Blizzard conditions?!

So the weather here in Indy is crazy. Mom tells me its a blizzard out side and she can't go anywhere. We sat and watched movies for a while but then mom let out a big breath and told me she was bored...cabin fever I think is what she said.

So she went into the room in the back of the house and pulled out these big fluffy pants...she looked kinda funny. Then she put on a big fluffy coat and said let's play outside.

I got all excited, I ran out the door and found my big yellow ball. This is my out door ball. Mom says it's better to have one indoor ball and one outdoor ball. I don't agree but it's what ever mom says because no matter how many times I try to bring the yellow ball in somehow it ends up back outside.

After chasing me around and throwing the ball for a while she went back in and grabbed her camera. Then we spent more time outside. I played and jumped and ran and mom took pictures of me and my little sis.

Here is some of the pictures she took.

Mom says this is her favorite...I don't like it because you can't see me very well. I'm all blurry.

Here I am showing off how fast I can run along the fence. You can't really tell in this picture but I ran really really fast.

This is little sis....I like this picture of her...makes her look all cute and nice when she's really mean!

Geezzz...I look so goofy here!

This is me playing with the big yellow ball.

Boy I wish I could hunt some birds!

I thought mom was playing with me because she sat on the ground. So I turned and surprised her by jumping on her. Guess this is what I look like when I do a sneak attack:)

The wind was blowing really hard and I would have to stop playing and turn my back to the wind so the snow won't hurt my face. 

That's my yellow ball. Mom says it looks like a snowball. 

Here I'm digging for the yellow ball. It always lands really deep in the snow and I have to dig for it. 

I like blizzards if mom gets to stay home with me and play with me all day. Best day ever!!!!

Jack's first time in the Field

Jacks first time out in the field! Yes, I changed my mind and decided to take him out. It was rather nerve racking for me at first. I had my hand gripped around the e-collar control like it was going to try to run away. I was so worried that Jack wouldn’t listen to me and would run away.

It was a really rough start because Jack was not listening to me. After a while and a couple of hits on the e-collar Jack started to listen. From there on I was able to let Jack do his thing. He’s a natural….he still needs a lot of work but I was really proud of him today.

The moment I was the most proud was when Tess accidentally flushed a bird, Mitch shot and the bird went down in some really tall grass (hip height). We told the dogs to “find the bird” and they both started to weave in and out of the grass. Then Jack took off to the left into the tree line. I called him back and made him search the grass again. Then again he took off to the tree line. This time, I stopped and just watched him. He stopped for longer than normal and I yelled over to Mitch, who was closer, to check on Jack.

When Mitch got there, Jack was pointing the bird…at least we think he was pointing the bird. You could only see Jack’s rear end sticking out of the grass. The bird was not dead but injured.

The part where Jack needs work is holding point. Jack went after the bird when the bird started to run. We did eventually catch the bird and took care of it.

I was proud of Jack because he was able to follow the scent and found the bird. I was proud of him because he started to respond to me when called. Jack also stayed pretty close to me most of the day. We were out there for about 3 hours and I only lost sight of him 3 times.  Jack and I started to get into a really good rhythm for the rest of the day.

We worked well as a hunting team. We still have a lot of work but for the first time out I think he did a great job!

Here is Jack at the end of the day with the one bird he found! (note: we only got two birds today).

Jack's First Day Training

I took Jack out training yesterday and boy do I have a lot of work ahead of me. After yesterday, I've decided I'm not taking him out this year. He still has a lot of things to learn and some growing up to do.

There were a few good things that came out of yesterday.

1) One of the most important things: Jack IS NOT gun shy. I didn't think he would be since during July when every the fireworks went off he would run outside and look up in the sky.

2) The other most important thing: Jack has a very good nose. He was able to get the sent of all three birds Mitch planted

3) When he's in the field he's focused on birds and not other dogs. I was worried that taking Jack to the dog park might have gotten him used to playing with dogs and when I get him out in the field he would want to play and not hunt. Worry no more, Jack knows what to do in the field.

4) Jack also response very very very well to the e-collar. I have to say his previous owner trained him well on the e-collar. The think I have to learn is not to be scare that I will hurt my dog. We got into a situation where Jack discovered Mitchs horse (who HATES dog and will try to step on them). Jack started barking and was trying to run into the pasture. I had the setting on low because Jack was responding to them before but in this situation Jack was not responding at all. He was way to focused on the horse. Mitch had to grab the controls when Jack ran through the fence and headed to the horse. Of which the horse started to hoof at Jack. Mitch cranked up the controls and Jack came running back.

