Libby knows

Training Libby has been challenging and delightful - all at the same time. She's the most Beta dog I have ever worked with! She is SO eager to please whatever I say, I think she get's confused when trying to get her to do multiple commands back to back... Individually, she knows them all like the back of her paw, but won't do them easily when used together. Sit & lay down are an example - I had previously been able to teach dogs the difference and get them to sit from any position - even laying down. Libby only likes to sit if she is standing. If she is already laying down - forget it... :-)

It's cute - really. And getting her to "stay" in any place other than the crate is also been challenging - now, she will stay in the crate with the door open - in fact, I know she likes it there and she's VERY comfortable in it.

Forget all the tricks - Libby is a smart dog and I know Cpl D will have her doing all kinds of crazy tricks one day!

Libby's personality is very, very sweet. She has a lot of manners! She will try to stay close to me, but will always move out of the way - I never have to ask her to "move". She's also very dependable and catches on quick. She knows now when I get in my chair in the late evening just before going to bed, she is welcome to come sit in my lap, but she never comes up unsolicited! She waits till I call her or tell her it's "OK". Then, right up she comes. She also will give "kisses" - again, not unsolicited... When you ask her for some, you get some... it's really very cute.

When she gets up in the morning, she has to stretch. She will use the floor if I'm "busy", but if I'm near her, she will want me to tap my legs so she can use me - again, it's like she asks first... And when I get home after not seeing her for a few hours (or in the case of last weekend a few days) she doesn't jump up unless I let her know she can. All she wants to do is please whomever is near her.

Sometimes we will sit outside and she loves to watch the squirrel. She doesn't try to bolt after them - just watches. Then, when I talk to her about them, she just wags her tail in excitement. When she wakes up, I ask her if she was dreaming about catching one of those squirrel and she gets all excited.

 I'm going to make the post a little longer since I haven't posted in a few days - I took a short trip to FL to go fishing with my boys.


Anyway, Libby is up to date on all her shots and had a clean bill of health straight out of the shelter. I have also checked her over pretty good and she looks great. She still weighs 19.2 lbs so I'm pretty happy with that. Her ideal weight would be about 1-2 lbs more.

She will need a rabies update and I hope to get that this week - along with a few other treats for her and Cpl D - like a green harness and leash! :-)

Pam had Libby for the weekend and she really did great with the grandkids! She was obviously nervous at first around little people - and she seems to still be that way when we walk her on the walking path - she will try to get as far away from them as possible... Adults she will all but ignore - and other dogs, well, she can take 'em or leave 'em. If she is introduced, she remains calm even if the other dog goes wacko.

Well, it's off for a walk tonight - oh, that's another thing - Libby will walk in the dark, but she certainly prefers the daylight. :-)

The breed

I've been trying to figure out what breed Libby is and the closest match I could find is the:
Italian Greyhound
There is a very good description below which matches Libby very well (all except the small children part).
http://dogtime.com/dog-breeds/italian-greyhound#personality

Libby had another great day yesterday! We did a little training session with the "Stay" command. It's obvious she doesn't know this one... :-)

She loves to follow me around the house and always wants to be close - at least where she can see me. If I move, she moves.. so the "stay" command is very difficult for her to follow - but she will get it soon because she is extremely smart - and LOVES her treats! :-)

She knows the command "Time for bed" now and will go to her bed when we start going to the bedroom... She won't go into the room unless we go too... She also seems to like her food, but she's not eating very well just yet - small bits here and there. I think this is OK and I'm not very concerned at this point. She's still adjusting to her new environment without her sister.

A couple more things - Libby will not got on the furniture unsolicited, but I can call her up in my lap and she will snuggle and cuddle - and even give "kisses" briefly when she first gets comfortable - it's really very sweet!

Libby is going to be a perfect companion dog - I'm very confident of that and I cannot wait to introduce her to Cpl D! She likes when I talk to her ask her questions.

She get very excited when I tell her it's time for a walk and will sit down before tethering.

I did trim her nails a bit yesterday - she's only a little uncomfortable with that. She allowed me to do most of them, but there were a few I didn't get - we will try to do the rest today... I just didn't want to try and "push" it with her.

That's all I can think of at the moment. Libby is a great name and she responds very well to it - almost like she likes it too... :-)

Bath time

Had a great day with Libby today!

Spent a better part of the day with the grandchildren - it's obvious that Libby will tolerate smaller people, but had no interest in being in the middle of things. This behavior is fine with me as Cpl D has no small children in the home and I don't see this as an issue even on family visits where small children may be present. Libby is fine as long as she is left alone and even if she is "chased" a bit, she was never aggressive took the avoidance approach.

I gave Libby a bath tonight and again, it was  perfect. She was very relaxed except for the initial placement into the tub. The water was not more than 6 inches deep, but for some reason, Libby thought she was going to have to "swim for it". After she realized she could stand at ease, she did that for almost the entire process. She shook 2 or 3 times when I washed her head, but that is not unusual or unexpected. And she just got the water away from her ears - it wasn't an entire body shake.

All in all, she's really a very sweet dog. She did jump straight up on my king size bed which is elevated more that most - that was surprising, but I immediately instructed her to "get down" and she complied. I'm not sure if she was just so excited to be clean or what.

She was scratching around her neck/collar area 5-6 times a day before the bath and that in itself is not necessarily unusual, but could be a sign. Since the bath, I've noticed she is much more comfortable.

Here are  a few recent pictures...

We took Libby to the park on Sat and I was very impressed with her agility! Agility training is not part of the PFV program, but I am certain that Libby would do very well!

I will continue to work with her as I get the opportunities.

As for the jumping on the bed, it was the first time I had witnessed unsolicited jumping on furniture - this is something I will work on.

So far, Libby has mastered the following -

Sit, Stay, Lay Down, Sit for tether/untether, walk behind on entry/exit, the walk (right side), come here, and  she also will give "kisses" when you invite her into your lap.

I'd say it has been a pretty productive weekend! :-)

I'm excited to deliver Libby before expected. I'm not committing to a date/time, but I'm sure it will be less than the typical 6-8 weeks.

Libby is an exceptional dog for an exceptional veteran. I cannot wait for them to finally meet.

Got the goods

So I went shopping for Libby. I guess I need to say that Cpl D renamed Dora to Libby, I think Libby is a much better name! And she likes it already!

For Libby, we picked up the following items:

Crate, Bed, elevated bowl set, food, a couple toys (rope, play toy and balls), nail clippers, & treats. She already had a collar and I had a spare leash, but I'm going to get a green harness and leash because that is Cpl D's favorite color!

Libby slept very well last night and had a great day with us today! She's already mastered the walk and loves to sit with me in my chair! She is so sweet! She met my grandchildren at the park and it was obvious that she is skittish around small children - that's OK though. She let them all pet her, but was very nervous. No sign of aggression though.

Libby also had some steak tonight - I think she really liked that treat!

Good night. Another post tomorrow with some updated pics.

Adoption Day!

It's finally here - yes, I was able to find and adopt a dog for Cpl D! I'm so excited - I just couldn't help myself and I had to call her - even before I picked up - Dora.

Here's a few pics.

Here's a link to her PetFinder Profile
https://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/29072111/

And here she is at her new home - but for only a short time. Can't wait now to work with her and get her ready to meet Cpl D!

I'm so excited - and I know someone else who is also... :-)

I'm off to the store to get all the fixin's she needs... I'll post when I get back.