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Something about Sadie

Whats new with Sadie?

Aug 6,2006: It’s been ten days since Sadie came into my life. She’s been a joy to be around. She had her first bath on her third day with me. At first she was really fighting to not get into the tub. But once I bribed her in, (a lot of patience, love and a treat.) she did really well. I kept talking to her as I gave her the bath which seemed to calm her down a bit. Her second bath was 2 days later in which she did not give me a hard time she willingly got into the tub and took to the water. I kept praising her every time she would give me a paw to wash and let me scrub her down. She’s been eating really well and she’s being overplayed with to keep her tired and happy. She does great with training and has been easygoing. Sadie’s training has progressed very much, she is now working on ‘ Roll over ’ and ‘Spin’. Sadie’s willingness to keep eye contact with me is great and she has stopped ignoring me as much. But on occasion the puppy in her comes out.
I think with all of her little “Limit testing” she has been doing, she now knows what she can and can not get away with. I recently introduced her to new type of treats which though they are small they’re VERY tasty, so she is even more willing to have a training session. Sadie does not run around as much, she is much more calmer especially when we walk around, the only time she really pulls is when she REALLY has to go. So it’s only rare when she pulls hard. She is playful but I try to keep her energy low by playing with her a lot and working her a bit. I have started to do surprise training sessions to keep her on her toes and to not expect a training session at a set time. So every once in a while she’ll be laying down or doing something , then I’d call her and start a session. Beginning this week, Sadie will start agility training, which is jumping through hoops or over things and chasing, fetching and other fast games. I want to not only get her in shape, but condition her as well as get her ‘dog show’ ready.
Sadie needs to tighten up alittle bit, but also work her energy into something that will benefit her as she grows. Hence why I say ‘Dog Show’ ready. If I ever decide to put her in a dog show for agility I want her ready. I know she is intelligent enough to do it . She is a great pet and so happy and willing to do anything, as long as she get to play with you. I plan to take it slow at first until she is ready to speed up her routine. I know Sadie can do it, she is a smart little girl with a lot of energy, I have enough patience and love to deal with her. Plus she knows already that praising is a good thing, we’re set.

Getting to know... Sadie

Day 2: Sadie is the type of dog that is pretty energetic, she has been barking a lot and has been testing her limits. I have tried to ignore some of the things she has been doing, but the mother in me just has to stop her little fits and time her out. I’ve worked alittle more on ‘walk training’ today which did not work to well she still continues to try to walk ahead of me, but every time she does, I stop her give her a minute and then we continue to walk. I praise her for when she actually stays by my side and even give her a small treat. As for behavior training she has progressed. She is getting along with a few of the dogs we ran into today. She only gave a warning growl when one large dog came up to her and attempted to sniff her. So far no accidents. But I did notice that she has a bit of separation anxiety. She begins to whine a bit when I walk away from her or walk out of the room.

I talk to her as I leave the room just letting her know I am going to the bathroom or the kitchen to pick up something. She likes to jump onto the bed, which is a habit I am trying to break her of. Other than that, Sadie’s behavior is alittle bit calmer than yesterday. Sadie seems to be getting used to her environment. She still is hyper, but she seemed to ‘mellow out’ a bit more. I guess it can be because of the constant moving and activities I have her doing. She does get along with people, today she met my father who really likes her a lot, she played with him and just seemed to thrive in the attention. I guess she has changed alittle bit, as time goes on I think she’ll be okay.

The New Arrival- In my family

There I was patiently awaiting the arrival of Sadie. Sadie is my new dog, who I just adopted from the ASPCA. Little background on Sadie: Sadie is a 2 yr. old Eskimo Dog/Siberian Husky mix. Trust me when I say she is a ball of energy. Out of a few dogs, I chose Sadie because she seemed to appeal to me. (That and the first time I heard her name, I kept thinking back to an old song that goes : “Sadie Sadie, pretty baby”. Don’t ask..) Though she does have small problems (which can definitely be fixed), I believe that in some way I know I can help her and Trish who is the behavior manager at the ASPCA believes that I am the perfect match for her.. Her problems are small; which range from barking constantly, to resource guarding (aka: guarding her toys, food bowl etc.- if not careful you may received a nasty bite). So far I have not had any problems yet. So I will continue giving updates on Sadie as she continues to progress :

Sadie‘s First Day: The moment she was brought down and saw me, she literally ran up to me. I’m telling you it was one of those “ Oh my god!! I know her.” As Sadie and I said our “ hello’s ” a couple next to me coo’ed at the site of Sadie. As the ASPCA workers said their final goodbyes to Sadie, we began our journey home. As we walked together, I watched her body language, at first she was alittle jumpy and pulling. but after alittle while, she seemed to calm down and walk next to me. As we both turned the corner towards Petland, we ran into one of Sadie’s caretakers. She immediately saw Sadie and asked me about her. She seemed so happy that Sadie was finally adopted. I went all out on my little Sadie. I bought some treats, a couple of enrichment toys (which will keep her busy!!) and some tennis balls. She was behaving pretty well in the store.

Once Sadie and I were getting close to home, she seemed to loosen up a bit more. She climbed up the stairs with no problem and the first thing she did when she entered the house was “where’s my water?” I gave her some water and then let her explore the house (with my watchful eye right behind her.) She ran around the house a few times and then calmed down she did have a small ‘accident‘ but nothing that cant be cleaned. After about an hour at home, we immediately began training. I started off with ‘sit’ which she does pretty well, the same with ‘give five’ and ‘lay down’. I found out a behavior which she does (totally by accident). I lifted a treat and out of nowhere she stood up and ‘danced’. I immediately gave her a treat and praised her. We played ‘fetch’ which she has learned to drop one ball so I can throw another ball and retrieve the first ball. So far so good. I am going to continue working with her teaching her other new and exciting behaviors. I am also working on ‘Walk training’ which will teach her to walk by my side and to stop. Sadie takes vocal cues pretty well, she knows stop and wait. But when she’s determined to do something, that’s it. So far Sadie’s been a good girl and we are learning as we go along. Day one was great. I can only imagine what to expect on day 2.