I'm so sorry for the delay in responding! Fable's spay went perfectly! Her vitals were strong throughout the entire operation and her recovery was quick and relatively pain free. The hardest part was the second week (we were told no dog park for two weeks) when she was FULL of energy. Our vet wanted us to be cautious but short walks+6 months= energetic ball of fuzz. The worst was at night when we would be reading in bed (she hangs out in bed with us and then kennel for sleeps) and she'd be full of fun and bites. Ahhh, puppyhood. To be fair to her, she's a really sweet little girl and calm by baby golden standards. Two weeks without exercise would make me batty too!

As for the house training, what we did was totally ignore accidents inside. We'd clean them with no fanfare and just ignore her. When we would go outside, we'd praise HEAVILY (people probably thought we were insane) and then reward both after she went and once we got inside (tiny bits of Benny Bully). Eventually she just started standing at the top of the stairs waiting to go out. She still gets a treat when she comes inside after going out and it seems to be working. We live in a loft with direct access to outside (so no lobby, our door goes straight out) so we have to accompany her each time but it works. She's had almost no accidents in a good while and I'm eternally grateful. Tiny baby puppy pee is one thing, big puppy pee is another.

I have a question for any successful puppy trainers out there- what was your best approach to teaching recall and laying down? She's got 'sit' down pat but that's it. Well, she comes 78% of the time but there's room for improvement. Laying down is NOT working. I can't figure it out!!! Help?

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Golden Love-
Hennessy- 08/11/1994- 02/14/2004
Faeden 'Lola'- 03/23/1999- 09/24/2012
Sailor Blue- 03/04/2004
Fable Massachusetts- 07/08/2012

So happy to here her spay went well.
Here is Alli (July 16) in one of her odd lying positions. I am not sure about her weight but she is growing up so fast. She is in that gooney, awkward stage where her legs are too long for her body but she is just starting to fill out.
Alli and I have been attending training classes since she was about 16 weeks old. We have completed star puppy and are currently working on basic obedience and her CGC. Luckily she didn't have to lie down in star puppy because I too am having difficulty with down. I am going to have to get her to do it without treats to pass her CGC in 2 weeks so we are working hard on it. Currently, I will hold a treat in my hand on the floor and as soon as she goes in the down position, I open my hand. That works well but I always have to hold the treat on the floor. With all of her other commands, I use hand signals along with the command and she knows them all. She even has a really good recall and drop it but down is a struggle. I just started putting her leash under my foot and pulling on the other end to put her head to the ground without having to go down with a treat. I am hoping that this will work.

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Lucy(july 20)-- had her spay date last thurs--its done as an outpatient at our vet--drop off and pick up--no probs and 48hrs after she is back to normal---she is used to daily walks in the snow and keeps bringing me her harness and keep saying no

found the vet charge from the last time we had a dog spayed--51 dollars with an overnite stay--this time $148 with a bordatella shot and pain meds--not too big a difference in 28yrs

Sadie up in the mountain yesterday and weight in at 50lbs

Hi everyone!! So great to see everyone's pictures and hear what is going on with your pups!! Our little Lucas, who was born July 4th is growing like a weed!! A BIG weed!! Looks like he is going to be quite big, and probably around 80 lbs!! EEK!! He is such a doll though, and so loving!! We have been doing puppy classes and he stays, leaves it, shakes a paw and comes, but the counter surfing is driving me CRAZY!! We are also hoping to get him neutered in the next month or so, for we are going away this week and I wanted to wait until we got back (too afraid to go away, while he is healing etc.)

Looking forward to hearing all of your stories and seeing your pictures!!

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Alli is 7 months old now and we just got back from a trip to Maine so that the dogs could play in the snow. While there, Alli came into her first heat. My little girl is growing up. She is doing really well with her training but it looks like we will miss our last class tonight since there is an unaltered dobbie in the class. Here are a couple of photos from our trip. One is a photo of Alli with her new little sister Hanna. Hanna was born in October of 2012.

How are all of the rest of the July babies doing?

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They are all growing so fast hard to believe they are all 7 months. Tinks is now 52 pounds and is quite creative in what she does she saw the cat walk across the top of our koi pond cover which is pitched like a house roof so I went out yesterday and she is sitting up on the top looking out over the fence. Not something I planned for sigh~

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Boots, Sparkles and Tink Bridge dogs, Tuffy, Blueboy, Pudge, Maddie, Broker, Jet, Baily, and Reva

Can't believe Winnie will be 8 months. Where has the time gone. Can't believe she has been with us for almost 6 months. Sheis doing great. A bit jumpy and outcry at times, bother good points out weigh these. We are in our 3rd dog class. This one is called off leash wonders. These are 2 pics of her after grooming pics.m they took place 48 hrs apart! She truly is a golden!
The last pic is her usual pose in the yard..with a twig


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I need a better autocorrect. She is a bit mouthy. Meant her good points far out weigh her bad


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after seven months Lucy is still the joy in the house---after spaying her appetite has lessened(doesn't mt bowl between feeding sometimes) but energy level is as high as ever--training is---well never mind<sf>

we walk a couple times aday--she will sometimes lay in the snow for an hour or two--just relaxing--in fact relaxing maybe her hidden talent!!!

Still has done nothing major wrong when left alone in the house3-5hrs max--no potty 'accidents' for a few months---just all in all a great addition to our house--training class in April--still working on come and leash walking

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