Welcome to...a puppy!!!!

So, in case you were wondering why the forum has been down and nobody has fixed it...well, six days ago we opened our home to a little rescue pup!!

It really REALLY wasn't planned! Someone we met through our business told us that their neighbour, who isn't a very nice person, didn't want the puppy anymore. He had had her all of two weeks, and yet she had no name, bed, equipment of any kind. She had been spending a lot of time outside with no shelter, and the 'owner' was going to dump her!!!

So we said we would look after her, and potentially rehome her...haha

Here she is



We think she's about 10.5 weeks old now, is mostly / all Staffy and we have named her Zoey!



How adorable is she?! Especially in her new pink harness!!! I am going to be getting her so many girly stuff



Kasper *really* wasn't impressed at first, and growled a lot! At first we really did think we would have to rehome her, for the best of both dogs.

However with lots of counter conditioning they are great together now, and were positively interracting within 24 hours. They play together wonderfully now, and growling only happens when it should - Kasper is far too much of a push over, and will lay on his back whilst Zoey bites his neck, the poor boy!



Zoey has had a vet visit and her first vaccination. Our amazing, marvellous vet said she is "far too healthy" in every way, other than an innocent puppy heart murmur (should be gone by the time she is 5 months old) and being a little underweight.

Crate training is going well, as is house training, she has learnt touch, her name (recall), is learning sit and knows to wait in her crate until released!

And some videos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nf5XMXElpes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TInMb0o0tg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHrgwD6HFjA

I shall post some more later - honest! We are just so busy at the moment!!

Red i did wonder why I couldnt post!!!! I have missed the forum! And how wonderful to come back to such amazign news I can't believe it!! Zoe is adorable I can see why you are so smitten for her and I'm sure Kasper will get used to her in time although itt sounds like he's already doing so well. Thank you for being so kind to animals.

Thanks Janet - she sure is a beauty!

Zoey and Kasper play amazingly well together, we are leaving them both out much longer these days, instead of crating one so they both have a chance to rest. In fact aside from when we weren't home, the only reason they have been crated today is so they could each chew a pigs' ear in peace! They're even learning to settle in each others' company (something previously unheard of as it was just play play play!), something which a very good and knowledgable friend said it would take months to achieve! Woohoo!

Zoey knows sit now, and will do it anywhere, even with mild distractions. We're working on leave it too. As for housetraining, no accidents for 2 days, yay! And that includes the 4 hours we spent at my grandparents' house yesterday *happy dance* Zoey loved seeing family members; she coped marvellously with her first car rides, a new house and new people!

Zoey turns 12 weeks old tomorrow - time flies!

As you can see from that big puppy bell, she has put on weight I don't think she's underweight anymore!



Someone's tired!



Possibly the cutest thing ever!!!!



A puppy parcel (she loves to sleep on sombody's lap and under a blanket or dressing gown, I'd just laid her on the couch in this pic and she didn't even wake up!)



They're still getting much much better at settling around each other



LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE this pic!

So yes, all is going well at our house!

We haven't had an accident in days, Zoey seems to be 80% toilet trained, as long as we take her out every hour or so. She's been left for a maximum of 3 hours, and hasn't made a mess in her crate, and she only needs taking out once during the night. Woohoo!

She knows sit, touch, her name, an easy leave it, and we are working on drop it.

Next Monday she has her second vac, and will be able to be walked outside soon after - hope the snow clears by then for her

Here she is tasting a carrot for the first time

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72GRaOuwm24&feature=youtu.be

And some training and play!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgUGlZ6XBMM&feature=youtu.be

Zoey is still doing really well, and is fully settled in the house. She is about 80% housetrained, but will have accidents if we don't take her out often enough or don't keep an eye on her!

I fed her a meal in a puzzle feeder for the first time yesterday (she has just gone 12 weeks old btw) and she cottoned on to it straight away! She was rolling it along with her nose like a little pro!!



You can tell how much she has grown here, compared to how dinky she was in her crate at first!



Chewing a hide bootie, although she much prefers pigs' ears to rawhide...



On the bed with big brother



I'll add some videos once I've edited and uploaded them - we're both rushed off our feet atm!!!

Oh, I forgot to say, we took Zoey out for some more socialisation today, and she did really well...apart from whinging the whole time the sun wasn't on her!!!

We took her up to the play park in the hope of meeting some kids, which she hasn't really met yet, but there weren't any there annoyingly...none of the adults walking past wanted to say hello either (?!) but she did get to see them. She got to go off-lead in the park itself, and down on the ground!! It was so cute, I had her running around the park chasing me hahaha...then she crawled onto my lap on a swing and started whinging because she wanted to go back home!

