Time for a photobomb:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kristinmuntz/7170700312/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kristinmuntz/7170700278/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kristinmuntz/7170700522/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kristinmuntz/7170700472/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kristinmuntz/7170700218/in/photostream/

And a cute vid from a couple of days ago - first big rain since he got here, he got to enjoy the small ponds that appear in our lawn.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIqEr68BUfQ&feature=relmfu

My phone sucks for pics of objects in constant motion, I have a ton of blurry ones but not many where you can actually see his face.

More later, need to work so my boss doesn't string me up

Glad to see you had a good night!

LOL...After seeing your pix, I will be the first to admit that, in the pic from 042512, he DOES look like Satan's spawn.
JK!

He's a great looking pup. I'm jealous.

I love how he is chasing raindrops and trying to catch the rain. Very cute, and formidable. Definitely a handful...

Kirsten, I encourage you to ride out the training you can receive from the people on this site. It might bruise your ego (I have my own bruises to show for it) but getting the results in watching your dog respond to you and grow in love is well worth it!

I gather you have taken off the e-collar? I pray it is so. You have a very intelligent beast who is learning every waking minute. We have to pay careful attention to what we are teaching them, sometimes what we intend is not what we create.

BTW - I had watched every CM video 3x by the time I got my pup. There is some good stuff, especially about our comportment and carriage, but all the leadership through dominance stuff was absolutely counter productive for me and my dog. Probably because I didn't understand it properly, but still, it didn't help me figure out how to be the best dog handler my dog needed.

Edited by Connie Sutherland (05/10/2012 11:22 AM)
Edit reason: fixed bracket problem

I am not using the e-collar at all. My a$$ is still chapped from my responses here - but don't worry about my ego. It's flexible enough to take a chewing when warranted. I have spoken to my hubby about my a$$-chewing and will garner his input as well.

I don't fault the CM method at all - the fault is clearly with me here, not with the training itself. I also do not blame the dog at all for his actions and mouthiness he's just doing what he was born to do, after all.

Kristin;

You're on the right track, and people here will have your back...Hang in there.
I've put my foot in my mouth here at least twice this week (pbly more) alone. I've trained my own companion dogs for over 30 yrs, and thought I knew something about dogs. My first working dog led me to this forum, and opened my eyes to a whole new education. We all make mistakes, get called out and get p****d off, but those that can hang benefit a great deal. One poster here can't even spell my name right, even though it's on the top of every post.

As you get more involved here (if not already), you will start to get pm's from very helpful and concerned members that will encourage you when you feel discouraged (or point out your mistakes when they don't want you to be called out publicly). This is not just for your sake; it's also for the well-being of your little Duke.

Peace.

P.S. It's also VERY COOL to meet a fellow aquarist!

 Quote: Duane Hull

One poster here can't even spell my name right, even though it's on the top of every post.

Yeah? Annd?

Oh, sorry. I see it your "N" key sticks.

See Kristin... s'all good. Right, Teresa?

 Quote: Kristin Muntz

I am not using the e-collar at all. My a$$ is still chapped from my responses here - but don't worry about my ego. It's flexible enough to take a chewing when warranted. I have spoken to my hubby about my a$$-chewing and will garner his input as well.

I don't fault the CM method at all - the fault is clearly with me here, not with the training itself. I also do not blame the dog at all for his actions and mouthiness he's just doing what he was born to do, after all.

Good for you! An ecollar is only to be used to layer correction once the deed is in his repetoire AND only when he is stable enough to endure such a correction. Other than that - ecollars are torture machines IMO. Some dogs can never have an ecollar used on them no matter how bad the behavior is. It will completely ruin them.

As for Duke, either I didn't read your first post thoroughly or his age wasn't fully revealed - I thought he was only 6-8 weeks; in your video he looks to be at least 3 months. If he is indeed 3 mos of older, he definitely should now be taught NO for inappropriateness (but still no physical correction) and can learn basic commands. When teaching NO - be sure you are getting some sort of focus from him before using the word, don't keep repeating no,no,no, but get a good NO and hopefully he will pop his head up, kind of like a startle, which will tell you he hears you. At that point he should stop what he's doing and then redirect his biteyness to something appropriate. Remember, just like a baby, mouthing everything is how they learn things. So try not to get frustrated and use inappropriate correction. Food is your best motivator for teaching and toys for interaction.

He sure is cute! Makes me want one!!!

His whelping date is 2-26-12 according to the breeder - I thought he was growing pretty fast myself! Legs just keep stretching out. He'll be 11 weeks on this Sunday.

Duane, it's more common for my name to be spelled wrong than right I barely notice anymore! Also most of those fishie pics are actually from 2005 - and I still have one of those same serpae tetras ALIVE. He's immortal, I swear. Kribensis descendants still live with me as well, though krib momma eventually went back to the same store I bought her with no less than 50 of her offspring, and I gave at least 6 of the babies away to friends. Down from 5 tanks to 1 30g bowfront