Kasper's thread!

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We took Kasper on the new walk we discovered recently, his first off-lead there. It's really cool, it starts off with a huge field with amazing views, then goes onto a large expanse of moorland with a little forest too. First time I walked around there I saw a million rabbits, a weasel / stoat, a heron and a barn owl!

Today we saw a 3 inch long caterpilla that was bright green with black & white spots, and a young hedgehog. It was running along the path to the moor, and I picked it up and carried it out of harms way...oh wow, he was so cute!!! I totally want a pet African Pygmy hedgehog one day

Kasper was brilliant on the walk, even though he was really hyped. He followed all our 'this way' commands, had a ball running up and down the cliffs and enjoyed splashing, lying down and drinking in the huge puddles on the field. He came to have his lead put on perfectly too

We saw a Weimarana that we've seen a few times before, and man is it crazy! It's more hyped up and uncontrollable than Kasper ever was, it's quite impressive!!

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Here are some pics from the walk about a week ago (Kasp was on-lead 'cos he hurt his paw)



Loony dog!



And, of course, lying in the puddle!!

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I did a load of counter conditioning with Kasper today...it's so funny how quickly he thinks "Oh! This is that game where I have to ignore everything she does and just sit here!" Like at first he was trying to play whilst I did what I did (which was fantastic and he got rewarded for it) but then he just stopped and sat there, totally ignoring what I was doing and just watching me intently, so he got even bigger rewards for that!

We worked on people holding his back legs and pulling them about a bit (yes, idiots actually do this ), tugging at his tail (they do this too ), flopping his ears about, waggling his front paws, and hitting him on the head. I spent a long time mixing about what I was doing and he thought it was great, so hopefully next time some idiot pretends to punch him in the face (someone actually did this once, and they knew he had an abusive past ) he will be well prepared and either think it's a game or look to me for a reward!

We had some furniture delivered yesterday and today, and so obviously Kasper claimed most of it as his, even if he didn't fit on it very well



The bloody thing's on wheels so if he jumps on and off it really fast it goes catapulting across the room!! He did it last night and it smashed into my foot and now I have some skin missing and a beautiful bruise - nice! Me thinks I need to work on him being calm whilst on the pouf

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An old pic of Kasper sitting upright like a person - note, I wasn't holding him like this, he actually sits like this a lot!



And as I've said before, he loves to choose the muddiest, grossest puddle to lie in...then looks at us and grins! Hey, who are we to stop him if he's having fun?

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We've had a lovely day today. I brought Kasper back a new puzzle feeder (it's one I saw months ago at a market but couldn't find it again, and today the pet shop that takes in animal rescues - we adopted Lenny from there - had the one I wanted!).



It's his hardest yet, even on the easiest difficult setting, and he soon worked out it was easier to use on his bed rather than the floor



Then I trimmed all his neck fur as it was getting pretty long, and gave him a big brushing outside. When we came in I put on his new collar and he did really well so he got a hide chew



Afterwards we went for a walk on the moor / woodland walk



And I managed to get a few still photos of him whilst he was looking out for rabbits, weasels, owls, herons, pheasants etc!





More to come!

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This was him sprinting into the wooded area



And reappearing at the field (it's a real mish mash walk with a bit of everything!) I love this photo of him



Then he cannon-balled into the water for a drink and a cool down



And he was very pleased with himself

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Kasper was poorly for the first time in ages a few days ago. We'd been out in the garden and we came back into find this



The cover had been on the back of the chair and he'd pulled it onto himself bless him!



He was fine after that day, so yesterday we fed him some rice and built his walks up a little. He was always acting himself so we knew it wasn't anything serious, he just went incredibly hyper because on the first day we couldn't feed him or walk him too far!! Today he got to celebrate his wellness with a big beefy bone, which he loooved. It was the length of my entire arm, but I took it off him shortly after this photo as it was getting small enough for him to break pieces off and swallow

[Janet2012]

Your dog has such personality he looks so intelligent! Where you live allso looks very beautiful too. Kasper looks like he must be a lot of fun to own!

also I willl have to show my son the training advice you have written as hopefully it will help Benny turn out like Kasper!

