Journey: Puppy to Adult

Shai

& the Muttly Crew
Joined
Dec 14, 2009
Messages
6,215
Likes
0
Points
36
She is really so cute. Sounds like she is having a wonderful time :) Never too many Journey photos!
 

PWCorgi

Priscilla Winifred Corgi
Joined
Apr 12, 2006
Messages
14,854
Likes
0
Points
36
Age
34
Location
Twin Citay!
<3 She is SO pretty. We have had a couple tri Aussie puppies come into work and I'm always like "OMG you are adorable!" As I think "but not as cute as Journey, what a shame" and then I realize I'm kind of a jerk. :p

Also, could she come and teach Siri not to go shopping during her store puppy play dates. Just this morning I had to buy 3 cat toys that she ran off with, and we won't even talk about the bulk biscuit drive bys.
 

SaraB

New Member
Joined
Mar 31, 2011
Messages
5,798
Likes
0
Points
0
Location
St. Louis, MO
She seriously is one of the cutest puppies ever. So glad she is turning into everything you wanted! Keep those pictures coming!
 

thehoundgirl

Active Member
Joined
Nov 24, 2004
Messages
2,353
Likes
0
Points
36
I love reading your stories about her and seeing pictures of her. There can never be too many pictures of her! :D She is so beautiful and sounds like one awesome dog! :D
 

Sekah

The Monster.
Joined
Feb 6, 2011
Messages
1,339
Likes
0
Points
0
Location
Toronto
Wow, she's really turning into a stunner. Really nice proportions already. She and you are going to be a wonderful fit.
 

Dizzy

Sit! Good dog.
Joined
Sep 14, 2005
Messages
17,761
Likes
1
Points
38
Location
Wales
Omg I read that whole post and only got 2 pictures?? Lol! Not enough :p

And as for the not buying to show.... And maybe sucking... Well, look at Fred! I sucked, he shone and we won! I think journey will do just the same!!
 

Toller_08

Active Member
Joined
Apr 20, 2006
Messages
8,359
Likes
1
Points
36
She seems darn near close to perfect! She's maturing beautifully and it sounds like she's an absolute pleasure to be around. :) I'm looking forward to show pictures and hearing how she does when she is old enough to compete in flyball/agility. :)

It must be great to be able to bring her to work with you too.
She is pretty close to perfect.That's why she has to remind me sometimes that she isn't actually perfect and still just a pup who does silly things on occassion haha.

She's honestly almost too good to be true. I've always had an idea in my head of what my perfect dog would be like, but it's never actually happened... until Journey, that is. Who knew it was actually possible. I hope she keeps the amazing temperament and personality that she has now forever. I think my adult dogs are all fairly similar to what they were as puppies, so hopefully she follows suit.

I am sure there will be lots of stories of our adventures into dog sports as she grows! I'm most looking forward to finally having a successful Obedience dog... no idea why, I just like it. And now that I know people who actively train and compete in Agility, hopefully I'll get the hang of it and not screw Journey up too much haha. She's such a go getter type dog though that I'm pretty sure she'll excel at pretty much everything... unfortunately for her she has me at the end of her leash, but that's ok. I'll get there! She doesn't mind.

She is really so cute. Sounds like she is having a wonderful time :) Never too many Journey photos!
Thanks!

<3 She is SO pretty. We have had a couple tri Aussie puppies come into work and I'm always like "OMG you are adorable!" As I think "but not as cute as Journey, what a shame" and then I realize I'm kind of a jerk. :p

Also, could she come and teach Siri not to go shopping during her store puppy play dates. Just this morning I had to buy 3 cat toys that she ran off with, and we won't even talk about the bulk biscuit drive bys.
Thank you! That's funny. I think I'm kind of a jerk all the time, too. I see other Aussies and I'm like "it's cute, but Journey's prettier" haha. How rude. I mean, I am biased and all, but still. I think the same pretty often when I see dogs of the same breed as a lot of Chaz dogs, too. We're so mean.

She'd love to come teach Siri! Although I think I'd be more afraid that Siri and her terrier ways would rub off on Journey and teach Journ to steal things instead. :p

She seriously is one of the cutest puppies ever. So glad she is turning into everything you wanted! Keep those pictures coming!
Thank you! And I am, too! I'm sure I would have been happy with whichever puppy I got, but it's amazing just how perfect of a fit she is for me.

