Crazy summer!

It has been way too long since my last update. Neumann is now almost 10 months old! His agility training is progressing nicely, contacts coming along, some jump training started and weave poles too. His big summer adventure was spending 5 days with his Auntie Suzie and Uncle Gary while I went to MN to attend my brothers wedding reception. He loves spending time with his bff Lillee but even more so this time as he got to go to Camp Dream Lake in northern WI. I think his pictures tell the story of what he did on his trip.

Next week, he is off on another adventure. First, he will ride the SS Badger with his sister Starr across Lake Michigan to Luddington, MI. From there we will drive to Grand Rapids, MI to make a pick up and then head east to St. Johnsville, NY for 5 days on Hawks Hunt Farm. I wonder what he will think of all the farm animals....pictures to follow...

Now 7 months

Neumann celebrated his 7 month birthday on Monday with his first run in the agility fenced in area. He loved running free and I was pleased with his check ins and response to being called. We even got in a bit of agility training. Still working on his end position, he knows it, but I just don't love it enough to name it just yet. Sit stay is getting better little by little. He loves the tunnels. Last night, he surprised me by jumping on the full height teeter and banging it to the ground! Guess he is not afraid of that anymore!

Almost 7 months

On Monday, Neumann celebrates his 7 month birthday. He is now 15 inches tall and weighs about 17 lbs. He is currently stuffing toys into my couch and then digging to remove them. What fun!

Can't tell you what a difference I have seen in Neumann since I had his tooth fixed. I did like the fact that he didn't chew on anything and that he took treats gently. Not so much anymore! I can tell that he is no longer feeling any pain associated with his tooth. He even chewed his harness the other night! Thank goodnees for the Lupine chew guarantee.

On Saturday the agility equipment is moved outside for the summer. A new challenge for Neumann with many more distractions. I am so looking forward to letting him run in the fence and have a good time. He is looking forward to his next play date with his girlfriend Lillee!

Time for Neumann to go to bed, still digging in the couch.

Way too long...

It has been way too long since my last post! Neumann is now almost 7 months. He is growing like a week! About three weeks ago, I had my other dogs to the vet and had the vet also look at Neumann's teeth. For some reason, his lower canine didn't push out far enough at it was hitting on the roof of his mouth making a hole next to his upper canine. So, off to a veterinary dentist. We decided that braces were out with a $4000-$5000 price tag and not so much fun for Neumann. I left him at the vet that day and the following day he had a crown reduction with vital pulpotomy. Basically they clipped the canine and then put a crown on it. I had hoped for a gold crown but it is just white and you can hardly see it. For $1500 you should be able to see it! So, he is a much happier boy now, takes his treats like a shark and has much more energy all around! His contact training is coming along, he has a release word and the beginnings of a stay. He loves tunnels and slamming the teeter totter board! He is going to be very fast! He barked at me for the first time last night while he was running.

Off to class for Neumann and I. More later

Almost 5 months

Well, I will be 5 months old in a few days. I am growing like a weed and I am almost as big as my big brother Skye. He came to visit today and we played together. He really does like me.
Another bath this weekend with more gromming. My ears are glued again and I lost my first canine tooth on Saturday. I am excited to be heading to Ohio this weekend....my first road trip!

I can hear again!

After almost three weeks, my ears were unglued tonight! Everything sounds so much louder now....shhhh....I can hear everything you say. I sure hope they can stay unglued forever. I really don't like it very much.

I walked over this really big narrow long thing last night. I think my mom called it a dog walk. I ran right up it and down....piece of cake. I am not shy anymore! After class I got to play with my best girl Lillee the welsh terrier. She thinks she is in charge, but I know otherwise. She likes to chew on my neck and her mom called it exfoliating. It feels better than having my hair pulled out. Maybe Lillee can help me with my grooming.

Can't wait to see Lillee again on Sunday.

The training continues...

Neumann'g big boy teeth are coming in nicely. Hopefully by the end of the week they will be in all the way.

He is finally getting the hang of down and now he does that for everything. He has this cute way of putting his head down and looking up with those brown eyes so sad. I will have to catch that with the camera.

His end position training is going very well. He showed off for the agility class the other night. He is starting to reach back for the perch and aframe and now releases with his verbal release of "break". I have been adding more excitement to it and he is really enjoying this game of getting on the perch and releasing from it. I will try to get some video next week and post it.

