New Family Member...

Its been a little busy over the last few weeks, doing all sorts and never having quite enough time to do it all; catching up on wedding plans, spending time with the dogs and of course agility training - I am so pleased how Kiah is doing at the moment, really positive and enjoying it. Also we have been trying to get the house in order - I think most of the boxes are now cleared and unused stuff binned, or neatly up in the loft so its now going to be the time to start to make the house our own.

We have however been stopped in these immediate plans - for all good reasons - due to another new small addition to our furry family!! I must remind myself to not look on the Many Tears rescue site http://manytearsrescue.webs.com/ cause they have some stunning dogs - and just do amazing work with the hundreds of dogs they rescue and not just that, but take the time to rehabilitate and really find the perfect homes, which is just fab.

Risk's mum is a small but very beautiful collie cross kelpie (we think) who is completely black with white socks, and has the sweetest personality. I saw Risk on the MT website when he was 4 weeks old, and thought he had something special about him then - plus his markings are just lovely, completely black on top, with white socks and one white leg and a few naughty spots showing through. I do have a love for black dogs and I can never see why they are so often overlooked... and this one wasn't, as we were lucky enough to be trusted with our little boy, now called Risk - who came home a week and a half ago.

Risk is a very confident little boy so far, and though we are socialising him as much as possible - to work, to the garden centre, in the Christmas grotto, people on bikes, men, women, kids, people with hats, hi-viz jackets, busy town centre, in shops, to the vet, other dogs, chickens, all sorts - he seems to take it all in his stride so far!! He is quite a good boy overnight, and is generally clean which is great, and usually sleeps through til about 5.30 when he needs to go and do his business bless him. In the daytimes when we are about he is also starting to tell us by waiting by the back door when he needs to go, which is great too.

There is definitely a stubborn streak in him and he is only just starting to get into his food so he has been learning a few tricks that way, he is very much a thinker and so though he knows a few things like sit, down, 'house' for in his crate, and starting to do left and right, and a little bit of balance board work, it takes a while for him to properly get the hang of it. Short and exciting training bites seem to be the way forward which is good for me too, as it stops me getting frustrated as well, but we are getting better!

Our other three dogs are a bit indifferent about Risk being here so far; Kiah has decided in the last 24 hours that she actually quite likes him and they play nicely for a good few minutes; Davy on the other hand is really not a fan and would rather he left him alone - though hopefully he will come around in a few weeks with time, however Yahoo is the best though, he is like puppy uncle and puts up with a lot of terrorising which is actually quite funny. To be honest though, Risk is a good boy he has learned from the older dogs' signals and does know the boundaries. He is settling in well so far, though I had forgotten quite how much hard work a puppy is!!!