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Haha, thank you Janet...yes, he oozes character and once you've met him you're unlikely to forget him!!!

He's not exactly what I would call well behaved (he goes crazy when he sees a cat and can still be very fearful of strange men, for example) but he has come a long way and can behave exemplary when I least expect it! An example is just now we got back from a walk and the woman from next door was on the drive. She was saying hello and Kasper ran to her, sat, allowed her to stroke him (they've met before so that was fine) and then came and sat beautifully at my feet whilst we spoke to the woman. She commented how beautiful he is, how well behaved and that he looked like he had had a lovely walk, I was very proud

The training pages are very useful though and definitely worth a read! We've overcome a lot of issues with Kasper through positive reward based training and I don't think we'd have managed to keep him otherwise.

Currently we are working on counter conditioning him to Lenny, and let me tell you that is fun!!! Kasper's half springer, a hunting dog, and half collie a chasing / herding dog! He LOVES to chase deer, foxes, rabbits, squirrels, cats, you name it he'll chase it! So working on getting him calm around a rabbit, his second favourite animal to chase after deer, is damned hard work! I started by tying him with his lead to the rabbit hutch on the patio so he could just get to the gate going down to Lenny, every time he looked at Lenny he got a treat (this is called the Look At That game).

Gradually as his behaviour improved (meaning he stopped whining, howling and leaping around pulling at the end of his lead!) I extended the lead and moved him closer and closer down to the hutch. Today he was tied so he was about two foot from Lenny, but Lenny wouldn't play and hid in his warren all the time! Kasper was still whining at the run though and could still see Lenny when he moved in there, so we've made good progress. I reckon in a week or so he'll be okay out there overall, but we can't try him off-lead until all the fences are fixed which we're no closer to

[Janet2012]

Yes my sons dog is a chaser too its why he can't be offlead he won't come back he is too intent on having fun! My son says he's too old for training classes but he hasn't a clue what else to do or how to train a lively dog!

Kasper sounds like he has improved so much with living with you you must be very proud. How long have you had him for?

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He has done really well and improved both our lives so much. We couldn't be prouder of him

Definitely send your son the training links to read, it has a list of books, sites and Kikopup's YouTube videos too (she is awesome and it's very helpful to watch her videos to help people understand how to train their dogs). Any dog can be trained, you just have to keep the distractions low to begin with (ie. in a room with nobody else in it) and use high value rewards that the dog loves...this could be toys, cooked hot dog, cheese etc. You have to start really basic and work your way up...Kasper knows the 'twirl' command (spin left to right) in the living room but if I ask him to do it in the kitchen he is lost

Also, there are plenty of training classes with no age restrictions or that are aimed for adult dogs, and there's nothing to be ashamed off

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Aw Kasper's favourite friend came over the other night and slept over. As soon as he saw Kasper he said, "Oh hello Kasper doodle! What a pretty new collar you have you look so handsome!" I love that he noticed, it was very cute

Kasper's been a bit of a star these last few days. For the first time we walked down to Bingley centre with him, and took him to Myrtle Park. I wanted to let him off-lead in the bottom field, but Bingley Live music festival is coming up so it's full of stage equipment...not a good idea! So instead we slipped into the tennis courts as it was late and raining. The three courts are joined together, so I shut the gate and Kasper was able to race around all three of them with me roaring and chasing him

We took him on the moor walk yesterday and he got to meet four dogs up there, a Husky, Golden Retriever (who looked really weird because he wasn't overweight and most GR's are!), a little fuzzy schnauzer cross and a big bouncy GSD. The GSD was fairly young, all big paws and lolloping gait. Kasper and he went crazy and the huge GSD almost bowled Edge over, his light flashed before his eyes haha!!

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Kasper has had a busy time these past few days. He's been on some really awesome walks and met loads of other dogs, he saw two Giant Schnauzers today which were lovely with him. He's also acting giddy towards dark coloured Labs these days, which is nice...he's been attacked by so many black Labs he's always been slightly anxious of them, but he seems to be overcoming that which I'm very proud of him for.