I love reading your stories about her and seeing pictures of her. There can never be too many pictures of her! :D She is so beautiful and sounds like one awesome dog! :D
Thanks!

Wow, she's really turning into a stunner. Really nice proportions already. She and you are going to be a wonderful fit.
Thank you!

Omg I read that whole post and only got 2 pictures?? Lol! Not enough :p

And as for the not buying to show.... And maybe sucking... Well, look at Fred! I sucked, he shone and we won! I think journey will do just the same!!
Haha, sorry! Sometimes I get carried away with the talking about her. There are more pictures but my work computer hates posting pictures so I stopped for now. There should be 4, though!

And I hope that's what happens! I'm looking forward to it. Just wish I didn't have to buy an outfit to show her. I hate clothes shopping. :rofl1:
 

Dizzy

Sit! Good dog.
Joined
Sep 14, 2005
Messages
17,761
Likes
1
Points
38
Location
Wales
Haha, sorry! Sometimes I get carried away with the talking about her. There are more pictures but my work computer hates posting pictures so I stopped for now. There should be 4, though!

And I hope that's what happens! I'm looking forward to it. Just wish I didn't have to buy an outfit to show her. I hate clothes shopping. :rofl1:
Oh there might be four..... ;)

I just wore stuff I had already... And a lot of people were in less formal stuff. I've found the gun dog people tend to show in tweeds and leather boots!! I still need to get an outfit too... I just wore smart casual stuff for the open show, most people were pretty casual, although I saw a couple more dressy. The champ show was a mixture, but more formal (still not that formal... Apart from a few), and I imagine crufts is all quite formal, although people's opinions on formal vary!!

It is quite good fun... I'm gutted I had to withdraw Fred from our last one. Only done one so far!! But a few champ shows coming up!

You just have to throw yourself in it... I was quite nervous and I don't normally get nervous, but if you don't do it, you never suss it out! His breeders did offer to handle him for me, but sod that! It's just odd everyone staring at you! And puppies try to embarrass you... Fred wouldn't let the judge look at his teeth, and galloped when we moved :D
 

Toller_08

Active Member
Joined
Apr 20, 2006
Messages
8,359
Likes
1
Points
36
Oh there might be four..... ;)

I just wore stuff I had already... And a lot of people were in less formal stuff. I've found the gun dog people tend to show in tweeds and leather boots!! I still need to get an outfit too... I just wore smart casual stuff for the open show, most people were pretty casual, although I saw a couple more dressy. The champ show was a mixture, but more formal (still not that formal... Apart from a few), and I imagine crufts is all quite formal, although people's opinions on formal vary!!

It is quite good fun... I'm gutted I had to withdraw Fred from our last one. Only done one so far!! But a few champ shows coming up!

You just have to throw yourself in it... I was quite nervous and I don't normally get nervous, but if you don't do it, you never suss it out! His breeders did offer to handle him for me, but sod that! It's just odd everyone staring at you! And puppies try to embarrass you... Fred wouldn't let the judge look at his teeth, and galloped when we moved :D
My regular attire is jeans and a t-shirt haha. So not suitable. And then I have dress pants, but they're black and Journey's black, so that won't work. Usually people are pretty dressed up here at dog shows, even small shows. So I definitely don't want to stand out as the only one who isn't. But I do have four months... surely in that amount of time I'll be able to find something. I hope, anyway!

I tried showing Dance a couple of times but I really had no idea what I was doing and had a terribly shy and immature dog at the end of my leash, which my lack of confidence probably did not help, but still, it didn't make for a very good experience. But Journey's an entirely different dog and I had a lot of fun with her in classes, so hopefully that will translate into a real show.

Oh, Fred... what a goof! Puppies are so silly. I'm sure Journey's biggest challenges will be 1) not sniffing the grass and 2) not bouncing like Tigger up at me when she's supposed to be nicely gaiting haha. She's so exuberant and suuuper bouncy.
 