Nothing else new to report, shhh Neumann is sleeping zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.......

I lost my first tooth!

On Sunday I lost my very first tooth. It was one of my little front bottom teeth. Today, I lost another bottom front tooth and one on the top. No sign of my new big teeth just yet!

Happy Valentine's Day

Today, Neumann had his vet appointment for his final puppy shot and his rabies shot. He took it like a pro, didn't even flinch! He now weighs 13lbs. He is growing fast and has really started to chew on everything. Those big boy teeth are getting ready to come in! He was able to sit still long enough for his first official photo shoot. Enjoy his first Valentine's Day photos!

Not too big just yet!

Well, I am at school working late tonight with parent teacher conferences. I have no conferences so I am doing this instead. I went home over lunch to let the dogs up and to pick up Neumann. He is here with me at school hanging out in his Sherpa bag. It is a large Sherpa and he still fits in it! I am hoping he won't get too big and outgrown it. Sure would be nice to travel with him someday via airplane in cabin rather than going in cargo. He is busy chewing on a rawhide and every now and then he lets me know he is still alive with a little whimper. He really is a good boy.



Last night he did his very first aframe! It was lowered since it was the first time the Pre-Agility class was to do it. He took one look at it and barreled on up it! Not a problem. He is certainly gaining more and more confidence!



On Saturday, 2/7 don't forget to tune in and watch the AKC Invitational on Animal Planet. I think it is on at 7pm. Watch for me in the audience, we were taped quite a bit before the dogs started running. On a sad note, one of the dogs running in the 16 inch class, a border collie, recently died. She was only 5 years old. Hopefully Buck the 24 inch jumping golden will get some air time. Buck is from WI and took 4th place last year. Buck was recently diagnosed with mass cell cancer and was given 3-6 weeks to live. We all have to remember that we are living with our dogs on borrowed time.

Also, don't forget to watch the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. It will be on Monday and Tuesday. Check your local listings for channels and times.

That is all for now!

I am a big boy now!

Today, I spent the morning stripping Neumann. It is amazing how much hair he has! Hopefully his new hard wire coat will be coming in soon. He is starting to look like a big boy already!
He attended his first birthday party today. It was his big brother Skye's 13 birthday. He didn't pose for the picture with all the other dogs but he did briefly wear a hat. We also witnessed his first official leg lift today.

What have I learned?

This week I began teaching Neumann a few new skills. So far he can sit, remain in a sit until released, he can touch my hand with his nose, he knows his name, comes when called, plays appropriate tug games, plays chase me games, will follow me in my training building, walks over the contact trainer, walks over the buja board, and will stand on the perch in his two on two off position. He has walked through a tunnel and chute barrel on his own without me asking him to do it. He plays well with others, he seems to especially like big dogs. He best friend is little Lillee the welsh terrier. It won't be long and Neumann will be bigger than her. Look out Lillee!!

His confidence continues to grow and his shyness is no longer apparent. I may be creating a monster!! His little boy hormones are kicking in and I did see him lift his leg at the end of a potty the other night. I am hoping he just lost his balance.

More soon....

"P" is for puppy

Tuesday, Nemann was an invited guest for the kindergarten classes at one of the schools where I teach. They were celebrating "P" week so what better than a puppy! Other than being extremely cute, Neumann really doesn't have many tricks just yet. He demonstrated his sit and a pretty cute nose touch to my hand. With the kids in a circle, he went from child to child saying "Hi" and then deciding he had enough and jumped out of the circle. Starr showed them all her tricks and did some human agility with the kids as they made jumps for her. It was pretty tiring for him and he needed a nap when they left.

He also met one of the 5th grade classes. Same senario, this time he stayed in the circle and was especially friendly to one child. Neumann jumped up on him and began licking him in the face, he came back to this say child over and over. I wondered why and later it dawned on me that this particular boy was handicapped. Maybe Neumann wants to be a therapy dog someday.

Neumann thinks kids are pretty fun, lets hope it stays that way!!

His first agility trial

Today, Neumann attended his first agility trial. There was much to see and hear. He liked watching all the dogs running the course, especially when they went through the chute. He also thought the banging of the teeter was cool! He even barked a few times at it. He certainly was teh cutest puppy at the show today and was passed around and held by many. This afternoon, he was so tired and everyone laughed at his display of teeth. I had hope to bring home a tired puppy, but he slept all the way home and is now rip roaring ready to go!