Lesson learned, when Jack is not responding, especially in a situation where he could get seriously hurt, I need to get his attention and if that means on second of shock it's better than the alternative.

Over all Jack did well.

Things we need to work on:
1) Holding point: I figured I would need to work on this since in the back yard he chases birds.

2) When a bird is in our hands DO NOT snap at it. Not sure how to brake this habit but I will figure it out.

3) Keep him trimmed of long hair! I spent an hour in the bathroom with Jack bathing him (he was full of mud) and clipping burs out of his fur. I know after a long day of hunting I am not going to want to spend an extra hour or longer pulling these things out of his fur. So to the groomer before we hunt and I need to purchase this stuff call Show Sheen or something. Apparently guys use it on their dogs to help make the fur silky so the burs will almost brush out of the fur. Anything to make this process less painful.

He did exactly what I thought he would do and I kinda knew going in what I will have to work on. So no actual hunting for Jack until he gets better at responding to my command and he holds point better. Maybe next year. So for now, this year I will just work on training him.

JACK....Not the Couch!!!!

Can you tell I get really bored when mom's not here. OK really this is moms fault. She thought she could trust me for an hour while she went shopping for some chew toys for me. When she came home she was not happy...I could tell. 

She now has a pet name for the couch...she calls it the Frankenstein couch.  

This picture shows you what she came home to...sort of. She started to clean up and took the cover off the cushion before she grabbed her camera. But you get the idea. She came home to a living room full of snow...I thought she would like it because she's been saying she can't wait for the snow.

 

 I did feel bad when I realized she was mad at me. Here's a close up to the hole I chewed in her couch.

This was her fix. I think she did a great job and she just flipped the cushion around so you can see the hole. No big deal....mom fixed it like she fixes everything.

 Couch is back to normal!!!!!


 This is mom:
I know Jack is still a puppy at heart but the chewing thing has to stop at some point. Jack has gotten to the couch two more times. He chewed on a second cushion which could not be flipped to hide the damage. You really can't tell from the picture but Jack ripped the cushion from one end to the other.

Next he got a hold of the seat cushion. There was no fixing this one...I just flipped it over and made sure he couldn't break back into the living room. 

This is why I so lovingly called this the Frankenstein Couch. Jack destroys it...I put it back together. I was planning on getting a new couch but have put that purchase on hold. I think I will make sure Jack is out of his chewing stage before I spend money on a new couch. 

So the Frankenstein Couch has to stay a little longer.

Just one taste...Please!

I've been living with mom for about 4 months now and I think I've figured out the most important place to sit. Right under mom's legs when she is eating.

Mom normally eats at the coffee table and if I lay right under her legs I get to clean up anything that might get dropped. I was really hoping she would drop an Oreo down to me but there was no luck.

This is mom:
I think the picture says it all:)

BAD DOG

  Mom caught me. I was trying to eat the evidence but I couldn't chew fast enough.

 See mom likes to block me into the kitchen using this wooden gate. Well I think I should be able to run all over the house and decided to rip the gate out of the wall and chew it into little pieces. Now try to put the gate back up, mom! Bet you can't!

 Oh, No...caught in the act.

I'm sorry mommy. Don't be mad....I just get so bored when your not home. This is my way of entertaining my self. I'm sorry mommy.

This is mom:
Well Jack has definitely tested me. This is actually the second time he has torn the fence out of the wall. The first time he only ripped it out of the wall....this time he ripped it out of the wall and chewed it to pieces. So now I have a kitchen table turned on its side and a folding table on it's side blocking the entrance from the kitchen to the living room. 

So far so good....Jack can't figure out how to break through this barrier.

A Day at the Dog Park

Well mom has been really busy lately with school for something call an MBA. But the good news is she still has time to drive me to my favorite place....THE DOGGIE PARK!!!!

We have an exciting routine when going to the doggie park. Mom loads me into the car and then she rolls down the window just enough from e to stick my head out the window. In the picture below the window is down a lot lower. But it made for a great picture.

 Here we are stopped....I don't understand why we have to stop. We need to go...fast...my friend are waiting for me.

Finally at the doggie park....mom took a bad picture of me here but she thought it was funny. She said if I wasn't running so fast she would have gotten a better picture. 

Here I am with all my friends...we have so much fun!

So when ever a new friend comes to the gate we all run up and wait for them to come in. I have so much fun at the doggie park.

This is me after the doggie park. I get so tired I just lay around for an hour or so.