Opposite our house there was a kid about 7 years old shovelling snow (child labour! ), and when he saw us walking towards him, oh you should have seen his little face light up...it was SO cute!!! I asked if he would like to say hello, and he was brilliant with her. He didn't tower over her, offered his hand for stroking, didn't mind when she nibbled his glove!!! We popped her at his feet and Zoey bless her was very enthusiastically saying hello to him too...it was all so cute!

So yes! Edge's family are coming tomorrow to meet the new puppy too - we're dragging them on a dog walk with Kasper first haha!

Oh red just beautiful I have tears in my eyes from hearing all about it and seeing them boht together. Not only have you given zoe the best life possible but it sounds like kasper has gained so much from having a sister as well. The training is most impressive I cant beleive you have trained such a baby I didn't realise they could pick it up like that. I love her playing with the carrot too Please do add more!

Thanks Janet!

Yep, puppies are very capable of learning, especially if you use positive reinforcement. Zoey has learnt a new trick since then, I say 'how high' and she stands on her back legs!! She also knows drop it, and will drop low value items.

Today she had a vet appt for her second vaccination and microchipping - it about broke my heart! She was miserable all the way to the vets as it was raining, then she had a horrible time at the vets (although even the vet said she was incredibly brave), and as soon as she was released after being chipped she ran straight to the vet and covered him in kisses awwww!!

In the waiting room the vet came out and gave her a free chewie haha.

And a video - it doesn't have how high yet, sorry

http://m.youtube.com/index?&desktop_uri=%2F

She is ossum I want her!!! Will she grow up to be a killer? Ha ha jk jk!

Hahaha, oooh I almost released a verbal onslaught then! You don't want to see me when I'm mad, especially when it's about dogs - and especially especially my dogs!!

Zoey's really helping the pro-Staffy movement though; everybody who has met her has said how lovely she is, and we've had a few comments such as "Do you know it's all wrong what the media says about Staffies, they're lovely dogs..." Ah, happy days!

Zoey's training is going amazingly well. She's had quite a few walks now, and her socialisation with people is fantastic, and with dogs! She's said hello to a great variety of dogs, large and small, and played with an 11 month old Cocker Spaniel on her longline! We've also let her off-lead a few times in the field, and her recall has been marvelous with no distractions!

We visited Zoey's training class on Wednesday, to see what we thought of it before taking her next week. It was brill! There were about six other dogs, which is a great small number, lots of space, and apart from 2 they were all puppies!!!! Which is perfect as there aren't any puppy classes nearby, whoop! Here she is back at 13 weeks old



And cuddling with her brother - awwww!



Sleepy stretched out pupster!



And this was her first ever walk!



And chilling together - WOW!



Her training is going well, the most amazing thing: SHE KNOWS LIE DOWN! She doesn't fully 'know' it yet, but she will offer the behaviour, which I am gobsmacked at. Seriously I have been trying to teach her that for weeks, but she kept confusing the lure with 'leave it' so would just sit there waiting! But she finally got it and I am SO happy

She also knows wait now, and I can move up to 4ft away and she will not budge...so yes, I am very happy with training! I want to train those two commands up as much as possible before her first training class on Wednesday...hmm, wish me luck!

Here's my dual dog training, and Zoey's new commands - she is 14 weeks old here!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLJ15-J7oAo&feature=youtu.be

And puppy play

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHiyC_bEoto

Okay, the pics are here!

I forgot to say before as well, we currently think her breed mix may be a Staffy cross English Bull Terrier. If she has got bully in her I will be SO damn happy!!! They've been my favourite breed since I was under 10 years old, but I never thought I'd get one as I wanted rescue dogs, and they have a fair number of health issues when pure. I so hope she has Bully in her, but I guess we will have to wait and see

This is the pic where you can see it very clearly (quite a few others agree too, including our neighbour who has always had Staffies and EBT - hmmm!)



There's a puppy in there?!



And size comparison:

now


then

I swear I cannot believe how much she has grown! We took her to my Grandparent's house today for lunch, and as she was napping on the couch she had to spread across two laps because she doesn't fit on one anymore!

My babies snuggling beautifully together



Seriously, she could pass for a pure English Bull Terrier in this pic...she so has EBT in her...I really hope so anyway as I LOVE bullies! Staffies and EBTs are my favourite two breeds



Half an hour's constant play really tires them both out...it's awesome



Being dragged back to the bed by Kasper haha! He does this all the time



Hai there!!!



OMG they're both looking at the camera!!!



Haha so yeah we've had a good few days here. We had some friends around the other night and Zoey loved seeing them, haha. Then Betsy's owner came around to drop our wages off and she loved saying hi to him too...and my parents and Grandparents today...it's SO weird (but in a good way!) to have such a sociable dog with humans

She's met horses for the first time, and was a big fan! She tried to crawl under the fence to get into the field with them haha! She also said hello to an aggressive older dog (was fine with her though as she's so little, bless it) and played with a 5 month old Golden Lab puppy. Training class this Wednesday! Can't wait!!!!

