Another Simetra Update

[Mirg]

Simetra has been doing great!

I can now get her to stand up without her refusing or trembling. Ive been making her stand up, then sidestepping around her, rubbing her all over. Its weird, but it seems to be working, she doesnt sit down immediatly when i start to move, now.

She is getting nice and muscular and is getting great at Obedience. Her coat is nice and shiney now. It accually suprised me the other day, i was kneeling down next to her, rubbing her (i do this every day to show her that its ok to stand and relax at the same time), and the sun was shining and i saw the shine off her coat and it almost made me accually squint! At least i know her coat is healthy!

As of her being pregnant, im still not sure. I think its been about 3 weeks since she got here, and she is fatter, but only because she has good food now. Maybe female springers just get flabbier on thier belly than female GRs. Either way, it doesnt really matter, im still planning on getting her spayed really soon. Ive been asking my mom very nicely if she could help out a little bit, but she never does. Im starting to feel like yelling at her, but i dont. But, at least my sister and brother both have their driver liscense (spelling?) now, so if i need a ride to the vet, i have one, i just need the money.

I think theres still some stored-up fright in her, dispite how trusty she is now. Today, i was talking a little louder than usual because one of the cats wouldnt get out of the way and i almost tripped and the tv volume was up really loud (my dad's half deaf). Simetra freaked out, peed, and ran to hide in a corner. So, i guess theres more trust-work to do. Maybe i will start slowly talking a little louder around her, so she will be used to it. But, first, i have to find out if that was what scared her. I thought it might be the loud talking, but i was probably glaring at the cat, and maybe walking different because i was holding a heavy plate and half-tripping at the same time. So i will hopefully get that found out tomarrow and start working on it.

As for Obedience, she is doing great with the Figure 8, sitting when stopping, Heeling (with turns), and shes almost to the point where i can back away from her and have her staying standing. She is a little slow when i turn away from her while heeling, but i think hes a little leash-shy, so she will probably get better with more training.

Ive been taking her over small jumps and over the teeter totter every now and then. She really likes the Agility, but i want to get her to a vet to be checked out before i do any serious Agility-ing with her.

She doesnt jump up and bite my hands anymore. If she ever happens to slip her mouth up to my hand, i instantly stop, make her sit, then wait a few seconds before continuing. It really helps. But, i have been trying to teach her to jump into my arms like some people teach thier Agility dogs to. So far, its not very successful, so if anyone has any tips for teaching them that, id be happy to read them! I only let her jump up if we are standing still and i invite her.

Over all, i am extrememly happy with how good she is doing and i hope that by summer she will be mostly healed. The Spring Fair is in 10 days, so i need to try to get her to stop being so shy and nervous, so that i can take her without her getting scared.

Tomarrow im going to see if i can get her to stand long enough for me to back up and get a picture. If i can, ill make sure to post it up here!

[Rivsky]

That's great news Mirg - sounds like you've been doing a lot of work with her - good on you!

[Swiftwind]

That's excellent news! It's so great to hear how much Simetra is progressing - it's all very positive!

[Mirg]

Thank you!

I feel even more proud of both the springers now! My neighbors park their mobal (spelling?) home right next to our fence (so close that they accually ruined part of the fence once), and they were doing something with it, moving it around or getting it out or something. I looked out the window and dispite all the noise my neighbors were making, the pups were just playing.

Then, later, i peeked out the window at them agian. I saw them eating something, so i walked out there and got ready to punish them for eating poop. Then, i realized it was just a stick, Simetra chewing on one end, A.j. chewing on the other. So, as i stepped out the door and walked toward them, i sounded like, "*madly*What are you doing?!....... *changing to playfully* Thats my stick!!" Lol, i had to change it really fast so that they knew they werent in trouble. I love when things like this happen, though. It makes me feel so happy about my pups.

[IceyBlueSibes]

Sounds like Simetra is coming along well. Kudos to you for all of the hard work you are putting into her.

