This one is the Buster Dog Maze and I figured I'd let Gramercy give it a go.
The trick is to move the kibble through the maze towards the two ends where the kibble will spill out
Above you can see the maze is pretty deep so, a short snouted dog will have to be really creative to move the food.
As you can see below, Gramercy is super smart! He figured out pretty quickly that by flicking the kibble with his tongue, it would move through the maze.
While this is a pretty good feeder, it's not for a beginner dog. I personally like the Green feeder better becasue there are more options regarding the difficulty level for the dog.
Syzygy was just beside himself when he found the all the toys. He quickly picked his top favorites at that moment in time. As the day went on decided that he pretty much liked any toy!
Getting ready to play...
Game on!
He's a funny little boy!
"I have you green monster"
As you can see he's your typical terrier!
taking a quick break but still has the monster in his mouth
This toy just blew his mind... As you can see Syzygy is a total puppy with puppy energy and ready to play, play, play!
Check out this ADORABLE picture of Syzygy and yes he really is this cute in person. And wonder how many pictures I had to take to get this one... all I can say is a lot!
Syzygy -- what an good looking puppy!
"Do you hear that wind?"
"What's that over there?"
"I'm still busy looking around..."
And I have a lot of these pictures!
Then it's time to turn on the video camera. A video camera is a puppy's best friend!
Syzygy arrived Friday night without missing a beat! He slept quietly through the night and then Saturday morning, we set off to deliver new foster girls Fae and Savannah to their foster parent/transport. We left early so that Syzygy and I could stop off at the small dog park to get some video (we don't have a fenced yard) and a little time to run off some puppy energy. As you can see it was a load of fun and we were the only dog and person at the park - that's what happens at 8am on a Saturday!
Tail a wagin Syzygy!
"What's that I hear" - it was a windy morning
This was after roughly 3 minutes at the park. He doesn't really know me but, you'd never guess from this video. He's a super sweet boy as you can see.
Action shot!
"Here I come to give you kisses"
You can see Syzygy is a shorty but, he's a stocky boy - typical type B rattie
Syzygy say "here I come" -- how cute is he!
He has adorable spots and a full tail
A good looking boy who needed a potty break!
"Some privacy please.."
In this picture, you can see his beautiful coloring - his fur is really soft as well.
This boy is super smart - that's a pine cone I threw for him.
Gramercy loves plush toys & he's very gentle with them which isn't true of all terriers!
"Good morning Hedgie"
"Lets play"
Decisions, decisions - "Do I want to get D'light to play with me and Hedgie or do I just want to play with him myself OR do I want to give foster mom a kiss.."
Watch and see!
Gramercy will often carry Hedgie around the house and then the two will go nap together!
Along with 2 other wonderful rescued ratties. All three will arrive in Washington tonight! This adorable little fella roughly 5 months old, he's said to be beyond wonderful in personality and temperament. His story is like a lot of ratties that we bring up. He was in shelter that had run out of space so, his time was up. We are thrilled to have rescued this awesome guy.
Shelter picture
So what's this new boy's name you ask? It's Syzygy Pronounced “szz-eh-jee”
As you know we name our dogs after Washington wine. Here's more on Syzygy wine
The great news is that Syzygy already has a wonderful application. This family had applied last month for one of the northwest puppies but, they were already adopted. So we stayed in contact with them and let them know about Syzygy. My guess is that Syzygy won't be with us for very long!
Relaxing in his temp foster spot in California
Waiting to catch a ride on the transport to Washington
While working on getting your pup and you walking in balance, I believe that both dogs and the human benefit from using a 2 point of contact leash. Leash walking isn't easy and anyone who tells you it is well, they haven't walked with enough dogs! By using the below gear, it provides the human and dog to work together on improving this skill set. Another bonus is the increase in communication and connection between the two of you! This will make a walk more enjoyable for everyone.
The wonder walker harness has the ability to use 2 points of contact - a ring on the front of the harness and a ring that sits on the center of the dogs back. So as you can see Gramercy's leash clips both rings.
First couple steps with the 2 point of contact leash. As I slow down, he slows down -- we are starting to communicate with each other... notice no leash pulling from Gramercy or me.
In this fast paced world I think most of us tend to walk our dog(s) in a hurry, usually not paying attention to our dog (by being on our phones or listening to music). What we fail to remember that walking with our dog is like a dance - we are moving together and communicating through the leash with each other. AND it takes practice. If we slow down, reduce the distractions and pay attention to what's going on with our dog, we can learn a lot. Once I ditched my phone/music I found these walks very calming & I began to learn more about the dog I was with.
Taking a break to enjoy the sun & watching the birds
My experience has been that I personally feel more connected to the dog on a 2 point of contact leash. I have more ability to maneuver with the dog on this leash and it truly feels better for the dog and me. When I first tried out this configuration - it was with Catty. I will say that I struggled given my lack of leash handling skills. Catty caught on my quicker than me - this is often the case! But, once I figured it out - it's became pretty comfortable for me.
You may be asking - "Do you always walk your dogs with this set up of leash and harness?" My answers is that it depends on a lot of different things. I rarely walk D'light in a 2 point leash because he and I walk so well, we are very tuned into each other. When I walk Catty alone I have her in a 2 point leash to work on her reactivity. I find that she's calmer when walking in this set up. Sometimes when I'm walking both Catty and D'light together I will switch Catty back and forth from the 1 to 2 contact - just depends on where we are, then time of day and my state of mind.
Given Gramercy's girth and odd shaped body I've had him walking in a soft single point of contact harness. Here's an excellent link as to Why all dogs should be walked in a harness You may be saying single point of contact, what the heck is she talking about.... That my friends will be tomorrows post so, make sure to check back in.
Gramercy in his old harness
I decided to switch harnesses for a variety of reasons:
1) Gramercy LOVES to go for a walk and he pulls out of excitement. It's not awful but, it's not good for his neck and legs so we are going to work on reducing the pulling.
2) I want to use a 2 point of contact leash with him (more on that tomorrow)
3) I want to work on him not "bouncing" so much when he walks. My guess is that the "bouncing" was how he over compensated to deal with his nerve pain before his surgery. Now that we've fixed him, we need to work on walking in better balance.
So... Mr. "Getting Slim" has graduated to a wonder walker harness and it fits him well!
Such a good boy - he gets his business done quick so we can start moving.
Notice him putting full weight on that back left leg - Awesome!
"What's that I see"
No problems with the new harness! As usual, Gramercy just goes with the flow.
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