel, Sit Front, Sit Heel, Off, Up, In, Bed (Go to your bed and wait there)

Trick Commands –
Jump (He jumps up but not ON anyone)
Crawl
Balance (Treat or Toy On Nose, Catch when released)
Peek-A-Boo – Goes around me and comes through my legs and sits
High Five
Shake Hands
Back Up
Side – He lays on side with head down
Race –1 2 3 Go! And he races for treat or toy
Ferocious – Barks Aggressively on Command

Other tricks I want to teach him and am working on:

Wearing hats and costumes
Playing Dead (See Side above but with eyes closed and no movement)
Jumping through a hoop
Roll Over
Ride Em Cowboy! Where he is between my legs and we pretend he is a horse and as I jump forward he moves forward so it looks as though I am riding him.

And anything else that comes to mind that will amuse and entertain those we go to visit.

We have tested once for our Therapy Dog certification but he was too eager to greet the other dogs when we were in the crowd portion of the test and I had to hold him back. He obeyed and got himself under control, but he never should have pulled against the leash to begin with. We are still working on that. For his age though, he is doing amazingly well.

We love going to the lake and playing fetch with WATER! Fetch is always good but add WATER and it is heaven!

I also have two cats. KitKat is 5 years old and a female version of Garfield. Grumpy, Growly, and prefers to NOT be petted except in the dead of night when she can rub on your hand and pretend not to be affectionate. And her complete opposite, Josie, who is so affectionate and laid back I might turn her into a Therapy Cat. Josie walks on a leash when she has to go to the vet’s office. Josie is about a year old. Both of them are adopted strays that came here on their own and decided to stay.

I am lucky enough to have a job I can telecommute to approximately 95% of the time. When I do go to the office, Buddy goes with me or visits a friend who lives near there.

I look forward to learning about all of you and sharing and learning training tips with the community here.

Mo:msngrin:
 
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