This is mom here:
Jack loves the doggie park. Because I'm going back to school I can only take him once or twice a week and believe me, he lets me know when its time to go. He becomes unruly.

Jack is the most social dog at the park. It's interesting because after a while you get to know which dogs get along with other dogs and which dogs get left out. Jack isn't like other dogs because he wants to play with all dogs.

We went to the park the other day and there was this older sheltie there that no other dog wanted to play with. The sheltie always gets left out of all the play.  It was so cute because Jack went over and laid down next to her and started to gently play with her. Her mom was so excited and started to explain that the sheltie is always left out of the play and she was excited to see Jack trying to play with her. 

Jack is such a social dog and loves all different types of dogs....He's a great dog!!

Fun with Mom

Mom had invited a lot of people over the other night. She kept telling me it was a meeting for the HOA…I have no idea what that is. All I knew was there were four more people I got to smell and they must have liked me because all of them kept petting me. I just made my way around the table and nosed them, they giggled or laughed and began to pet me.

Mom doesn’t want me to jump on people but I don’t know why. I just like to get real close to everyone. Anyway I decided to be as good as I could and when people came in, mom told me to sit and with a lot of effort I sat. It was hard because I just had this ball of energy in my belly and I just wanted to run over and love all over them. What I’m finding is that if I sit real pretty for people they are more likely to lean over and pet me…I get so excited. Mom told me I was really good. She said it took me less time to calm down than before.

It seemed like forever for them to move from the chairs. But when they all stood up they just walked over to the door. One of the guys we nice enough to open the door for me and let me out. It was so much fun and I looked behind me and there was mom running with me. Although she was yelling my name but it was just like any other run with mom.

I weaved in and out of some yards and then I headed back to the ponds at the back of the neighborhood…I looked back and mom was still with me and the faster she ran the faster I ran. It was so much fun.

Then Mom stopped and pointed over her shoulder and scream something about some other dogs. And then I heard them…all of them. They were barking at me, inviting me to come over and play. So I turned around and ran right past mom to the fence.

The dogs were so friendly and we ran back and forth around the fence.  I think mom was playing tag with me because she kept running after me and reaching for me. But I knew how to play this game and I stayed just out of reach from her while I was running back and forth with the other dogs.

Then the playing stopped when the daddy of the other dogs walked through the fence and grabbed my collar. Mom walked over and we went home.

It was so much fun running with mom again we haven’t done it for a week or so.

Hi…this is mom and I wanted to give you my side of the story.

The board of directors of the HOA had a long meeting the other night and the meeting concluded around 8:30. Everyone got up to leave for the night and one of the board member didn’t realize that Jack will bolt when the door is opened and before I could make it around the table to grab Jack, he had opened the door and out Jack ran.

All I had on my feet were my flip flops but I had no choice I had to chase him. I was calling his name and he would look back at me but keep running. He was running down the street and then he darted through a neighbors yard toward the ponds in back. My concern is that the ponds end at a major road and if he got there he would try to run across the street.

So I looked for any distraction I could find which luckily the neighbor had just let his beagles out of the house so I screamed at Jack “Jack….LOOK!!!….doggies” and I started to run toward them. Which of course caused the other dogs to start to bark and Jack took immediate interest and blew right past me to get to the dogs.

This was a better situation because as long as the dogs were outside Jack would try to figure out how to get to them to play. Of course the beagles ran back and forth the length of the fence and Jack followed them. Jack was very aware that I was trying to get him and he would run past me just out of my reach!

The owner of the beagles stepped out and said “boy he’s a fast one”. I just looked up and said yes he is. So the guy walked to the back of the fence, walked through his gate. This of course got his beagles attention so they ran to him and finally Jack followed and ran right into the guy. The guy reached down and grabbed his collar.

So Jack was returned home safely….however I didn’t fair as well because I had an injury earlier last week to my left ankle that I was trying to let heal and running full speed in flip flops irritated the injury even further. So Advil and an ankle wrap will do the trick.

Yep, Jack definitely keeps me hopping….I’m going to take Jack up to Mitch’s soon so I can start training him off leash...He has to learn to come when I call regardless of the situation.

I was lucky this time but next time I may not be as lucky. The only thing that kept me running after him was the fear of him getting lost or getting hit by a car. My ankle may have been screaming stop by my heart kept screaming “get him, don’t stop!”

Jack is lucky I love him so muchJ

Food Please

Mommy always makes the best food. It smells so good I just have to get up really close and smell all the goodness.

