Update

I decided it was time to catch up on all the issues that I've been neglecting here...

1. Charlie and I are still looking for a job in Ithaca... we miss Beau!!!

2. Charlie is still fearful :( I am working very hard to take him at least one place a day. We frequent the pet store and pick up my little brother from school (WHOA kids!). I take him for a hot dog and cheese walk in the neighborhood every day because the meer sound of cars people and garage doors makes him anxious! The walks are getting a little easier, and he doesn't bark/growl when people approach him. He just runs to the end of the leash which is still frustrating.

On the upside my parents have people over quite often and this is great for Charlie, most of the neighbors even welcome him to their house if we go for dinner or a playdate. I've found that asking strangers to ignore Charlie and occasionally toss him a scrap of food (without making eye contact or talking to him) that he warms up really fast! Maybe people ignoring him makes them less threatening? After a few well placed scraps Charlie is sniffing legs and after about 30 mins usually accepts eye contact and a quick pet! Men take a little longer but I'm really pleased with it! Of course downside... BEGGING! But I think begging is easier to fix than panic... so I'll take it.

3. Madison is walking alot better. She is putting full weight on the leg and not on painkillers anymore. She is still stiff especially after laying down but can even trot without a noticable limp. We are assuming she just overexerted her self too many days in a row and her hip couldnt take it :( poor girl! So we are talking to the vet about a joint supplement and the beloved racquetball is in hiding for a few more days (shes a fetch addict).



Well its time to work on sit-stay.. we are facing the all favorite puppy challenge of rushing the door when it opens! SO glad hes a fast learner!

Poor Princess :(

My princess Madison was hiking with us yesterday and we don't know if she pulled something crossing the creek or if she is just that sore but she can barely walk :(

She is 10 (eek!) and has.. not so good hips but this is the worst we've seen her :( Poor Maddie is hobbling around.. we gave her mild pain killers but as soon as Tuesday rolls around she is going on a joint supplement (maybe Cosequin?) and possibly a vet visit if she's still gimpy!

Charlie doesn't understand why she wont put up with his antics today.. poor little guy. They don't really play... Maddie is above that (haha) but she does put up with him scooting circles and bouncing on her (just not near her ball!)

So Mads defiantly needs some get well soon howls!

Measuring up...

So I'm trying to figure out how big...er small.. Charlie will be!

He is 5 months (WOW) and 2 days old :) and is currently 14 1/2 inches at the shoulder and about 12 lbs. He has tiny ballerina paws (haha) so I can't see him being a "large" mini aussie! BUT the rule of thumb is that a puppy's weight at 14 weeks is 1/2 their adult weight... at 14 weeks Charlie was about 11lbs.

He's looking SO grown up in some of his pictures!


But not all of them!

He may be getting taller but DEFIANTLY not wider... He eats well but I can't stick any weight to those little bones! Maybe he's too fast? :)

How big were all your puppies at 5 months? I keep looking at Dash's puppy pictures because he and Charlie look like they had similar builds at this age. Its hard for me to think what he'll look like because the only minis I know (in person!) are his parents (mom was 20lbs dad was 30lbs) and his cousin (a whopper blue merle girl at 37lbs!!).



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In other news Madison got a haircut! With all of her fur she is SO hot in the summer and cant even lay outside! So here she is! I swear its the same dog!
She is SO much cooler :)

Wordless Wednesday

Thanks Noah! :)

Noah passed on an award to us! Thanks!


Guess I'm supposed to list 10 things you don't know about us..
1. Charlie's ears usually don't match.. one is up one is out
2. Charlie loves the water but shivers uncontrollably after about 20 minutes
3. Charlie 'puts himself to bed' when he is tired he trots upstairs and falls asleep on my pillow
4. Charlie's left front paw is exactly half pink and half black
5. I used Charlie as an activity this past summer while teaching pony camp
6. I cant wait for Charlie to get "big" so he can play with the cows!
7. I have confirmed the difference between a Border & Aussie is that Aussies are always 'ON' Charlie is either intense or asleep while I believe Borders (Beau & Madison) have an "off" switch the sometimes utilize
8. Charlie's eyelashes used to be mismatched. The left was white and right was black.. one by one the white lashes turned black, I was SO sad when the last white one fell out!
9. Charlie herds my 5 yr old brother with more determination than I've ever seen in dogs herding cows!
10. Despite the challenge of how timid he is Charlie is the best behaved puppy I've had! (KNOCK ON WOOD!!!!!)

Thanks again Noah! Now I guess I should pass it on? I'm not sure how this works!!!
365 Days of Puppy
Ryker
Dash
& Bandit and Ace but I'm not sure if I can double award them?? But they deserve it!!

Thanks to all my bloggy friends for sharing stories and of course advice!! :)

Won a battle! ...still fighting the war!

Well I must talk about my proud victory... and my still going on seemingly never ending challenge with Charlie.

Good news first.. WE FOUND A NEW SHEEPY! Charlie's first ever toy was this little stuffed squeaker sheep. It's his favorite and makes a wonderful tug toy for him and Beau. However.. Sheepy has undergone countless surgeries...lost his squeaker... lost his ears... his tail.. and all of his stuffing. He had to go. So in the fashion of that Petco commercial I toted my pup and the dead sheep to the store and even held it up to the sales associate who definatly thought I was insane.. but none the less led us to the stuffed animal asile. There was ONE sheepy left!!!!! VICTORY!!!

However I am still battling the timid (understatement of the year) bit of Charlie :( I'm hoping that living without Beau until I move to Ithaca will allow him some alone time to come out of his shell. Last night a neighbor brought his 4 month old yellow lab pup to visit. Charlie loved Zoe of course, but was very afraid of her owner. By the end of the visit, Zoe's owner could get Charlie to sniff him but not much more... I was pretty darn happy though. Normally he bolts and barks from a distance. However our other neighbor (who is a larger man and looooves Charlie) still cant get within 5 feet of Charlie even with treats!!

Following the advice of countless 'googles' and my mini aussie buds (thanks you guys!) I bring a hot dog/cheese/chicken with me everywhere (ew!). Today we went to a park with my younger brother... Charlie was a mess! After half a hot dog he calmed down enough to walk around the playground. He was still terrified of the 13yr old boy who tried SO hard to entice my puppy closer. Later though he was able to be comfortable with a little 4 yr old girl who was feeding him hot dog and her mom, who was just sitting and offering a friendly hand. He wasn't overly excited but he relaxed and laid down and allowed them to pet him once or twice... thats all I want!!!!! So... we are making some progress.. small children are definatly easier for him to warm up to and women are... well they're easier than men!!

I just get so sad when people ask me over and over if he was abused??? :( I guess I just need to be more patient. Its frustrating when I can think of nothing that would have brought this behavior about though (he was an outgoing baby).

But I will trudge on with my trusty hot dog. I'm trying to think positive.. it only took about 5 minutes for him to take a treat from the tiny girl... be thankful for small victories!

Here is Charlie zonked from his hour of torture... maybe he is counting sheep?

Wordless Wednesday