Becoming the Pack Leader

It's been a slow start, but I'm on my second post! Hooray!

This past month has been an eye-opener for me.

My oldest pointer, Nellie, is fearful aggressive toward other dogs. Mike and I realized we need to take control and hopefully reverse this behavior.

It may sound silly to some, but I have been watching The Dog Whisperer for several years now and while I saw the logic in his methods, I couldn't seem to put them into practice. About a week ago I was watching an episode of The Dog Whisperer and everything just clicked.

Mike and I were not pack leaders. 

We had been going about our lives for the past 2 years thinking we were great dog owners, when in reality we were setting Nellie up to become fearful aggressive. She was naturally nervous from the start and we nurtured that instead of demonstrating trust and respect.

Now that we see our mistake, we are taking steps to reverse it. In the past 3 days I have seen dramatic transformation in both dogs. Most of which came from me feeling that I was in control. Before I was too soft and Nellie sensed that and took control. No more! As Cesar says: "Exercise, discipline then affection."

This weekend we have a dog visiting and instead of anticipating disaster, we are choosing to look at it as an opportunity to practice.

Why Not?

I was perusing Anne's blog over at Modern Mrs. Darcy and came across a link to a blog post titled Keep Writing from It Starts with Making Things Happen. It was a very encouraging post about why we should keep writing and not worry about all the reasons not to. I found this so inspiring for me as someone who constantly gives (myself) excuses not to write. I have trouble expressing my thoughts and feelings verbally and writing is a wonderful way for me to accomplish that; so enough with the excuses! I am going to make a valiant effort to write more and not worry about anything else.

There it is...in writing...so now I have to hold myself to it.

So today I will express my excitement for this upcoming Spring. February dragged on and we are finally into March and on the brink of Spring. I absolutely love Spring. It's a time of renewal and makes me feel good again.

With winter comes dry and itchy skin, too many clothes, illness and boredom. None of which, I'm sure goes without saying, are things to look forward to. Spring, though, is definitely something to look forward to. So that is what I am doing...patiently awaiting one of my favorite seasons.

I thought I also might share some of what I have been reading. I recently read Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and can I just say that I am a little obsessed. I loved it so much I watched the A & E mini series version and the 2005 version with Keira Knightly, the YouTube adaptation called \The Lizzie Bennet Diaries and began reading Death Comes to Pemberley by P. D. James which is a sequel of sorts to Pride and Prejudice. It's a murder mystery and I haven't been very impressed with it yet. The best part about Pride and Prejudice is the progression of Elizabeth and Darcy's relationship and Death Comes to Pemberley is mainly focused on the murder and the trial that follows. In my opinion, it is lacking in the interest department.

I also recently finished Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking.

This book totally gets me. Well I should say Susan Cain totally gets me or rather she has had similar experiences to mine making me realize I'm not as weird as a lot of people have thought I am in the past and present. It's completely normal for me to want my alone time and to prefer a good book over partying. I am not "lame" as some have chosen to label me. I just can't take too much stimulation, plus partying isn't much fun when the alcohol makes you feel like dying. So take that! My behavior is completely acceptable among introverts!

Next on the agenda...Mike and I have tickets to The Lion King at the Detroit Oprah House this Saturday. Jealous? How could you not be? Unless, of course, you have tickets too.

Oh, and since this blog started as a blog about our dogs...here's an update: They are caaaa-razy!

I shouldn't say that...they are doing much better now that they have matured out of puppy stage. I actually take them for a run every night now and they love it! I love it too. Exercise really makes a difference in my mood. Who knew?

Here they are:

Update

It's been a while since I posted due to school, working full time, planning a wedding and getting registered with the state to start an in home daycare. Now that I'm working part time and school is finally done so I have some spare time. Rocco and Nellie are doing well and Rocco is now 35 pounds to Nellie's 55 pounds. He is a sassy little guy and has been running away as fast as he can if we let him off the leash. Easter Sunday I chased him through my parents neighborhood in flip flops. At one point I lost the flip flops and ran barefoot through who knows what and ended up with a cut up foot. Thankfully, Rocco had his leash on and it got wrapped around a tree making it possible for me to catch up to him. The picture above right is after all of the Easter excitement. This week Nellie got into something that didn't sit well with her and she was sick all over her kennel. She was shaking and drooling too. I was worried because it looked like she may have eaten some berries so I called the vet and took her in. He looked at the sample I brought and said it was rabbit feces...ew. He gave her an injection to stop the vomiting and she stopped shaking within 10 minutes. Ahh the joys of pet ownership! Poor Nel.

Rocco snuggling with a sick Nellie

 I made her rest for the remainder of the evening and while she slept off her sickness I found a natural recipe for dog shampoo. I mixed Dr. Bronner's Castile Soap (about 1/4 C) with 2 T Apple Cider Vinegar and a little bit of warm water. I applied this to Rocco's wet coat and worked it into a lather. I probably could have used more since I was only able to cover his back and belly, plus he squirms a lot making it difficult to give him a thorough scrub down. It has an interesting smell, but I was told it wouldn't cause a wet dog smell and I found this to be true. Nellie seemed to like the smell too since she kept licking him. I like that it is natural for this reason too. Both Nellie and Rocco lick themselves and each other after a bath and I would rather they lick natural ingredients than chemicals that may harm them. Once Rocco's fur dried it seemed cleaner and thicker compared to using store bought pet shampoo. Supposedly the vinegar helps prevent fleas too, but I would like to research that further.

Nellie's Little Brother

About 2 weeks ago we brought home a new family member: Rocco. Rocco was 9 weeks old when we picked him up from his foster mom. We had been emailing back and forth in the weeks prior to meeting Rocco and I was anxious to take Nellie to meet the new pup. We drove an for almost 2 hours in poor driving conditions to Grass Lake, MI. When we arrived we were greeted by the foster mom and she lead us to where the pups were kept. There were 2 German Short haired Pointers left from the litter and a mixed breed puppy together in the kennel. The mixed breed was named Pooka and she was feisty! She was the only one of the three pups that seemed interested in us and Nellie. I was thinking, "I'm going to have to adopt Pooka!" Eventually Rocco warmed up to us and became more curious about Nellie. The other GSP was not the least bit interested so we decided on Rocco. We signed the papers and we were off with our new pup who slept in my lap the whole ride home. Once we got him home he was pretty nervous and skiddish around Nellie. My family came over and a few friends that night and within a couple of hours Nellie and Rocco were playing tug-o-war together. 

Nellie

Rocco

Rocco being more interested in us than the other GSP was not the only reason that I, personally, wanted him. He was small and thin compared to his litter mate and he reminded me of Nellie as a pup. Nellie was the runt of her litter and she was very small and thin. We like the runts I guess! He has grown so much in the past 2 weeks too.

Nellie and Rocco seem to have adjusted well to each other. They like to snuggle at night and play together all day. Nellie gets very nervous and searches for Rocco when she can't find him. Its quite adorable. Mike and Rocco seem to enjoy each other too...

Little Nellie

Hello! I'm Jess and this blog is to share pictures and stories about my German Short-haired Pointer, Nellie.My fiance, Mike and I got Nellie from a breeder in May 2011. She is 10 months old now and she keeps us busy! She is very energetic and will run around the yard stalking squirrels all day! I wanted to start by sharing some pictures we have taken since she came to our house...

Nellie's 1st Week:

Nellie was a nervous pup...

Good sitting

In her new kennel