Wordless Wednesday: Bailey at the Barkley

Daily Bailey.

While in Vegas, I always encourage my mom to sent me a "Daily Bailey" photo - we really liked this one:

Also, Happy Father's Day!

dog days of summer

To complement Nicole's wordless wednesday post:

Cooling off in front of the fan.

Is that you, Spring?

If you haven't heard already, Punxsutawney Phil didn't see his shadow which means there is only two more weeks of winter! That is if you believe that stuff? I don't know how scientific the whole "groundhog see his shadow" approach is, but it has seemed to warm up the past few days! I have really enjoyed seeing the snow start to melt and my teeth not chattering, but Joe and I have found one downside: Bailey wants to go outside every 5 minutes.

Here is how it goes: She presses her "doggy doorbell" and we let her out. She stays outside for a while then must decide she needs to check on us. We let her back in, she looks at us, then within 5 minutes she presses the doorbell to go out again. This happens repeatedly until she takes a nap. Then it starts all over again.

I drew the following to help me cope with this annoyance. Art therapy is supposed to be a good way to deal with emotions...

Monday Mourn

We are all feeling a little down today after the Steeler loss last night. At least they made it that far...

Wake up!

This is not the reason we send her to day camp...

School Fight.

We were informed yesterday that Bailey got in a scuffle with another dog at day camp. Bailey is a very vocal dog. Not just with barking, but with whining with excitement, whimpering when she is left out, and some growling when she is feeling protective. When she plays with her best friend, PJ, she frequently does a high pitch bark or a low growl. However, she made this growling noise to a dog just as it entered day camp. This dog did not appreciate the greeting and went after Bails. The end result was no injuries but two dogs put in time out.

Later on they both happily re-joined day camp.

A reindeer!

Poor thing. I really shouldn't torture her like this...

Zap!

We had Bailey's new invisible fence installed on Wednesday of last week. Since then we have been practicing approaching the little white flags forming the perimeter while on leash. The collar was set on the lowest setting so only a small zing would follow the warning beeps. She quickly learned to give a couple feet cushion between herself and the flags.

The trainer came back this afternoon and upped the voltage to a level 4 (out of 7). Then, she took Bailey off the leash! We walked around the yard and Bailey did well not to approach the line. The trainer wanted to challenge her with a distraction so she threw a stick into our neighbors yard. Bailey ran and ZAP! She yelped and ran back into the yard. My poor thing.

We even got more practice when a dog walked by and Bailey, back on her leash, was tempted to head over and say hello but was jolted twice to stay back in the yard. I feel bad for her but I think she will enjoy being free in the yard rather than having a stake and cable.

Happy Halloween!

Puppy Latte!

The "puppy latte" aka whipped cream. This is her second time having it and she loves it!

Who doesn't love a little Starbucks?

The Barkley

Bailey is at the Barkley today while Joe and I are working at the Chemical plant in Wickliffe. They have a webcam so I can watch her play.

There she is! Can you find her below? (It's like where's waldo...but easier).

Water dog.

It has been awhile since I have posted a video or even just a picture of this thing that is so important in my life, Bailey!

Suzi's cackle almost seems a little too evil. Don't leave her alone with your pets...

Anyway, our goal was to slowly introduce Bailey to the water so that she might learn to like it. I've gotten to the point where she will walk down two steps into the water on her own. I of course used food to lure her in - the smell of a liver flavored treat is too pungent for her to resist! Soon she'll be doing laps!

2 peas in a pod.

Suzi was kind (and brave) enough to watch Bailey for me while I was at Nicole's Bridal shower on Saturday afternoon. She has a pug, named PJ, who puts up with Bailey's high energy and non-stop attacks. Here is a picture of them after a day of play!

Bailey's First Birthday.

Bailey turned one today (or at least that's our best guess)! We were in Solon for half the day so we were able to celebrate with my parents, see the the pictures below:

A muffin with peanut butter for her birthday cake.

Opening her first gift. I look more excited than her - she is staring pretty intently at the biscuit though.

We came back to New Castle so we could have a birthday dinner with Joe's parents. We grilled chicken and steak and Bailey enjoyed both! She is one lucky dog!

Slow posting.

I don't really have a good excuse for not posting regularly. I suppose there just hasn't been newsworthy reporting to do. Just enjoying the warming weather and working. We've been practicing heel and not going crazy when we see other dogs. Both have been slowly getting better. The trainer said it could take months before the new behaviors are completely ingrained...it's been two weeks. We have ways to go but I'm happy to see some progress - it gives me hope!

Snozzles, Moozles and Pig Ears.

I got Bailey some new treats today. She had tried the snozzle (pig snout) before, but the moozle (cow snout) and pig ear she has not. I let her pick which one she want to snack on first and she chose the pig ear which she enjoyed. Good choice. I was initially pretty in awe and a little disturbed when I saw these in the store, but the saleswoman explained that these are parts that are usually thrown away. I figured I'd give it a try...I mean, let Bailey give them a try. She loves them so far!

Heel!

Mrs. Patrick and I had an appointment with a dog trainer today. Bailey has a hard time restraining herself from going completely crazy whenever we see or pass a dog while on a walk. Mrs. Patrick and I have tried different tactics without success so we called in a professional. Danielle from Canine U came to our house and worked with us on how to correct Bailey when she starts to work herself up over seeing a fellow four-legged friend. We saw progress in the hour and a half she spent with us. As we practice, Bailey should be more calm and will heel nicely.

Bailey #2.

We have found a relative of Bailey's - maybe her mom or dad (don't know the sex of the Bailey look-a-like). It's pretty amazing how similar they look!

Bailey #2.

Our Bailey - aka Bailey #1.

Click.

I received the iClick in the mail today. I ordered this little clicker because I have heard a lot about "clicker training" and thought it would be fun to try with Bailey. She is relatively easy to train since she is highly motivated by food - especially the little pieces of hot dog that I have started to use as treats.

The clicker is supposed to help me with timing. It marks the desired behavior right when it's done rather than having to fumble for treats in my pocket and end up giving the reward too late after the behavior. After some practice, she should form an association that whenever she hears that click, it means she has done something right and she gets something yummy. Hopefully Bailey will learn some cool tricks that we can show off!

P.S. I got it in green...it was a tough decision!