Toller_08

Active Member
Joined
Apr 20, 2006
Messages
8,359
Likes
1
Points
36
What a beautiful little girl she is :)
Thank you! I adore her, in case that wasn't obvious from all of my brag posts about her. I've really gotta tone it down a bit one of these days... but it's so hard. :rofl1:



As of today, Journey is 19" tall and 34lbs. This confuses me, because Merlin is taller and yet weighs slightly less haha. She's certainly not fat though. I swear most of it is her brick of a chest. I was kind of hoping this would be her adult height, but at just 5 1/2 months, I think that's wishful thinking. I don't think she has too much more left height wise to grow, though. Her growth knuckle on her front legs is a lot smaller than it was. I'm guessing she'll be about 20.5 to 21 inches... hopefully!

She's so funny. She has this weird quirk that if you're wearing a jacket or long sleeves, she has to stick her nose in the sleeve to rest her head on your wrist/hand. No idea why. Weirdo. She also has a not-so-subtle way of insisting I do things with her. Like shoving a Bully Stick into my leg, or grumbling and rubbing/wiggling all over me like a cat while holding a toy/bone/chew. She's such a happy little dog. Always wiggling and smiling about something, or bouncing of course. Her bouncing scares me actually. She's so exuberant about it and will literally bounce right into things and I worry she'll hurt herself. Silly puppy.

She dealt with a charity Mariachi band the other day like a pro. She just calmly watched them and wondered why those silly humans were making so much noise.

As silly as it is, one of my favourite things about her is how easy it is to do her nails. Thank goodness. My other three tolerate it, but Dance struggles annoyingly for her front feet and the Dobermans always try to pull their feet away and kangaroo kick with their back legs. Scary when you also have a power tool in your hand! It's not Journ's most favourite thing in the world, but she lies there nice and relaxed and with no tension at all. It's so nice.

I think she's going to be an awesome sport dog for me. I am so excited to start taking different classes with her. Being a newbie to it all, I'm sure I'll make mistakes, but she's such an eager and happy dog and loves to try anything and everything without fear. She's not hard nor soft either, which is awesome and what I was hoping for. She catches onto stuff incredibly quickly and tries so hard and wiggles her little nub the entire time. She just loves doing things. She loves accompanying Dance and I to Flyball and practicing recalls and ball retrieves (on the ground) to a tug and just hanging out and showing people what she can do and how cute she can be haha. We went to an Agility practice as well with the Flyball group just because I wanted to see what Dance still remembered (which was everything! I feel like I've deprived her of her most favourite thing - gotta get her back into classes so we can learn more together) and wanted to watch and hang out with everyone. But Journey came along too, as usual, and got to play with a wobble board and a tunnel and thought that was just so much fun. She starts a puppy foundations Agility class on Tuesday which I'm looking forward to.

And here are a few goofy pictures from our day at work yesterday...

She's making me go broke. I miss her little puppy teeth that took forever to go through bones and chews haha. Now she's like a big dog and takes no time at all to finish something. But I feel bad if she doesn't have something to chew during the day at some point.











 

Toller_08

Active Member
Joined
Apr 20, 2006
Messages
8,359
Likes
1
Points
36
Journey knows a lot more than this video shows, and is working on a bunch more, but here is a video of a few of the things we've worked on over the last month or so. Some pivots to find heel position, her down, high five, practicing waits/stays around the other dogs being exciting/interesting, and some hind end awareness stuff at the end that we just started (next time I get a puppy, I'll do that first! It took her a while to figure out to not use her front feet for everything).

[YOUTUBE]yW-jPpoVZoc[/YOUTUBE]

And sorry about the lame music. I forgot to add some before I uploaded it and Youtube only gave me so many choices and I got annoyed trying to find something haha.

I'm excited that I sort of figured out how to edit videos today! I've never done that before. Now that I know how, I might try harder to get better video footage of all the dogs now. :)


Oh, and Dance would like you all to know that she's much better at catching frisbees than is depicted above. :rofl1: My throws were not good at all and she was tired.
 
Last edited:

Toller_08

Active Member
Joined
Apr 20, 2006
Messages
8,359
Likes
1
Points
36
Since I take an over abundance of pictures that deserve their own threads (otherwise this one would be ridiculously long), I don't post in this one often anymore. But I still like it for general updates and it'll be good to look back on later on.