The other day mom made this yummy sandwich thing that smells soooo good. It was one of the day's after we ran that she stood by the shiny thing in the kitchen and then all of the sudden I could smell all these great things. Mom called it a ham, egg and cheese biscuit...what ever it was it smelled so good.

So I crawled up behind her and asked really nicely if I could have just a bite.


Come on mom...just one bit...there's plenty there to share with me.

Look mom...your done...just give me the little tiny pieces that are laying right there on your plate...please, please, please!!

 It was sad...mom didn't share anything with me. I tried to look my cutest but it didn't work. Mom is a tough cookie to break...maybe next time.

Never a dull moment

Hi this is Mom here and I had to share a moment with Jack in my own words because to be honest I’m not sure what Jack was thinking at the time.

The other day I went grocery shopping and purchased a lot of grocery which I put in the trunk. The normal routine when I get home is I park the car in the garage, shut the garage door, pop the trunk and then let the dogs into the garage to follow me around while I unload the car. 

Well this time Jack decided to add a little flavor to the routine. 

I had grabbed three bags to take inside and Jack decided to take a running jump into the trunk! I just stood there for a second as he climbed over the rest of the groceries and settled in the back of the trunk. 

So I walked inside, put the groceries down and grabbed my camera, which is something I should have tied around my neck to catch these once in a lifetime moments. 

To my surprise he was still in the trunk sniffing around so I took this one shot and with that he immediately wiggled out of the trunk and joined me as I finished putting up the rest of the groceries.

There is never a dull moment with this guy.

Rainy Days

I don't know what all the noise was the other night but the sun was flashing on and off and someone was shooting a gun up in the air. I went running out side to see what they were shooting at and when I ran outside there was water falling from the sky. Its was awesome.

I came back in to let mom know something was going on outside and then the sun flashed again and the guy started to shoot so I ran out again to see what he was shooting at. But nothing...there were no bird falling from the sky. I didn't understand.

So I ran back in and was trying to tell mom all about it. She was still in bed, of course. But she started to love on me and tell me to be calm and that it was alright. I KNOW it was alright but I was just getting excited. She started to rub my belly so I laid there and it was so relaxing. I love when mommy rubs my belly.

Anyway she finally started to move like she was getting up so I ran outside thinking she was going to follow me. But she didn't...I don't know why she didn't follow me so I started to dig in the soft ground. It was all wet and slippery and so much fun. So I ran inside to tell mom about the soft stuff I found and when I ran inside she was sitting on the ground petting little sis.

Mom gave me a once over, her eyes got really huge so she must have known there was soft stuff outside. She grabbed my collar and headed to the bedroom door which I was gladdly leading her to. I wanted her to see what was outside.

But then she stopped, closed the bedroom door and let go of my collar. I don't understand her sometimes because she needed to go outside and play with me. Then she got a blue bucket and filled it with water and put something in the water and then she sat on the floor forever and rubbed the floor like she does my belly.

Then when she finally got off the floor she filled her bathtub up with water and looked at me again shaking her head. I tucked my tail and started to turn to run....I knew what that meant...I was going to get a bath. I made mom pick me up and put me in and then the whole time I tucked my head under her arm not wanting to be there. But to my surprise all she did was wash my feet and that's it!

Wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. So now mom says I'm all clean and no more digging for me. 

Now me and mom are playing ball inside because I'm not allowed outside until, as mom says...the mud dries.

_______________________________________________

Hey everyone this is mom and here is a picture of the carpet after Jack had fun digging outside. I'm glad I was on sitting on the floor loving on Ladybug because if I had stayed on the bed, Jack would have joined me and my white comforter would have looked like this along with the carpet. 

The Run

Mommy and I have started this new routine in the morning and I’ve been so excited about it. You see, every morning before the loud sound goes off I crawl up to mommies pillow and start to play with her. 

First I breath really heavy in her face….that normally gets her to stir a little bit. Once she starts to stir I start to nudge her with my head and lick her hand or face or hair. Then when she doesn’t get up and tries to hide from me I start pawing at her. I know she doesn’t like it but it gets her out of bed and once she’s out of bed it PLAY TIME!!!!!

Mommy started taking me out on runs every day this week. Just me and her without little sis. Which is fine with me because little sis would just hold us up anyway…she can’t run as fast or as long as I can.

 Mommy is the best, because she has this really long leash and I can run from one side of the street to the other smelling everything and I don’t get choked by the leash. 

Ladybugs leash is the purple one on the left and mine is the extra long green one on the right!!!

 After we run mom takes me home where I get a drink of water and then lay in front of the door while mom and little sis get back from their walk.  