So, as i stepped out the door and walked toward them, i sounded like, "*madly*What are you doing?!....... *changing to playfully* Thats my stick!!" Lol,

LOL I have done the same thing at times. I'll see Kelso or Lugar outside chewing away (thinking its a dead lizzard they found from the cats) "WHAT are you doing? *realizes its just a stick* Huh, don't you know that's mine!" LOL

So, what's the news as far as finding her another home? Have your parents fallen in love with her?

[Mirg]

Im not sure yet. It would be easiest for me to get her a new home, because i can never go anywhere. If i leave her home, Wiener and Sophie will be picking on her and my family wont follow my rules with her, and i cant take 2, 50-pound dogs everywhere with me. But, i dont know, maybe i can have a talk with my parents to see if they would mind me about not letting Simetra be impolite or anything.

I think, deep inside, my parents love Simetra. My dad was talking about her the other day and was like, "If we are keeping Simetra, and im not saying we are!, we will have to spay her, *blah blah blah, bunch of stuff i already know*. But you could tell by the way that he said "im not saying we are", he wasnt serious. And ive been hinting to him about how good Simetra is doing in her training and how good of a hunting dog she will be once i get her trained a little better. He has stopped complaining about too many dogs, now, so maybe thats a hint. *crosses fingers* My mom is obviously fallen for Simetra, she loves to play with her. She likes how Simetra is mellow and smart, like Sophie. My sister love all animals. She gets kind of annoyed at me because i dont like her to give the springers attention until they are in a calm state of mind, but she definantly would like to keep Simetra. My brother never really shows his attitude towards dogs, but i have seen him smile and pet her out of the corner of my eye. And, of course, i would LOVE to keep her! I cant wait until she is as well trained as A.j. and i will have the 2 best looking/trained dogs in town (even though our town is small).

Ok, im going kind of off topic, but i just reminded myself of something that happened. My mom was washing dishes, but the garbage was full, so she needed to take the garbage out. I was like "No, let us do it! " (BTW, we share a garbage can with my grandma, who lives down the street so we have to haul the garbage down there). I ran and got my dogs and the sledding equipment (spelling?). Just so you know, this was Simetra's first time hooked up to a sled, although she did have a harness on before. I gave her and A.j. the same amount of slack from the sled to their harness, but tied her to stay behind A.j., i dont have a proper harness for her yet, so i dont let her pull any weight. She did great! The first walk around the yard, she started freaking out and spun around a few times. But, A.j. did awesome and just put his back into it and pulled her along behind him. By the time we got to the front door, she was calmed down and trotting right behind A.j., sometimes she would try to get on the other side of A.j. and get the lines tangled but she figured out not to do that. I am extremely proud of A.j., this was his first time with just a collar and no Halti (i dont train sledding like most do), and he stayed calm and just pulled. I am very thankful to him for not making it twice as hard for me. Im planning on getting another harness for Sophie and so the 2 weaker dogs will be on either side of A.j., evening it out. Lol, i should train Wiener for sledding, too. Anyway, since Simetra is doing good, im hoping to start building a cart for the springers, right now we are just using a normal kiddy sled.

And, while i was in a "proud moment" of my springers doing good, on the way back to our house, a car pulled up beside us. It was a man and he kept saying "Oh, what gorgeous dogs you have!", "Ive been watching you work with them", and asking "Are they working good for you?". It was kind of creepy, but its another person to add to A.j.'s fans. I wonder how long he was watching me though. Hopefully he is just a dog fan and likes to watch people train dogs. But, i have a feeling he is just another druggy creep that lives here. I didnt really like the "Are they working good for you?" question, though. He made it sound like i was just making the dogs work for me, as if they were tractors or something. I dont know if thats what he meant or not, though. I saw his car go by once more after that, but he didnt stop agian. All i know is i did not want to be outside much after that!


Ok, sorry to type out a whole book! If its sunny tomarrow, i will hook up the springers to the sled and get some pictures!

[SpringerLover]

It sounds like you're doing a fabulous job with her. I love hearing the updates!

[Mirg]

Thank you! Im glad you like hearing the updates, because i like summing up everything ive done with her and then telling everyone!