I just have to say how nice it is to have a 'normal' dog. I don't know what everyone's definition of normal is, but it's been so long since I've had just a take anywhere, do anything dog that is up for anything I ask of her and it's just so, so nice. She is growing up and maturing beautifully and I am just so pleased with her. Truly couldn't be happier.

Her first show is in a couple of months. Seems like a long time from now, but I know it's going to get here before I know it! I'm entering her in one mid-July and then again in the beginning of August. Now I'm just worried that she'll end up going into heat and that would really suck haha. So hopefully she gets that done and over with before or after.

She just completed an 8 week puppy agility class. Oh man, my poor dog. I have zero handling skills at all LOL. I hope I get my act together soon, because our trainer has really high hopes for miss Journ and is really excited about her. She loves watching her work with me and thinks she's very together for a puppy. We're taking a break from classes right now while I finish up with other things, but I want to get her back into something ASAP. I miss classes when we're not in any so much.

She doesn't come to work very often anymore. I miss her there sometimes, but I was worried that customers' dogs were going to ruin her. So many of them would charge the gate where I keep Journey and growl at her and it was making her nervous and I didn't want her to get defensive or anything, because she's so far a very dog friendly dog. So I just feel like it's in her best interest to stay at home while I'm at work, because I can't control the situations at work properly because the customers don't realize their dog is being rude and intimidating. But she's fine with her new arrangements. She's a super adaptable dog.

Any concern I had about SA and crate anxiety is gone. It was over as quickly as it started haha. Puppies! Always needlessly making you worry.

We do need to work on more impulse control. She has a very hard time focusing around frantic, moving, excited dogs and just wants to chase and bark and play (not in an OCD herding way - just an overly excited, fixated puppy way). Thankfully she's easy to redirect and I actually didn't realize this was even a thing of hers until Agility class, but now I know, so it's something we'll work on more.

She's seriously the best dog in the world. I'm not sure if I believe in the term 'heart dog' or not, but she's a seriously special little dog. As bad as it sounds, I almost forgot what it was like to just have a dog that you flow with and connect with and enjoy so much and so easily. I love all of my dogs, but Journey is just... different. All I can say is thank goodness Fran spammed Chaz with a million little Aussie puppy pictures and updates LOL. Who knows, another dog might have fit me really well too, but it really amazes me how perfect Journey is for me. I couldn't love a dog more. Sometimes I look at her and wonder just how I got so lucky.

She is 7 months old now. I weighed and measured her the other day. She's still holding out at 19 3/4" tall and is 39lbs. She hasn't grown in a while, but she still looks like she has a bit of a growth knuckle on her front legs, so I think she has another 1/4 to a 1/2" to go.

She discovered a new favourite toy today. The Chuckit Flying Squirrel. I've been trying to build disc drive in her, but surprisingly, she simply doesn't care about disc. We're getting there, slowly. But today I decided to bring the squirrel toy out because nobody else likes it much and she thought it was just the Best. Thing. Ever. Perfect for chasing, fetching, and most importantly, tugging!















And here are a few videos! The last two are really long and I don't really expect anyone to watch them LOL. But I take so many pictures and realized I barely have any video, and that's the one thing I wish I had of past dogs, so I'm trying to take lots of everyone lately.

This one is from our agility class the other night. The class was mostly focused toward flat work, but we got them used to different obstacles too. And at the end of this night we got to play little games with some of the equipment. Normally they didn't jump, but our instructor said that with the size and ages of the puppies, two little jumps wouldn't hurt anything and they were more walking over or striding over them anyway. I don't know, but I do know Journey is way more hard on herself just in everyday life, so I wasn't worried about 10 seconds of jumping in class on the cushy floor. And keep in mind I am posting this at the risk of embarrassing my know-nothing-about-Agility-self haha. There were better parts, I promise I get more excited with her most of the time, but my mom isn't the best videographer in the world haha. She was too busy talking and trying to figure out how to work the camera. It was hard enough just to salvage these few clips!

[YOUTUBE]9OoCCQiT59w[/YOUTUBE]

This one is just of a walk with Dance and Journey last Saturday. Mostly Dance waiting for the ball to be thrown and being told to walk ahead (she always gets lost behind sniffing things or stepping on my heels lol), and Journey running around a bit and being cute.

