June 23, 2010

Bailey Progress - Day 10

Wide angle close-up of Bailey


We'll, it's been just over a week and a half since we rescued Bailey and so far everything has been great. In fact, it's been really great! Some progress that we have made over the past 10 days includes a seamless transition into our home from her foster home. We're getting to know her pretty well and there hasn't been any surprises yet.

When we got Bailey we knew she HATED the crate. Her broken canines prove that she has difficulty with being locked up in a crate and will go to the extreme to get out of that situation. For this reason we have decided to NOT lock the crate and allow her to roam free on the first floor of our home. She also shows signs of mild separation anxiety, although we have not left her alone for more than a couple hours so far (in which she sat in the front window). We were only across the street but she seemed to settle down as long as she didn't see us... We'll have to check back on her progress this week as she spends a little more time alone this weekend.




One thing that she really loves is swimming. In the lake or in the pool, it doesn't matter to her... she just wants in! She'll stand up at the side of the pool waiting for me to pick her up and put her in with us. I can't imagine what it's doing to my filter but oh well...... She also likes to "eat" the water spraying from the hose. This is something we're not used to because as soon as Darby sees the hose she's off in the opposite direction! Someone must have terrified her (Darby) with the hose at some point in her life.

I've been working with Bailey for the past week with the E-Collar and she's starting to get the hang of it. She's not pulling near as bad on the lead and last evening she walked like a little princess.... She seems to be getting the hang of "Heal", something in which I'm pretty sure she has NEVER learned in her life. She is sitting most of the time on command as well as going "down". She has also caught on to "Stay" fairly quickly. She amazed me last night when working with her on "fetch". I picked up a nice floating retrieving toy from the Petco and as of last night she was retrieving it and would "drop it" at my feet. "Come" is another story..... we have some work to do but we're working at it day-to-day. Not too bad for the first 10 days. These pups are much smarter than you imagine, just take the time to train them and the entire family will be much happier in the long run.

As far as getting along with my other dogs, she's been great. She leaves Glacier alone (Glacier is our 13 year old Samoyed), and she's getting closer to Darby daily. Bailey and Darby even shared the dog bed the other night which is HUGE progress because Darby doesn't like anyone in her "space". We'll see what the next few days bring. Till then enjoy and check back for more updates!

June 21, 2010

Cooling Down



Wow, what a warm weekend it was!! No better way than to hop in the pool and cool off for a few minutes! I gotta tell ya, both dogs absolutely love swimming! Darby never really showed interest in the pool, however she seemed to really enjoy being in there as seen in the picture above. Bailey on the other hand, she showed interest in the pool instantly. She likes to stand with her paws on the side of the pool watching us swim. I reached over and picked her up and she came in willingly, to say the least! I left her swim around for a few minutes and got her back out of the pool. She jumped back up on the side as if to say, hey.. get me back in there!

She took her second swim around the pool with me last evening and seemed to be just as excited to get in as she was the first time! I think we created a monster!!

Till next time!

June 20, 2010

Lazy Sunday Afternoon

Bailey Cooling down in the A/C!!

Father's Day - 2010

This week has been pretty toasty here in Cleveland! The temps have been in the mid 80's for the past week or two and the humidity is off the charts. These darn dogs seem to follow us everywhere!! If we're inside, they're inside... If we're outside, they need to be outside..... Period! This Father's Day we decided to hang out and relax and do a little swimming.


Darby Catching some rays!

While we love to sit outside in the sun and catch some rays, I would have thought the pups would look for cooler areas to hang out while we're outside in the heat... NOT! Figures, they need to be right there with us..... We've been taking them inside to cool down every hour or two and let me tell ya, it doesn't take long for them to crash once inside in the AC! I guess if they get too hot they'll go find the shade!

June 18, 2010

Day 1 - June 13th


Bailey - Welcome to your new home! Day 1

So, last week Amy started emailing me pictures of dogs that needed a home... as soon as the emails came through I knew we were going to rescue another one. When she set up the date to go visit Bailey it was a sealed deal! So, this past Sunday we all (Amy, Nate, Abby, Izzy, and me....) made the trip to Michigan to check out Bailey at her foster's house. It was an early start for the 3 1/2 hour drive leaving the house at 6:30am but we actually got on the road a bit earlier than I had expected.

We arrive at our destination around 10am and Bailey was waiting at the door. All we really knew about her prior to seeing her is that she was a happy dog, well socialized, and she didn't like being locked in a crate. We also knew she was special because of her dobe colorization or what's referred to as "the mark of the hound" (you can see her coloring in the photos if you look close). Let's just say she is beautiful!!! Prior to seeing the "dobe" markings and hearing about Bailey, I have never heard of this in Weims. It's a trait that is NOT highly sought after and it's grounds for immediate disqualification to ever "show the dog. It's also frowned down upon and not suggested these dogs be used to breed. In fact, from what I have read breeders do everything possible to prevent this through selective breeding.... Well, who needs a show dog anyway.... We wanted an addition to the family, not a trophy.

Anyway, our first impression when we met Bailey was YES! She we very friendly and sweet, great with the kids, and seemed very outgoing.. After an hour or so we decided she was the one. We let the foster family say goodbye then she hopped into a car full of strangers. To my surprise she was amazingly well behaved in the back of the SUV for the 3 1/2 hour drive back home.

Upon our return home we gave Bailey time to socialize with Darby and Glacier (our Samoyed) in which it went really well. They all seem to get along great which is good since there was NO way I was driving back to Michigan! Darby is a very docile girl so we were sure everything would be fine with the introduction to another dog into our family. We gave her time to check out the house, the yard, and get familiar with us while trying not to be too pushy. We then took all three for a walk. That night Bailey was dead-tired after a long stressful day and she had no problem falling asleep that night.

You know, when you rescue/adopt a dog you have NO idea what type of luggage (or quirks) you are getting along with the new addition. Only time will tell as we discover them all! We'll be sure to report back on what we find and how we're handling it!

June 16, 2010

Welcome to our blog!

Bailey (L)Age 3) & Darby (R) Age 7) - Both are rescues.

Follow the day to day journeys of owning two rescued Weimaraners right here in Cleveland, Ohio. Both Darby & Bailey were rescued by our family through the Michigan Weimaraner Rescue located in Mason, MI over the past two years.

We've been weimaraner owners for 4 years and have come to fall in love with the breed. We've learned a lot from them over the past few years but seem to learn more and more every day. With the recent addition to our family (Bailey), I thought it would be a good time to start sharing our journey with others. My hopes are that this blog can in some way help you make a decision if you have been thinking about adopting/rescuing a Weimaraner by seeing some of the trial and tribulations that we will go through, as well as seeing the friendship/relationship that we are about to build with our latest rescue.

If you're interested in rescuing a Weim we would highly suggest you contact MWR. We suggest MWR not because we think they are better than any other rescue, only because we know them and have dealt with them in the past and we know they are a top-notch organization.

Thanks for following along with this blog and we look forward to sharing the progress of our latest rescue.

Sean & Amy
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