First day home alone

I was very nervous about leaving Neumann home alone today when I went to work. I really wanted to bring him to work with me, but my schedule was way to crazy today due to missing two days of school last week. I would have gotten nothing done and played with him all day! So I loaded up his treat ball with his breakfast, gave him a frozen bone filled with food, and many toys to entertain him during the day. He had an ex pen full of stuff to keep himself occupied all day. I expected to return to find a messy puppy but to my surprise, he had used his pee pad several times during the day and waiting until I got home to go poop. What a good boy he is!
Tonight he came to the training building with me to explore and to do some training. He is certainly a bit timid, but once he gets it, he has got it! We worked on front feet on the perch, then all feet on, walking over it and then for the big finale, sitting on it. No problems there! Next, walking over the lowered contact trainer. He was hesitent to approach but eventually came and put his front feet on it, I could see in his little eyes that he really wanted to do it! At one point he backed himself up and then ran as hard as he could about half way up. He munched a few treats and then walked back down the same side he ran up. Pretty brave for a little guy! He really likes to chase the little tennis balls and tonight he picked up and carried a big ball. Then he had play time with big sister Starr. He was growling and barking at her, very cute considering how small he is compared to her! His confidence is building...

Neumann is home!

Suzie, Lillie(welsh terrier), Maggie Mae(welsh terrier) and myself made the trip to Toledo, OH on Friday. Neumann's mom, Becky drove up from TN on Thursday with the three puppies and their half brother. She brought Neumann to the hotel on Saturday morning. He enjoyed exploring the room after he warmed up, and then took a nice long pee on a pad and then followed up with a nice big poop! It was time to hit the road as it was snowing quite a bit. Slow going for about 90 minutes but as soon as we hit IN it cleared. Stopped a few times for potty breaks and arrived at Sue Shannon's house in Saukeville, WI around 4:30. Neumann got to run around their heated garage, take a nice long pee, play with Lillie and Cody(welsh terrier) and then another poop. He met Skye and Starr at my parents and then one more car ride to my house. He settled in nicely, exploring every nook and cranny, learning it is not a good idea to jump on Starr's back and figuring out that with a running start he could jump up onto the couch! He slept throught the night and it all starts again. Maggie and Neumann are now playbowing back and forth with each other in the kitchen through the ex pen. I think Maggie likes him, but everytime I go to watch her play with him, she stops. Will try to get that on video. More later...

Puppy Proofing

Today, I spent the day puppy-proofing my house. All the welsh, wire and airedale terrier stuffies are now above the high terrier line. I pray that my antique furniture with wooden legs will not become his favorite chew toys. Hopefully he will much rather like all the stuffed and raw bones I have waiting for him in the freezer. His crate is ready for him in the living room and space has been made in the kitchen for his ex-pen. Work began yesterday on a sturdy gate that will be installed between the kitchen and living room. There are many layers of security in place. Let the countdown begin, 6 days until the arrival of Neumann....

The following is a link to a picture of Neuman's daddy:
http://www.strozzavolpe.eu/past/mrfantastic.html

1/3/09 The phone call....

What at first seemed like an innocent phone call from someone in TN, turned into an offer that was hard to refuse. "I have this puppy that needs to go to a performance home, would you like to take him?" asked the voice on the phone. The puppy is a male, ginger, natural tailed wire fox terrier. Exactly what I would be looking for when the time came, but this was not the time, or was it? I had to think about it but I knew deep down inside that I would be taking this puppy. Another phone call to a friend tells me that I would be crazy not to take him. Afterall, he was exactly what I wanted. The pictures of him came via email making it even harder to say no. I weighed the pros and cons and decided to take him. What to call him? I had long ago decided that my next puppy would be a wire fox and that I would call him Neumann. So, it looks like little Neumann will be arriving earlier than planned. The trip to pick him up in Toledo, OH is scheduled for 1/16/09. Keep your fingers crossed that we have good driving weather! What will the rest of the dogs think? So, until he comes home, I will be busy puppy-proofing my house. It has been 9 years since I have had a puppy, should be fun. To be continued.....