[YOUTUBE]ArRSBUrKR8Q[/YOUTUBE]

And this one is just a hanging out in the yard day before I went to work. Mostly it's Ripley being sucky, Dance being cute and Journey being a pest haha. And Keira was around but busy eating who knows what (grass, dirt, leaves, whatever), so she's not featured really.

[YOUTUBE]IxgQWQnnNYU[/YOUTUBE]
 

DJEtzel

Active Member
Joined
Jan 1, 2010
Messages
3,267
Likes
0
Points
36
Location
Kalamazoo, MI
Awh, she seems like she's growing up so magnificently, I'm glad you are really enjoying her and she's "working"! I, too, forgot what it was like to have a go anywhere dog until I got my GSD back from my ex last week... it is really such a relief to just have a great, obedient dog that you don't have to worry about too much.

The videos were awesome, too, and you look like a great handler, already! I didn't see any arm crossing, spinning, or falling, so I think you're in good shape! ;)

She is just gorgeous. I'm usually not a fan of tris, but she is really something. :)
 

Dizzy

Sit! Good dog.
Joined
Sep 14, 2005
Messages
17,761
Likes
1
Points
38
Location
Wales
Aaaaaah I love the video showing the pivot work! Mainly because something just clicked in my brain about how to make use of it! Lol.

She is looking so grown up!!!! She's turned out so nice :D
 

Toller_08

Active Member
Joined
Apr 20, 2006
Messages
8,359
Likes
1
Points
36
This isn't really an update, but it's not 'good news' either, so I wasn't sure where to put it haha. I just wanted to take a moment to say how great it feels to have a dog that touches the lives of so many. I meet so many people every day thanks to her, and she just brings so much happiness and openness to people that I've never experienced before. Likely because I keep Dance away from strangers most of the time, and nobody really wants to cuddle the Dobermans, but there does seem to be just something about Journ inparticular that brings the joy out of people. It feels so good to do something as simple as take my dog for a walk, or take her to work, and make so many people smile and brighten their day.

More than anything, this dog is meant for therapy work I think. She's just the sweetest, kindest little girl and for as nuts and crazy as she can be when I want her to be, she also is just so calm and easy going and has that same effect on those that she meets. It's such a nice feeling. And no matter how rough my day might have been, it's just moments like that that totally make a day just a little bit better. I love making people happy, and to do it with my dog is awesome.

I mean, really, how could you walk into your local dog food store and resist this?





And the pretty girl coming home on the train tonight.



And apparently she's grown an awful lot since the last time I had her at work. I don't bring her often anymore because some customers have super rude dogs that I was worried would ruin her, but I brought her today and everyone seriously thought that she was a different dog. Not even sarcastically, someone genuinely didn't believe me that Journ was a puppy haha. Not only does she not really look like one anymore, but she most certainly doesn't act like one at work either.

But anyway, yep, just another Journey brag as usual! I'm pretty sure you can expect these for the rest of her life. :rofl1:

I hope she stays this wonderful forever.




Awh, she seems like she's growing up so magnificently, I'm glad you are really enjoying her and she's "working"! I, too, forgot what it was like to have a go anywhere dog until I got my GSD back from my ex last week... it is really such a relief to just have a great, obedient dog that you don't have to worry about too much.

The videos were awesome, too, and you look like a great handler, already! I didn't see any arm crossing, spinning, or falling, so I think you're in good shape! ;)

She is just gorgeous. I'm usually not a fan of tris, but she is really something. :)
Thank you! Haha, I hope one day I can be a good Agility handler. Right now I just feel way in over my head. Me + Coordination does not always go together. :p

And thanks for the compliment on her as well. I think she's growing up so beautifully. I wasn't a big fan of tris prior to getting her either, and now I see a nice tri and my brain irrationally goes "omg I need another!" for a second LOL. They're my favourite. I kind of hope my next one is another black tri, except with a dark face. But who knows what will happen!

Aaaaaah I love the video showing the pivot work! Mainly because something just clicked in my brain about how to make use of it! Lol.

She is looking so grown up!!!! She's turned out so nice :D
Thank you! There is a lot of good use for it really. She is so aware of her hind end that it makes all kinds of things so much easier, but it's definitely been an awesome tool to teach finishes and heel.
 

Members online

No members online now.
Top