Feb. 26: our little Ildi is growing up!

so Chad took some pictures the other day with Ildi in the same position as pictures as we took of her when we first got her - it was shocking to see how big she's gotten. You don't notice it so much when you see everyday. Makes me a little sad that we maybe didn't take enough pictures when she had all her wrinkles and cuteness!
Check out this before and after comparison - the two pictures are just 4 weeks apart.

Feb. 24: 4months old today!

Ildi turned 4 months old today and as a treat we've had a big week already. Ildi's experienced a new dog park (Edworthy Park) AND we let her off leash for the first time! We're still a little nervous about it - mostly because she just runs up to every dog and tries to play and we're the ones who are unsure of whether it's a friendly dog we're meeting for the first time.
The 2nd big adventure was that she started a new dog class - Agility Foundations through the Super Dogs. We had checked ahead of time to ensure she wasn't too young and they said she wasn't; yet when we walked in it was clear she was the youngest and dare I say the ONLY puppy in the class! There is a border collie, a sheepdog, a retriever, a weimaraner and I'm not sure what the other is - maybe some kind of spaniel or duck-tolling retriever. Most of them are about 1.5 years old; you should have seen how little she looked next to all the full grown dogs! You could even tell that the instructor wasn't sure she would be old enough to handle it all - but she earned all of their respect by being pretty much the best at all the exercises. You can only imagine how proud Chad and I were! She's so eager to please and so happy being active and having a task to do. Can't wait till next week!

Feb. 22: new photo shoot

The weather has been getting warmer so Chad got his camera out and took some new pictures in the green space in front of our house (with her cute jacket on!)

Feb. 19: Ildi's scent game

We wanted to try and challenge the hunter in Ildi - we had noticed on walks that when she gets 'play time', all she wants to do is put her nose to the ground and sniff, especially in clumps of long grass. Guess that's the hunter in her!
so we took small pieces of cooked chicken and chicken skin and would hide them one at a time in a cup - along with 2 empty cups. Her job is sniff out which one has the chicken in it. She loved this game! Today's pictures show her waiting while we put the cups down - she's so eager and on her best behaviour - look at how perfect her sit and down are!

Feb. 17: Ildi at 15 weeks

yeah Chad's home! and as I expected Ildi was super excited to him. She got to wake up to having Chad take her for her 7am pee trip and you could hear her little tail just going crazy while she got picked up to be taken down the stairs :)

Her walks have been slightly better since Chad returned, but still not perfect. She still sits suddenly or pulls go back in the direction of home. - but I should say that when she's walking she's doing an amazing job at learning the 'heel' command. Sometimes I forget how young she is and have to temper my expectations and learn not to get too frustrated if she's not sitting or heeling. It often takes a stranger who makes a comment at how well behaved she is to remind me!

2nd vet appoint yesterday for her 3rd round of shots. She absolutely amazing with the vet and us when we're poking and prodding her - is that her breed or specific breeding of her parents?
and she's up slightly in her weight at 18lbs now.

And something I just started to notice (and mentioned to the vet) is that her stomach is starting to change colour. I'm pretty sure it seems like her skin is getting darker, but to be honest I'm not sure which direction is going, but as a result she has patchy skin colour on her belly. Is this normal?

Dare I jinx us - we haven't had an accident inside the house in weeks! and more and more she goes to the back door herself to tell us she wants to go out and pee.

Also with Chad home, she's already learned to 'give a paw' (and the 'other paw'), 'high five' and 'high ten'. I give full credit to the clicker in enabling her to pick up things so quickly; I had doubted how useful it would be, but I'm convert now!

Today's pictures are from her playing on the back patio wih her favourite game - tearing a cardboard box to pieces.

Ildi gains weight

well, something magically happened, as of yesterday Ildi now weighs 17.5lbs. That's the biggest weight gain since we've had her; though she still looks like skin and bones!
I'm noticing that she's not eating her lunch amount consistently, but usually eats her full amount at breakfast and dinner. I'll even give her more at dinner if she didn't eat all her lunch.

Her house training seems to be going really well - often she sits at the door when she wants to 'do her business' and a couple of times she's even figured out how to ring the bell!