MOM’s VERSION

Jack is too funny and once we get on a routine he is all for it. I started running him 1 ½ miles every morning because he needed to burn some of that energy he has. I kept reading from multiple sources…”A bored dog is a destructive dog”…and a destructive dog he was turning. So I had to do something and I decided an early morning run may help.

 So at 6am every morning I’m out of bed, with the help of Jack, before the alarm goes off. He will crawl up to my pillow and lay right across my pillow so my head is in the center of his belly. Then he will pester me until I’m out of bed. 

Jack has never learned to walk on a lead so trying to walk him on a normal 6ft lead is a very difficult task and very exhausting for me. So I went out and purchased a 30ft check cord normally used for training. I’m using it so Jack can run crazy and smell everything in the world there is to smell and I can run at a nice easy pace right down the center of the street. Win/Win for both of us.

Jack seems happier and I’ve always said I wanted a running partner….looks like I found one…LOL!

Bad Doggie

Mommy says I’ve been bad chewing up all her stuff so she has blocked me from going into the living room while she is away during the day. I just can’t help myself, I get so bored at home without her. My little sis is no fun either because all she does is nip and bark at me. She doesn’t like to play with me so I have to keep myself busy. 

Anyway the other day when mommy was way from home I decided to move some things around. I was bored so what else was I supposed to do? Anyway, the only thing that I could get my teeth around was my big fluffy bed. I decided I wanted to take it outside so I did and play with it...so I did.

When mommy come home I thought I was going to get in trouble for the bed because she looked mad at first but then she just laughed. As she was shaking off the bed she told me she didn’t know how I got that huge bed out the doggie door.

To be honest I don’t knew either but I was sure tired for the rest of the evening. Me and mom just laid around and watch TV.  It was a good day!

__________________________________________

This is Mom.....and here is a picture of the huge fluffy bed and the doggie door. This is the one time I wish I had a nanny cam and figure out how the heck he did that without tearing up the bed. There are some things that are just never to be understood and this is one of them. 

Some Pics

OK...so Mom FINALLY got around to getting some good pictures of me. She said we needed to get some pictures of me up on the website so everyone can see what a handsome young man I am.

I had to agree....I am handsome! Mom said that before she got me someone had described me as the Brad Pitt of Brittanies. I have no idea who Brad Pitt is but if he looks anything like me he is a handsome fellow too!

How could you get mad at a face like mine...even when I do something like this......

Don't worry all that stuff on the floor behind me is from  my toy......the one I'm chewing on in the picture. Mom was just happy it wasn't one of her pillows or anything. So she let me sit there and chew on it.

Hi Everyone....my name is Jack

Hi everyone, my name is Jack and I'm a free spirited full blooded brittany:) I'm about 11 months old and have had an adventurous life so far.

I started out in South Dakota with this great older couple. They loved me as much as I loved them but then one day, Dad took me to a park and told me to get into this strangers car. Me and this stranger went for a very long ride and I visited him for about a week.

It was fun at his house because he had another dog just like me and we played and played and played. The only part I didn't like is that the stranger shaved all my hair off and I looked stupid. Then after the week was over the stranger loaded me up in the car again and I found myself staying the night with this lady.

She was super nice but made me get into my kennel at night, which I didn't like but I had no choice. The next morning she drove me to yet another car and another stranger. Although this time I had to get in a kennel in the back of his truck....I didn't like that either.

When the guy finally stopped the truck and tryed to take me for a walk I must have been faster than he was becasue I was free. The guy was fun because he played chase with me. We ran all over the place but then when I was tired of that game he didn't look to happy and he put me back in the kennel in his truck and we sat there.

Then after a long time this other lady pulls up in a car and next thing I know I'm heading to her house. I was so tired and scared and didn't know what to expect. We get to her house really late because it was really dark outside.

When the lady walked me into the house she said "Welcome home Jack!". I didn't understand at first but now I understand. This lady is my mom and I have a little sis called Ladybug. At first Ladybug didn't like me but we have become friends now.

Its been a month and a half and its been really fun living here.

Mom said something about taking me hunting this year but she also said I need to be trained. Why? I can smell birds a mile away and will run right to the them and thats when me and the bird play chase...but I chase the bird and try to make it squeek. Mom says I shouldn't do that but it's so much fun and I just get so excited I can't help myself.

Mom suggested I make create this blog so we can see my progress and one day we will look back at all the creative things I can get my mouth around an laugh about it.

So welcome to the adventure of Jack....this is the story about my life.