We're still CC'ing him to Lenny - it's a work in progress!

He got a new ball the other day which I couldn't resist buying, as it's soft and squidgy (which usually means it's harder for him to destroy and will last longer than an hour!) but the best thing is, it has no squeaker!! It just makes a soft whistly noise so it isn't annoying at all, yay! Kasper's had it a few days and it's withstood his chomping so hopefully it'll last a while



And playing catch



And looking psycho hyper and cute!



And finally a real funny photo of him eating his bone yesterday, which he reallly enjoyed!



He's been out and about with all the noise from the festival these last few days, and has coped magnificently with it all. Last night on his evening Razorlight had about a million fireworks, really big ones too, that went off whilst we were on a dog walk and bless our little dog he didn't care at all - and they were loud enough to make me jump!! Very beautiful though

[Janet2012]

Kasper is pretty as a picture Red he really is so handsome. He looks like he has much fun too that photograph of him catching his toy is very funny what a well timed shot! I'm never sure what bones benny should have nor is my son we have been told so much that bones splinter and so we stay away from them. Kasper looks to be having fun with his though!

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Oh yes, he is the most beautiful dog on the planet I think - I may be slightly biased haha, but everyone we meet comments on how handsome he is

A lot of people say that about bones. The truth is, any raw bone is fine for a dog - even chicken bones!! Kasper often has raw bones to gnaw on, although the one in the pic wasn't a real bone it was a vegetable and meat shaped bone! But yes, as long as a bone isn't cooked, it's okay for a dog, and very good for mental stimulation and their teeth. Be sure to take the bone away before it gets small enough to be swallowed though

Kasper has been very soppy and cuddley today. We were wrestling just now and he had his paws on my shoulder so I slammed him onto his back on the couch and he just lay there, tired and panting. It was very cute. Then I rested on top of him and it all got a bit too much and we had to play again He's got his original tuggy to shred at the moment, an old rope toy we got when we first adopted him...I doubt it'll be around much longer!!

[Janet2012]

Thank you Red I will pass that on to my son. He hasn't really tried benny pon many treats so far as he didn't used to really use them although now he uses them quite a bit for all the training and he is getting him more toys too and I have found a puzzle feeder it's a ball with two holes at either end that dry food will fall out of I am interested to see if Benny ;likes it !

[Admin]

Yes well when we first adopted Kasper I thought chicken bones were unsafe, but even they are dog-friendly when raw. Even with cooked chicken bones it is still much rarer than you'd think given all the hype that they would splinter and harm the dog, but of course it's just safer to never give a dog a cooked bone. Kasper adores a variety of treats and bones, although when we first got him he did resource guard so we had to work through that...

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The weirdest thing happened the other night. It was pitch black and we were up on the moor without a torch, trying to use the moonlight to see. We saw Kasper only a few feet in front of us, wagging at something. At first we both assumed it was a dog, but ...it just wasn't. It stayed for a few seconds and then ran off. It was either a large hare or a fox! I'm leaning more towards a fox, because it was more Kasper-sized, didn't hop, looked dog-like, and if it'd been anything like a rabbit Kasper would have chased it! As it is the 'fox' ran off and Kasper went after

If it was a fox it would be my closest encounter with them yet!

He enjoyed a bone the other day



But ate it really quickly. It was filled with meat of some sort and he cracked it in half and scoffed the meat before crunching the bone

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Kasper has had an exciting few days! Not only did he see his best friend and my cousin recently, but yesterday he saw my dad for the first time in months and months, and my nana today too!

There was lots of crazy running about (Kasper sprinting from the couch to the armchair to his bed to the pouffe on repeat, then catapulting the pouffe across the room as it's on wheels! ) and LOTS of whining and excited little yelps, bless him! Then he went racing around the room grabbing all his toys and showing them off...ah, it was funny!

