Sway - ADOPTED!!!

**CONGRATUALTIONS TO THE KNUTSON FAMILY ON THE ADOPTION OF THIS BEAUTIFUL GIRL** (update from the Knutson's posted at the bottom)

3/2/09 Today I welcomed a new foster dog into our home. She is a Red and White female Aussie/Lab (?) mix with beautiful crystal blue eyes and long thick lucious tail. She is approx. 8 months old and around 50 pounds. And so far seems to be house trained!!! YEAH!!! She came to me with no name and after some thought and play, we have decided to call her Sway after Angelina Jolies character in "Gone in 60 Seconds".

The only thing I really know about her past is that she was brought here from an impound lot in Iowa today.

Even though I have only had her for 2 hours she has already learned to come and sit. The stairs were a new thing for her and it took some coaxing, but she finally came down them and explored the basement. It's nice to have a dog that is so treat motivated. You can teach her anything very quickly. She also figured out what the kennel was and doesn't seem to have a problem with it, so we'll see what it's like when we all try to go bed tonight.

Mike and I decided to take Sway and Cache into the back yard and throw a few discs around. Cache was too pre-occupied to really play disc, but Sway seemed to catch on to the game pretty quick. She even brought it back to me 3 times! She's a quick little girl, running circles around Cache with ease! I hate to say it, but I might be falling for this one =)

3/3/09 Today I gave Sway a much needed bath. She was a perfect angel for the whole thing! Drank some water as it came out of the faucet, kept trying to give me kisses as I was scrubbing her down, and kept wagging her soaking wet tail and getting water all over me and the rest of the bathroom =) But I am very happy to say that she no longer stinks!!! Even though the bathroom looks like a huricane came through it.

She has apparently associated the garage with the outside and has gone to the bathroom a few times in there. I think it's going to take a few reminders/corrections to break her of this habit but I have faith that she will learn this as well.

Last night she was good in the kennel, whined off and on for a few minutes, but finally layed down to go to sleep. As soon as the alarm went off this morning, she was whining and barking to go out. No messes in the kennel last night and ran to the door to go outside. What a good girl.

Sway will be joining us at our Disc Dog Class on Sundays until she is adopted. I think she is going to have a lot of fun learning this great sport, and chasing some rollers!

3/4/09 Today started with a quick potty break and then snuggling with us on the bed until it was time for her foster Dad to get ready for work. Sway is big time snuggler and as long as you are touching her she will gladly stay with you watching TV and relaxing on the bed.

After Mike was off to work I took Sway for a quick walk down the street and back. She did pretty good for a puppy who doesn't have any basic training. We got back home just in time for Nancy to pick her up and take her to the vet to be spayed.

Sway got back from the vet around 5pm today. She walked in extremely tired, laid her head in my hands and closed her eyes. She has been laying in the kennel quietly ever since she got back but managed to wage her tail and give me a little kiss when I crawled in to check on her just a few minutes ago. She will be on kennel rest for the next day or so and on pain meds for the next 4 days. It's going to be tough keeping her calm once the drugs are out of her system, but I expect that she will recover quickly and be back to her normal happy puppy self in no time.

Here's a quick pic of her right after she got back from the vet. She didn't even open her eye's when I opened the door to the kennel. Poor thing, she's had a rough day today.

3/5/09 Well Sway is feeling much more like herself today. The morning started out with a bathroom break, a little breakfast, and then before I could stop her, up on the bed to snuggle again! Only problem with this is that she isn't suppose to be jumping up on furniture for at least a week!! Like I said, earlier, she's going to be a tough one to keep calm =)

Just a few quick side notes:
1) while watching TV this morning a Cat appeared onscreen and she got really excited, for this reason I don't feel she would be a good fit for a home with cats or small animals. We haven't met children yet, but since she is young and still growing I would recommend that she is watched closely when around small children.
2) Sway loves to play with toys, but you have to watch her closely, she can chew through a rope toy at lightening speed and before you know it she is swallowing them! I have had to take large bunches of string/rope out of her mouth and have been taking away the loose pieces before she gets a chance to eat them. She is not aggressive at all and gives me the items that she has without a fuss.

Sway is learning basic commands very quickly. She still pulls while walking on a leash, but that will get better with time. She's doing really good with "sit, out (drop it), leave it and knows what outside and lets go (follow me) means" We are working on the leash walking, and laying down on command also. She likes to play fetch and get her tummy rubbed and she gives the sweetest kisses.

When I go to take her out of the kennel I ask her to sit and wait for her to stop wiggling around before she can come out, the same goes for going out side. I don't have a fenced yard so she has to sit before I put the chain on her and again when she comes in to have the chain taken off. I have a bell on the back door that Cache rings when he wants to go outside and earlier today I think she rang the bell! I'm not saying that she did it intentionally or knew what it meant, but for me if the bell rings the door gets opened. I'm sure she'll put 2 and 2 together before you know it.

I wouldn't say that she is totally house trained yet, we have had 1 accident in the house (I blame my hubby for it), but as long as she is let out consistantly and on a normal schedule, she is doing really good. She likes to steal our shoes, but drops them immediately when you say "No, Leave it".

Here is a cute picture of Sway and Mike snuggling on the couch. This is her favorite place to be. Right on top of us or touching us. Hope you like a big snuggle bug =)

3/8/09 Yesterday we took Sway and Cache for a walk around the nieghborhood. She did great, it wasn't too long before we were walking on a loose leash and sitting when we stopped. After coming home we had several hours of relaxation time with a very happy and tired puppy.

Tonight was our 1st Disc Dog Class, she did really good with everyone and their dogs. Sway is easily excited and gets distracted at everything that goes on, but behaved nicely. I worked on leash walking, sit, and lay down while Mike worked Cache in the class. She also did great with the kids that were there. Sway definately needs more socializing and a formal obedience class would be great for her (like all dogs), but I think she's going to make a great family companion for the right family.

One thing I have noticed is that she is a very strong and excited dog when playing. Cache and her do great, but a smaller dog might be easily intimidated. I haven't had any aggression problems with her and my dog, but Cache is just as crazy when he plays. An older or mellower dog would get very annoyed by her, and I think the best match would be a bouncy happy Lab/Golden type personality. She is just a puppy, but I don't see her losing this crazy play drive until she's about 10 or so =)

Update from Sway's new Mom...

You'll be happy to know that we're excited about keeping Sway (we renamed her Murphy). Katie K9 suggested we use a spray bottle with water and give the dog a blast to the face to stop the play biting and other undesirable behaviors. Within five minutes, the pup went from Satandog to submissive. And, I haven't been bitten since last Thursday! Katie said that scruffing a dog's neck or smacking them on the nose could actually fuel the fire, which it did with Murphy, and the spray bottle won't hurt them but will stun them. I guess Cesar the Dog Whisperer uses the same technique. Murphy has been awesome in the house and sweet as can be--loves hugs and tummy rubs. It's like she's a totally different dog. I did a private session with Katie on Monday, and Murphy did pretty well on the leash. We even used Katie's cats as a diversion, and the pup did pretty well with that, too. We start Katie K9 obedience classes next Tuesday for five weeks.