Emmy!

Emmy is mine!  As most of you know Emmy was staying with Julie, but now she can't stay there anymore because she kept getting in fights with her cousin Ruby.  With a 1-year-old toddling around it just wasn't safe for anyone to have Emmy and Ruby together.  Emmy was trying to make herself the queen of the roost and Ruby was defending her territory.  The two motivations just didn't mix well.  With Edward traveling back and forth between Davis and NY he couldn't really take her with him where ever he was going.  So this last week when Edward came to get Emmy from my house he asked if we could keep her otherwise they would have to take her back to the rescue.  They had already sent out an email to all the vet students at UC Davis to see if anyone was able to adopt her, but no one could.  My family agreed immediately because one, we really wanted her and two, we didn't want her going back to the rescue in NY and maybe even be put down because she doesn't get along with some dogs.  I say "some" because she got along with her cousin Potatoes beautifully, but that is because he's a very submissive boy.  It makes me very hopeful that she will eventually get along with dogs in the future.  I actually don't think that she even minded little Eddie pulling at her tail that much, which is good if I ever want kids, though she might try to herd them.  When I explained to the vet today what she does with all of my cousins he said that she is probably trying to herd them when they all run around.  I was hoping that I could get her acclimated to children and their editable natures, but I don't know if that will happen.  I can however, train her to not rush people at the door to say hello.  We've already started training her to wait and be calm before whoever is at the door is allowed in.  Since it's usually Nick or Briana she sits and gets really excited to see them.  We make her sit about four feet from the door and stay there.  Last night when she saw Nick her tail started to wag immediately and she wanted to greet him, but as soon as she stood up I closed the door and made her start all over.  She's starting to get the hang of it.  If she wants to say hello, then she needs to stay put until invited.  We've been doing the same thing for when she wants to chase squirrels in the backyard.  I've switched treats with her regular kibble dog food so that she doesn't get too fat.

So far I'm training her myself and have ordered a bunch of books about behavioral issues, separation anxiety and one on Border Collies.  I already know quite a bit about BC's but the reviews of the book said that it's not just general information about being a good pet owner and normal BC tendencies so I thought it would be a good read.  Also, the lady from the rescue that Ed and I got Emmy from recommend a book that addresses dog-dog aggression so I'm feeling hopeful that I can gain some insight and maybe help her a bit before I spend the big bucks on training.  I've already called an in-home trainer who says he can help with the aggression and separation anxiety.  They are ranging around $600-700 for a five month program, but I'm ready for it.  There is another trainer who the vet recommended so I'm going to give them a call too.  I don't want to get a second dog in our house, but I would like her to at least be able to go to the dog park and play with other dogs...not that she does.  She would rather go to the far end of the park and throw her frisbee.  It's only when other dogs get in between her and the frisbee or try to steal her frisbee that she nips at them.  If we just go off on our own away from other dogs she's happy as a clam.  She's also really good on a leash.  She can greet dogs and then keeps going once she's had a sniff or two.  Sometimes I think she thinks she's a human.  I'm not sure if she wasn't socialized properly as a puppy or what, but she doesn't seem to have that much interest in playing with other dogs.  I wonder if I can teach her how to play with other dogs.  I think "play" just isn't in her.  Everything for her is about work.  Her frisbee is her job.

I'm going to try to help her myself first with the separation anxiety and also the bike/skate board/skooter/roller blading chasing and then go to the trainers if I don't see a difference.  I know that a lot of dogs have problems with chasing so I should be able to find videos and more books on how to stop the behavior.  Once that's in place I will feel much better about when she goes to the front of our yard since there are kids down the block who zoom by on their razors.  I will have to do more research on it.  I think the biggest challenge we will have is training everyone in our family.  I'm a firm believer that there are no bad dogs, just bad owners.  We all need to whip into shape before Emmy can become a better dog.  It definitely didn't help her that for the last year or so she's been bounced around between Julie, Edward, and myself.  Now we need to be really consistent and let her know who is boss.  So far so good though.  She's been really receptive with the coming and going of people with the positive reinforcement that we've been giving her and she knows that she's no longer on allowed on the new sofa.  My mom was tired of having sheets always on the sofa so we put a bed for her by the coffee table to lay in.  At first she looked upset that she was dethroned, but she's used to it now and it's only been two days!  I have hope that she'll be a nearly perfect dog.  She already has a really good temperament around adults, we just need her to be okay with other dogs and by herself.

In preparation for her coming to stay permanently, I bought her a new bed from Costco.  I had a little round bed for her, but it was too small so her legs would pop out of it.  I think she likes this one much better, though I always call her up onto my bed where she stays for the whole night.  Neither of us move much since it's such a small bed, but I think we both enjoy it.  I'm seriously thinking about getting a bigger bed, but then my whole room would be bed.  You'd walk into the door and hit the bed.  We'll have to see.  Usually if Emmy spreads out I end up in weird positions and my back hurts.  For now we're doing okay and I guess I can always tell her to get off and sleep on her bed.  It's so fluffy and soft I could probably even curl up on it.





I also reacquainted her with her her new squeaky chicken.  She didn't really like it that much at first, but after a while she seemed to remember that she used to really like the toy.  I also have a bunch of toys that are coming from Amazon.  It's a good thing that Nick has Prime so that I don't have to pay for tax or shipping. Hehehe.  It sure makes it easy for me to order her stuff.  For now I think we're all set.  I just got one of those dog treat bags that clip onto your pants to train with.  Usually when we go running she's just into her running and not really other people around her so I don't think I'll have to use it that much when we're out, just when we're training.


Emmy is officially part of the Chin family now.  We had a vet appointment this morning to have her microchip on file and to verify that she had be spayed. To register her in the county you have to have proof that she's been spayed in order to get the discount in registry.  I had to have the vet verify because I didn't have the original paperwork from when the shelter spayed her.  I sent in the registration today and she's all settled in with her new vet.  She was less than happy to be there, but I like this vet.  The poor girl was quaking so hard that it looked like she was cold.  She did a great job though and was very happy to get out of there.  I got the recommendation from Shanna's family since they have been going to this vet for a very long time.  He is quite the older man so I hope he doesn't retire anytime soon.



In other news, this weekend I went to the gem show that comes around every year.  I got myself a couple of pendants.  The purple is amethyst and the other is blue topaz.  I wanted them both set in white gold because it doesn't tarnish and my other settings from last year's show were in white gold, but I had Emmy's trainings and other expenses in mind so I stuck with the less expensive silver.  I'm quite happy with my decision.