November 19, 2009 by Daisy and Zeke
So, Zeke greeted his midday dog walker at the gate yesterday, which means he got out of his crate. This is the second time this has happened. We’re not sure if he’s an expert escapee (a little Houdini perhaps), or if Daisy is his accomplice…
Also, we’ve had some very exciting news that Berdina has been sighted multiple times–and Sam and Salsa (our amazing tracker team) tracked a fresh scent in the exact area of the recent sightings! That means our girl is still in the area! Read the details at http://findberdina.wordpress.com!
Team Berdina is desperately seeking volunteers to do a variety of things to help bring our girl home before the cold weather arrives! We need help hanging fliers, contacting businesses, doing Internet research, posting lost dogs ads, and spreading the word in the community. You can help even if you’re not in the MD/DC area. Please e-mail Lori at lruk@hotmail.com if you’re interested.

Posted in Berdina, Crate Training, Daisy, WARL, Zeke | Tagged Zeke, WARL, Daisy, Lost Dog, Berdina | Leave a Comment »
November 5, 2009 by Daisy and Zeke
Sunday was PawFest at the Washington Animal Rescue League (WARL). I spent the day working as an adoptions counselor, and I stayed VERY busy. Despite the rain, tons of people wanted to visit with dogs. I hope they get lots of good applications!
On a side note, here are photos of the darling Jack Russell puppies (No worries; I’m not bringing them home!):


And here’s the poor baby after Allison costumed him…

Here’s the front view:

And here’s my boy, Chips:

Niles the Cat (who I made a video of–stay tuned for the link!):

And I can’t remember this cute one’s name:

All of these animals are available for adoption. Visit http://www.warl.org!
Posted in WARL | Tagged 2009, jack russell puppies, pawfest, WARL, washington animal resue league | 1 Comment »
November 3, 2009 by Daisy and Zeke
Today Zeke turns 2-years-old! He’s a very big boy now… Here are photos from his birthday celebration, complete with a new toy and baked goods:
Zeke’s new Bob-A-Lot

Zeke’s football granola/yogurt cookie, and Daisy’s flower (from the Big Bad Woof!)

Zeke can’t help but sneaking a quick sniff

And Zeke shared with Daisy

Birthday boy!

Here’s video of Zeke with his new toy:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30984129@N03/4069932913/
And here’s video of Zeke enjoying his birthday cookie:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30984129@N03/4069949493
Posted in Daisy, Food, Party, Zeke | Tagged Birthday, Daisy, Zeke | Leave a Comment »
October 31, 2009 by Daisy and Zeke
While I’m not a huge fan of dressing up dogs–these were just too cute to pass up! For your viewing pleasure:
“Lady” Daisy



“Convict” Zeke:



Posted in Daisy, Dog Clothes, Zeke | Tagged costumes, Daisy, Halloween, Zeke | 1 Comment »
October 30, 2009 by Daisy and Zeke
Here are Momma’s little pumpkins getting ready to celebrate pumpkin season (Halloween, Thanksgiving, etc.)! Check back tomorrow for this year’s Halloween photos!



Also, just a quick behavior and training update: Our holiday-time pet sitting service visited earlier this week, and we followed the doctor’s orders by greeting our guests on leash outside, having the guests come in and sit down before we entered, and then giving each dog a bully stick (made in the USA only) to enjoy during the visit. It went really well! Daisy and Zeke both acknowledged the company by smelling them, but there was no barking, jumping or mouthing. Zeke chewed his bully stick for an hour straight right at our feet and looked much less worried about strangers in the house. Yay for progress! Here are photos of Ms. Daisy enjoying her bully stick…

Posted in Behaviorist, Chewing, Daisy, Greeting Training, Yard, Zeke | Tagged Daisy, Greeting Training, pumpkins, Zeke | Leave a Comment »
October 23, 2009 by Daisy and Zeke
Daisy and Zeke are getting a bit stir crazy since Mom has been sick and home almost the entire week. Though a bit bored and restless, it hasn’t stopped either dog from getting his or her beauty rest…


And today, they’ve decided to share their bed and toys and simply, peacefully co-exist… Does anyone want to come and play with Daisy and Zeke in the yard? They love to run jumps and tunnels! Mom still can’t walk them for any distance or spend longer than a couple of minutes outside in the colder air… at least for a couple more days.

Posted in Daisy, Zeke | Tagged Daisy, sleeping, Zeke | Leave a Comment »
October 20, 2009 by Daisy and Zeke
In following doctor’s orders, Mom has purchased a couple new area rugs to help Daisy and Zeke feel more secure in their footing at home, especially when visitors are over… So far, things are going well!

Posted in Daisy, Zeke | Tagged Daisy, Rugs, Zeke | Leave a Comment »
October 19, 2009 by Daisy and Zeke
Mom was surprised to be greeted at the gate by Zeke one evening when she got home. Either Daisy released him from his crate, or he has figured out how to get out. Daisy has released crated dogs in the past, so this is not surprising.
However, Zeke did leave a surprise for Mom. He chewed one of her shoes. Last time he escaped, he didn’t chew or shred anything. Mom’s upped the dog-proofing in the dog zone, so this won’t happen again if he escapes… (And yes, Mom got a new pair of shoes yesterday.)

Posted in Chewing, Crate Training, Daisy, Zeke | Tagged Chewing, Crate, Daisy, Zeke | Leave a Comment »
October 15, 2009 by Daisy and Zeke
Zeke and Daisy had a home visit with a behaviorist veterinarian who is Board certified by the American College of Veterinary Behavior. Clients often call a behaviorist when the usual training methods fail or when a dog’s behavior becomes worse or isn’t improving at a steady rate. In our case, Zeke’s behavior interacting with Mom’s boyfriend and dog reactivity haven’t seen the steady improvement that some of his other issues have with training.
Treatment will combine both medication and training/behavior modification and some environmental changes. Zeke and Daisy will now greet visitors outside while on leash until they calm down and get interested in something else besides the new human. Mom will buy a new area rug for the living room to help give traction and make the dogs more comfortable being on the floor and walking/running. Mom will continue to develop the “watch me/look” skill in real-life, distracting settings to help manage reactivity and overexcitement. Zeke and Daisy will both continue having walks and playdates with non-reactive dogs.
Hopefully we’ll begin to see some significant changes within a month or so. We appreciate your help to all who have helped with the training so far, and we’ll definitely need more non-reactive dog friends! The more positive human and dog interactions, the better!
![4010576962_95c2db5323[1] 4010576962_95c2db5323[1]](http://daisyandzeke.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/4010576962_95c2db53231.jpg?w=500&h=375)
Posted in Behaviorist, Daisy, Vet, Zeke | Tagged Behaviorist, Daisy, dog reactivity, greetings, Zeke | Leave a Comment »