Christmas Spirit

We hosted Honey's family Christmas Eve for dinner.  I was a bit anxious about how the dogs would handle the influx of people.  As a precaution they both had on new pheromone collars and I put Ryder in his ThunderShirt.

They were awesome.

They didn't bark when each car load arrived.  They both watched cautiously.  Ryder carried around his beloved toy. And Diva stayed in her favorite spot beside the coach.  While I worked in the kitchen, Ryder followed me around, and Diva (!!!) explored the new people by sniffing them.  Both dogs were tired by the time our company left.

But they behaved appropriately the entire 9 hours we had people in the house.  I was very pleased with them.

And Then...

There we were.  Honey was upstairs watching hockey.  I know.  The Canadian cliche.  J and I were downstairs, snuggled under blankets, watching TV.  The dogs were with us and I was lazily throwing the toy.  Ryder had already had a big play day and was tired.  Diva had taken up the gauntlet ensuring  the dog toy stayed in use.  She would proudly hop up and snuggle into my side.  J pops his hand out reaching towards Diva. She reaches her nose towards him, giving a wag and a quick lick to his fingers.  I'm not going to lie.  Diva is a glutton and he was eating chips...

But then it happened.  He petted her.  And she didn't spaz.  As a reward she may have gotten a tiny bit of chip.  Over the last two nights, while sitting together he has been able to pet her.  The next step is to have him stand by himself and feed her treats with me standing in intervention distance.  Touch wood.  She has been better around him.  I'm ever so hopeful that she becomes more trustworthy around him. The next two weeks will be great for Diva as we have J for a nice long stretch.

Why Not Diva?

You may have noticed that Diva doesn't take a starring role on this blog.  So, why not Diva?  Well, it's simple really.  Diva is the dog I'm currently worried about.  I'm trying to get her to settle in as a "family" dog.  This seems to take one step forward and two back.  The other reason is Diva loves, loves, loves to work.  It is a very snowy winter here with snow well over my knees.  This is not conducive to working dogs.

I had found these pictures of Diva on my laptop.  I had quite forgotten about them.  I'm thinking I haven't posted them, and if I have here they are for your viewing pleasure.

Learning how to drive. 

Fetching the sheep. 

Circle work.  Or "Get OUT!"

It's a Dog's Life

It has been blooming cold here.  Minus Frigid is how I like to describe it.  I had to laugh when I read Liz's post about dressing for weather.  I wear Arctic quality clothing.  And I'm not ashamed to admit it. How cold was it?  It was around the -40s (C).  We've had two weeks of unrelenting cold and a whole lotta snow.  This has been hard on the dogs.  To pass time and keep them mentally fresh I've been playing with them in the house.  Ryder is slated to enter his first series of agility classes in January.  Luke's owner has been giving us some activities to work on.  Ryder loves this stuff.  Today - be proud - be very proud because I managed to haul the camera out.

And viola!  Pictures!

Waiting for Diva... 

Watching for Ryder's "attack". 

The chase is on! 

Playing is soooo much fun! 

"I'm gonna git ya!" 

Must. Catch. Ryder. 

Freeeeedoooommmmm! 

I love my new bed. 

Standing on wobble disk. 

Standing on fireplace. 

Other end on fireplace.