Lewis Moon

Aquatic ecosystems ecologist/toxicologist...but I ran an analytical wet chem lab at ASU for 3 years. Am I in the club? Do we get jackets?

Lewis Moon is the name of one of the main characters in one of my favorite novels.

Cerb's a real prince when getting his nails clipped. He just lays there quietly with eyes that say "um...I'd rather be somewhere else". He doesn't pull, squirm or nip. He is, however, marginally afraid of the vacuum, which makes me think that the dremel would be more stressing. I'm more worried about the jaws on the clippers I have flexing like a cheap pair of scissors so that the nail doesn't get cleanly cut first pass.

I just clipped Cerb's nails and that's the last time I'll use those crappy pot metal stamped abominations. Can someone suggest a good quality set (and where to get them cheapish)? Cerb has white nails and I can see the quick well so I don't need anything with any safety gadgets. I like the "scissor" type.

OK, give me some credit for mean intelligence...and a break. Do I know it's a behavior that could blossom into something unwanted at the very least? Yes. Really.... Did I correct him immediately and keep walking? Yes. Is it cute?....from a 16 week old puppy...what's not cute? OK, I'll admit it. I'm a noob and really enamoured with the new pup.....but I am NOT lacking in deduction and observation skills....and I'm trying VERY hard to not make any major mistakes in his training. Forgive me for what little mirth I got from his trying to "train" me.

For a while I've thought Cerbie was, at best, indifferent to herding. Maybe it was his Lab genes...maybe it was that we really don't give him much of a chance to herd....well... Cerbie turned 4 months this weekend and to celebrate...it rained. We usually go to the park every day to play with the other pups (socialization) and work some commands. Because it was so wet, I decided a walk on the streets of our neighborhood would be a better option...Cerbie had a different idea. As we passed the gate to park with Cerbie at heel, I felt something leaning against my leg. When I looked down, there he was leaning against me and giving my pants leg little nips....all this in the direction of the park. Where are the sheep when you need them.

Wow, I like this thread. I just wish there were some sort of clearing house for this type of info that covered the entire US (or more). While we can leave the cat and desert tortoise for extended weekends secure in knowing that they can take care of themselves for a couple of nights, the pup is a completely different matter. I really dislike the kennel options in my area and....well...there is the seperation anxiety (mine).

....but the returns are so sweet.

Cerbie was a dream to potty train. We crated him in a snug crate at night from the second night on....and I say that because on the first night he peed in his crate because it was too large for him and probably felt "he had the room". From that point he let us know with wimpers when he needed to go. If you are going to crate, it would probably be good to crate your pup near you so you can hear the pup ask to go out. Cerb needed out ~ 3 times/night the first couple of nights but now sleeps through till I get up. He was ~9-11 weeks when we got him.

I’m thinking about making Cerbie a custom martingale style collar or leash/collar combo. I don’t much like most of the stuff I see commercially here in PHX. They are usually either over built, made of substandard materials or have way too many buckles, etc. on them. I want simple, light weight and safe and comfy for him. Given that I have sewn my own custom rock climbing, whitewater kayaking, sailing and skydiving gear for over 20 years, I have developed some skillz in this area. This will also allow me to change the collar as he grows. What I don’t know (yet) are the design parameters. How long should the main collar be, slot ring to slot ring, in comparison to his neck size?

Wait him out.....always the hardest part.... but I want this command to stick. I've resisted using clickers and opted for a hearty "good boy". I really don't want to put something in the command/reward chain that I might not have on my person at any given moment. I do a lot of "on the fly" training, taking advantage of "teachable moments".....like when he has gone out to potty and daudles a bit...when he comes to my call I always give him a "good boy" and a good ear scratching.

Cerbie is learning at a pretty fast clip....but one issue he has (or I have...) is that he won't go into the down position without being "lured". That is; he waits until I either bring a treat down to the ground or touch the ground with my hand in front of him. I'd like to ge able to have him go down at a distance with a verbal command.... Any tips?

OTS....is that an Eames recliner in the first pic? Sorry...back to the cute pups..