Chad comes home tonight - I'm so curious as to how excited Ilid will be to see him. Chad thinks she might not remember as he's been gone for almost as long as he was home with her when we first got her.
and I can't wait to have the help again with Ildi all day :) and I'm hoping that with Chad back Ildi's walks will get better.

Ildi at 14 weeks: Ildi goes to Banff

A friend of mine was in town yesterday so we drove to Banff together - with Ildi of course! I fear I'm turning into one of those annoying parents (of humans) that talks of their kid non-stop.
I was amazed at how well Ildi did - in the kennel for the 2 hour car drive and silent the whole way. I had covered her kennel with a blanket as I was worried that she would get cold being in the car for that long and it seems like that calms her down instantly. will definitely try that again! I would bring out for walks whenever it was appropriate with what we were doing and then feed her lunch in her kennel. I even took her on a gondola ride to the top of Sulphur Mountain. She was a hit with everyone! even becoming a 'tourist attraction' for a group of japanese tourists who wanted to take her picture.

She weighed in at 14lbs this week.
and I'm still having issues with her going on walks - even in Banff. It's getting sightly better, but not perfect.

and on a positive note - her 'stand' command is really coming. I'm now training her on a hand command as she has the verbal command!

Day 18: lots of cuddle time

so with Chad away, I've developed the habit of watching some evening TV with her on my lap. I love the cuddle time and I think she loves the nap time. Funny I had heard that Vizsla's are lap dogs, but it's still seems strange that that can be a breed thing - but it's definitely true in her case. She likes nothing more than playing with hey toys in your lap or sleeping on you. The sweet cuddle time makes up for all the times she won't listen to me and is jumping up on the couch or stealing slippers!

We're still having walk issues - but the plus side is that it's forcing me to drive her to other locations and then she also gets to meet more people and have new experiences. Though it's definitely more time consuming!

new fun game for her - she likes to play with more than one toy at once. So in this picture, she hides her ball under her pillow and moves it all around. it's quite entertaining to see how she makes new games for herself.

oh - and the new command I'm determined to teach her before Chad gets back it 'stand'.

Day 16: still refusing to go on walks

ok - this is really starting to concern me. Ildi is getting worse at refusing to go on walks; now I can barely get her down the front the steps. When she finally does, she takes a few steps and sits down and sometimes even lies down. And she sits facing the direction we came from (the house) - she also seems like she's shaking, is she scared of something. Is she wanting Chad back, or not wanting to leave the house in case Chad comes back? It's making me frustrated and I'm sure it stresses her too, not to mention she's not getting all the exercise she needs.

I'm trying to do some research on this - it almost seems like she's developed a new fear? I found some forums where people had the same problem, one person's advice was to drive somewhere different and then take her for a walk. So I tried that - we drove to the little shopping centre near our house -that way I figured she could also meet more people and have a new experience of seeing cars, a parking lots etc.

She loved the trip - she did forget about her fear for awhile; likely because as soon as she sees another person it catches her attention and makes her want to go meet that person. That will be a new challenge - try to get her used to people so that she doesn't get so excited to see/meet them.

Day 15: on my own!

so 'dad' Chad left today for a 10 trip and that leaves me with Ildi 24 hours/ day for 10 days! yikes! :)
the hardest part - like I've mentioned is that I'm home all day and I end up sucking myself in to spending all my waking time with her - with the exceptions of a few naps, though sometimes I also get suckered in to letting her nap on me :)
The upside is that I truly believe all the time spent with her at such a young age will pay off and she will be a very well trained/ behaved dog; the downside is that I feel like I don't have a life!

She's also started to refuse to go on walks - this is so strange! We normally go on 2 walks/ day and my husband and equally share that responsibility. Now that he's gone, she walks a few steps on the sidewalk outside our house and then sits down and refuses to go. I have to give a tug on her leash and tons of encouragement. Maybe this is just a one time/ day thing?

Today's new experience for Ildi was music. Though we knew she loved TV - she stares at it like any young kid does! I had just realized that we hadn't played any music in the house in the last two weeks. So I turned on the ipod in the other room and she just stared in its direction - so funny! I think she thought a person would show up!