I was practising my tricks at my Grandparents' today, proofing her with a few distractions. She did good and they were really impressed. They asked how I knew so much about dog training and I said I've studied it for like practically my entire life LOL! I would love to be a trainer one day though, hence our new website www.pawstothedoor.co.uk

Zoey continues to thrive She turned 15 weeks old yesterday - I can't believe we have had her 5 weeks!

She's doing really well with her training; her counter conditioning to her harness has improved so much. She gets to see other people and dogs on her daily walks, her favourite recent furry friend was an 18 month old American Bulldog - Staffy - type dog called Buster. He looked like such a bruiser and was so amazingly gentle and friendly with the puppy - he let Zoey put both paws on his head haha!

I am so glad her nose has stayed the same so far!



This is Ms Zoey all wrapped up in my dressing gown for a nap!



Red: "Zoey, this would be a really great photo...IF YOU HADN'T SMEARED YOUR SNOTTY NOSE ALL OVER THE LENS SECONDS BEFORE!!!!"

My puppy is not a baby anymore!!!



Haha! She's still quite dinky, but when we look back on photos from those first few days - phew! Man she has grown! She'll be 16 weeks old tomorrow, which is just crazy - it only seems like yesterday that she was 10 weeks! We haven't had an accident indoors for ages, I don't remember when...she can finally wear her harness after 3+ weeks of counter conditioning, and she knows sit, touch, fist bump, leave it, wait, hold up, lie down, how high and her name. Wowzers!

She simply adores her big brother and, apart from RG, he tolerates her very well and has resigned himself to the fact she is here to stay haha



She is growing into an absolutely beautiful dog



And is so much healthier and prettier than she was at 10 weeks - I am sure she is supposed to lose that cuteness not gain it?!



She has tried raw food for the first time in the form of a frozen sprat, and LOVED it! She wolfed it down, it was gone within minutes...Kasper chews them a little and then rolls fishy smell all around the house, so it makes a nice change to have a dog that actually eats them properly!



Zoey proving how big she is at almost 16 weeks



And wearing her harness



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDo1UGuapOk

Just posted in Kasper's thread, but we just did a joint training session and it was amazing! I put Kasper on a stay on his bed, and me and Zoey trained at the other side of the room. We worked on wait, lie down, leave it, touch and sit of course. She can 'wait' whilst I walk about 6 foot away now, and will wait for over 10 seconds providing there are no amazing distractions - she's fine with Edge playing games and Kasper being on the bed though, which is impressive I think for a 15 week old!

Here's a pic of Edge and Zoey looking hilariously large and lazy!

We had a great socailisation walk with the little girl today

We took her up to the moor for the first time, and she spent most of it off-lead. Her recall still needs lots of work, but as she's so young she doesn't stray far anyway. She saw lots of other dogs and got to play with three labs of each colour, a Rotti x Staffi, a young Springer and a Border Terrier so she had a great time!

She is absolutely shattered now and curled on my lap asleep

The same day we took Kasper on a huge trek, we took Zoey on a big one too! We tried to walk her to Bingley centre and back, but she got way too tired...sometimes she is absolutely shattered after a 10 minute stroll, whereas other times she can walk for 45 minutes non-stop! I think it depends on how busy she has been in the house, and how much she has played with her big brother...*sigh*

A new video of little missy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-XWeqw-Yek&feature=youtu.be

Lovely red, just lovely.

Thankyou Janet! You know we saw two 19 week old Staffy pups the other day (Zoey is 17 weeks old, btw) and they were twice her size and width!!! Oh woah! I iknew she was small for her age, but man!

We've been having some lovely walks with her recently, especially when the weather has been nice! She's met lots of fab dogs and really looks forward to saying hello to them...just today she's seen a Cavalier, Springer, Collie cross, GSD, Weimeraner x Vizla (WOW what a mix!) and a Terrier cross. Not bad for one walk! I really need to remember to take my camera to get pics and a film of her out walking, I don't have any yet

Here's their latest training video - you can see Zoey showing her new trick, 'shout.' Funniest thing ever as she seems to think I want her to jump around, THEN bark, and then she gets the treat!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMvR16Awafg

Here's Zoey eating some raw fish



Playing with a tennis ball - it's getting increasingly hard to take photos of her! Because of how I trained her to accept the camera, she now drops what she's doing and sits for a picture!



Like this!



And this!



And, oh, this too!



Haha!

I love her Red! Its so nice to be able to watch her grow up on here. I cant believe the tricks she knews from such a young age!