Here are a couple of pics:

At ~15 weeks, Cerbie has officially reached the “Jeremy Stage”. Just like Jeremy from the “Zits” cartoon, Cerb is all gangly legs and big feet. We’re still not sure what traits he got from his (probable) Labrador genes, but from his big paws, 19 lb (and steadily increasing) weight and 16” height at the shoulder, the Vet indicated (with a smirk) that we should soon move him to “Large Breed” dog food. Cerbie is going to be a big boy. A power forward rather than a guard, to use basketball terms. They grow up so fast….sigh…. Pictures at 11.

Wow, this is great info. I was just noticing that the top of Cerbie's muzzle has a lot of pink showing through the fur. What about the lip balm type stuff? It would be easy to carry.

First: I'm not a vet (I'm an aquatic toxicologist) but yes, they are both Cox-2 inhibitors or at least, in the case of PhyCox, have a natural Cox-2 inhibitor derived from cyanobacteria (bluegreen algae). The best thing to do is to ask your vet.

Cerbie actually started "chaining" commands together, I started to pat my thigh when I said come and soon he started to wait for the command AND the pat before coming. For now I have to be really conscious of not doing anything extraneous when I am giving commands. Later on I hope to be able to use that to teach hand signals too.

I really like the idea of a "Watch" command.....I also like the idea of Cerbie making eye contact rather than staring a hole in the "Bag from whence all blessings come" (the treat bag).

Serendipitously, when we used small bits to hide his pills, we found out Cerbie LOVES string cheese. I think I'll cut up a couple of sticks and keep them in the fridge. Then when he is playing with his sheepie (yes, we got him a stuffed, cartoon sheep for Christmas) I'll call his name and reward attention with his favorite treat. I'll also say his name when I feed him and at other opportune times, like when we greet and wrestle when I get home. He seems to know his name pretty well....I just want it to cemented as an attention signal.

At +- 15 weeks Cerbie is training really well. We try to work with him for two short sessions every day and so far he knows about 10 commands. His biggest downfall is his attention: If we have it he responds....if he's destracted by a really stinky smell that needs investigating or if one of his playmates has just come to the park...not so much. Most of the time I can call his name authoritatively and his head snaps around and he responds.....but sometimes the smell or the playmate is just too much. What are some good strategies to cement the "Pay Attention!" signal? I'd like to use his name (spoken with authority) rather than keys, whistles or other items I might not have in my pocket at the time.

Ouch...I'm old enough to remember.

Caught...red handed. I have that site bookmarked from when I was looking for a pup and I actually got to meet "Otto" when we took Cerb to "Wags for Wishes". OOPS.

Thanks! Yes...waiting is hard to do! Cerb's training is going great. He can sit, stay, come, down and heel (the latter...mostly) is house trained and knows "go to bed", out? and off!.....but I'll have to agree, it would be a good idea to cement that training before we bring another dog into the home. Thanks!

One BC or two? That is the question. Four weeks ago we adopted a 10 week old BC/Lab mix and we have quite fallen in love with him. While he loves his “pack” (the family), we’ve noticed that he really lights up when he gets to play with other dogs down at the park. He almost becomes a sled dog when he knows we’re going that direction. Up to this point, I’ve always been a cat person…but then I’ve never had a puppy before. I would love for Cerbie to have a full time playmate. What would be the dynamics of introducing a second BC into our home? We live in a relatively small home (1300sq ft) and have a smallish fenced yard but ample room to ramble in the desert out back and down at the park (all of 200 yds away). My wife and I work schedules where either one of us is in the home except for maybe 5 hrs twice a week so there will be LOTS of supervision. We’ll be crating Cerbie at night for a while yet but hope to make the crate optional as soon as he demonstrates he can be a good citizen…. Are there any synergistic issues with having 2 BCs? Do they get together and plot world domination? Do they grow opposable thumbs? Arizona Border Collie Rescue is very active in our area and we have always been a rescue home so we are thinking of adopting an adult dog….. Opinions? Things to watch out for?