After we'd eaten lunch we came back and got the dog and took him for a walk with my nana up onto the moor which was nice. He got to say hello to this really cute little Bedlington Terrier cross, all grey curly fur but with ears like a beagle!

He's collapsed now, sopping wet after he went swimming, on his bed under the budgie table and is totally conked out

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Ugh, Kasper is going through a bad period! I wouldn't ever say he goes through a good period haha but he's at his worst right now, for no apparent reason...all I can think is the change in weather? He's pulling on lead and lunging at things (people to say hello (which is stupid as when they respond he's scared of them ), other dogs, litter, leaves, grass, you name it!), going bezerk when he sees a cat, straining in a massive arc on his lead, whining and standing on his hind legs...obsessed with me in the house, where if I so much as move he runs over and shoves his face under my nose or brings a toy...and other annoying things I've forgotten right now

He's still on two off-lead walks a day in different locations so it's not lack of exercise. And training and play are still very much a part of his days, and of course toys or edibles to chew...I can't wait for his mood to switch back though

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He's still been abysmal in regards to his behaviour today but oh man I LOVE this mutt He's been quite cute today really, I guess...he was really cute up on the moor, we played chase and fetch at the end. Both collapsed next to each other and I had him dropping the tennis ball in my hand, chasing after it, bringing it back and dropping it into my hand again - he's a proper dog!

We went to the cinema tonight and I popped in to P@H and got a cheap toy for Kasper, which he loves and has already decimated now...there's stuffing everywhere But he enjoyed it!





Then he had supper in the first puzzle feeder we ever got. My parents gave it to Kasper the first night we had him and none of us realised it was a puzzle feeder at first haha!



He has to chew the ball to make the gap wide at one side and kibble falls out



And I bought him two new collars recently (I need to stop, he has about 15, but I see so many he'd look cute in!!) Anyway, the red one with bones was from an animal charity shop (where I got his current one from too) which is nice, and the other I thought was hilarious and it only cost 99p!! Lyle is horrified haha, I said Kasper will only wear it at special events like Christmas and birtdays

[Admin]

*cringe* It pains me to say it after my post yesterday, but I bought Kasper two collars today

They're really cool though!! They're designer ones, Lyle recommended one, it's kinda comic-book style with graffiti art on it and says "Yo street dawg"...Kasper looks SO cute in it! And the other is a very pretty shiny red one that says 'Forever Wild' on it...to show my shame, here are Kasper's collars so far, not counting one that he was wearing



And here is nekkid looking Kasper not wearing a collar



I think he looks proud of his new one



My dad came and saw Kasper last night and he was very impressed...Kasper was being quite giddy (much much better than last time though) and I got him to do a 'stick 'em up!', sent him to his bed just by saying "on your bed" and then made him leave it while I threw kibble everywhere...star dog

[Admin]

Ugh we are having THE MOST miserable weather at the moment

Had the wettest dog walk this morning, the entire forest was a bog and any hills turned into streams. The huge river-thing underneath the canal had burst it's banks and swollen to twice its' size...it's been raining heavily non-stop since last night, and is supposed to carry on all day tomorrow until the evening too - oh yay!

I snipped the dogs' hair last night and am flipping glad I did now as it made him easier to dry!! He really enjoyed his wet walk in the woods though (ooh, alliteration!) and it exhausted him all day, so we were lucky not to need to take him out this evening, hurrah! He had a toilet break in the garden, some play, and a big hide to chew on and he's been an absolute angel and slept wherever we've been all day

[Janet2012]

I hope you realise that dog is quite spoilt!!! It must vbe hard not to as he is so cute though and he does look lovely in his new collar and his pose is very proud. Yes we have had days of rain here too our garden is very muddy at the moment.

[Admin]

Erm, yes we realise that Janet!!! You're right, it's impossible not to though...I mean, look at his little sad dog face!



Wearing his new collar



Soggy dog after three days of continuous torrential rain



I have way too many pics of him because I haven't put any up for a while and have had quite a few photo shoots with him, so my apologies!



Haha I love this photo



Okay, to be continued...

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