Runnin' with the Big Dogs!

Today we met Otto and his family at the Heritage Park for some off leash playing.  Piston and Otto have had a number of play sessions...and quite a few sleep over parties!  But this was Hemi's first intro to the high energy goofball that is Otto.  She was a tad bit reserved to start off with - can't blame her!  Otto is a bit intense...but, soon enough she was comfortable enough to run up to the big boys while they were wrestling and gave them a piece of her mind!

"I'm coming too!"

"Wait for meee!!"

  

"Hey!  You two place nice!"

Followed the boys right into the Creek too for a little swim :)

I think my favourite part was testing out her Recall!  Our little chow hound proved she'd do just about anything for a piece of kibble!!  We started off with the "restrained recall"...David was in the park already with Hemi and I walked out with Piston to meet Otto and family.  As we were coming back, Hemi caught sight of us and got excited, so David unleashed her but held her back until I called her to "c'mere!"  She took off like a little rocket across the field.  So of course she got a nice jackpot of treats! :)

Later on, the boys started to head off around one of the buildings in the park with Hemi trying to follow.  Called her name and couldn't believe my eyes as she turned right around and came running back as quick as could be!  Amazing!!  This little girl is sooo different than Piston and we couldn't be enjoying her any more :)

Here's a video showing off one of her recalls - despite Otto getting in the way, she still returned happily and got a great big reward!

Early training

We've started working obedience commands with Hemi.  She is such a a total chow hound so her focus has been fantastic!  It is such a change from Piston who is not motivated by food (or toys) at all!  She is going to be a blast to work with :)   You pull out the kibble and nothing will break her attention from you.  Not only that...but what a fantastic recall she has already!  and we plan to keep it that way :)

We are trying very hard to follow Michael Ellis's training practices.  You can see the 7 part lecture posted on the Leerburg website - click this link.  You can also do some searches on YouTube.com to find a lot of training discussions by Michael.

"Here I come!"

What a good sit Hemi!

Piston thought he better get involved, Hemi seemed to be having too much fun!

Conehead!

"What's a conehead?"

Homecoming 2010 - 10 Weeks Old

This was our 2nd Homecoming and what a difference with 2 dogs!!  Last year we felt too busy to chat with people because we signed up for nearly every seminar...so this year we cut down on what we attended, but with showing 2 dogs it felt like we were always going - often in different directions!  The long weekend disappeared quick...but what a great time it was!  It is always so much fun to catch up with old friends and even make some new ones!

Oh, so about the shows....Hemi did wonderful!  Despite her confusing the show ring for a wrestling ring setup for her to tackle her littermates, Trajan and Diva!  She was ready to play, and play hard!  After each show in the ring, she was happy to climb under the nearest chair with someone on it and pass out....until....DING Round 2!

On Friday she took Best of Breed and then happily lost to Riverpack's handsome Jack in Best in Show.

Friday's ribbons with Judge Lisa Barber and David

On Saturday, at the National Specialty she took Best of Opposite - loosing to her handsome brother Trajan.

Saturday's trophys and rosettes with Judge Carol Brown and David

On Sunday during the weekend's second Specialty show, Hemi took Best of Opposite once again to Trajan.

I don't have a photo yet of Hemi with the judge and rosettes,
so I'm hoping someone will post and share :)

To see the rest of our Homecoming photos, check out the our gallery:

Visit to the pool on a hot day!

Temperatures this summer have been ridiculously hot for Canada!  So today we decided to pull out the pool and introduce Hemi to it.  Piston of course LOVES the pool and wouldn't even wait until it was full before climbing in and laying down....Hemi however didn't seem to interested.  We tossed in a bunch of toys trying to lure her in....

"Now how am I supposed to get those...?"

"Hey you!  Gimme those toys!"

"Boy...she's bossy!"

"Maybe I can climb on him to get them..."

Piston demonstrating what you do after being in the pool....
Run around the yard at full tilt to get nice and muddy before getting back in

Yup...you don't have to get IN the pool to get wet...
just stand close to Piston when he gets out!!

"I got a bone...I'm happy"

9 Weeks Old!

Also at 9 weeks, Hemi figured out how to get Piston to play with her...

Slept the Whole Night Through

Last night was the first night that Hemi slept the whole night!  Hoooray!  No more middle of the night pottie breaks!  It'll only get better from here! :)

...and some of the day too!

Hemi vs Hippo

Hemi LOVES toys!  She chews them, chases them, shakes them, and brings them back!  Piston was never one for toys, so nearly all the toys we bought for him 2 years ago are still intact.  I'm not sure they will last with Hemi tho! :)

Hemi at 8.5 weeks old

Piston with the same hippo at 11 weeks old :)

Jail Break!!

So...the second day we put Hemi behind bars, she decided had enough and decided to make a break for it!

She's been tall enough that if she stood up she could put her paws over the top edge and hold on.  While doing a little dance to get some attention, she managed to get a toe in the hole and then up and over she went.

Naturally we thought we'd try raising the gate so it was just high enough that she couldn't fit her head underneath.  Hoping that maybe we'd still be able to use the gate...

We put her in, stepped back and grabbed the camera...and sure enough, over she went again!

New Home

Today Hemi got to spend the day getting to know her new pack-mate Piston.  She's excited to play with the big dog....Piston however figures she has "cooties" and for the most part is keeping his distance.  He did let his guard down a wee bit and let us get some photos of them interacting :)

"Hi! I'm Hemi...who are you??"

"Good, she stopped moving..maybe now I can sniff!"

Piston was so gentle and would just hold on letting Hemi doing all the hard work

Nap time again

8 Weeks Old

On Hemi's 8 week old birthday she traveled from Kalamazoo, MI to Filmore, NY to have her LER (Litter Evaluation Report) done.  She was happy, happy and showed no fear...but also demonstrated her stubborness and lack of submission.  She's also demonstrated how to be a bit of a drama queen!  She enjoyed the ball and the tug...and decided to take a shortcut over the side of the maze.  ;)

Arriving to the test with her Twin (Hemi's in Green)

Watching intently for her turn

Gettin' that tug!

Not so keen on holding still...but really wanted the treat!

Last snooze with the siblings after a busy day