Meet Fiona

>> Sunday, June 26, 2011 – fiona , service dog

Chuck is gone and Fiona is here, another service dog in training. She turned 9wks on Friday and we picked her up yesterday after the F litter's puppy shower (siblings are Floyd, Frieda, Ferris, Frances, and Faith). I chose her because she was the spunkiest in her litter.

Lance has already taken to her. Vito is doing a good job of pretending she doesn't exist. Actually I'm quite pleased with how little he's giving her evil faces. My hope is that once she is no longer a dreaded puppy, Vito will actually play with her since he does like girls better than boys. Vito learned to tolerate Chuck and was often crated with him at shows but never really liked him.

Fiona is a very loud girl. Barky when playing. Barky when just chewing on a bone. Thankfully she is pretty quiet in her crate. I had been giving each of the pups individual crate time twice a day while the litter was at the facility so they've gotten most of that screaming out of their system already.

Achieve1dream – ( June 26, 2011 at 10:26 PM ): Oh my goodness, I'm so dumb sometimes! I was looking for the embedded comment form this whole time thinking I couldn't comment and finally found where it said add a comment. Duh . . . I'm so brain dead.

I thought you were taking a break after Chuck, but I'm glad you're not because she is soooooooo cute!!! Do they ever do anything other than Labs?
Laura and The Corgi, Toller, & Duck – ( June 26, 2011 at 10:49 PM ): Well now the comment button is working for me! But I can click on the "1 comment" button to get here...

I wanted to take a little break but timing didn't work out that way with the "F" litter being ready to go and me wanting one from this litter rather than from the other mommas that are expecting or donated puppies upcoming.

Labs are mainly used and are the only breed that we are currently breeding. But we also accepted donated goldens, poodles, smooth coated collies and then shelter shop for mixes. I personally would much rather raise a lab than the other common breeds (Even though I'm not a huge lab fan) but am still hoping we get another donated aussie or toller.
Dexter – ( June 27, 2011 at 5:21 AM ): She will give the boys a run for sure. Black labs are the smartest (hehehe). I have no doubt Mr. Grumpy Pants will warm right up to her once she is a little less annoying.

Mango Momma
Anonymous – – ( June 27, 2011 at 5:17 PM ): She is super cute! :)
Ninso – ( June 28, 2011 at 9:27 AM ): I want a baby black lab!!

Weird, I can't post a comment when I'm on the individual post, only from the main page.
Tegan – ( June 30, 2011 at 1:45 AM ): You are such a gem taking another dog in training into your life. A huge commitment from you, but a great service for those in need.

However, what Ninso said - I have trouble posting comments from your page. (I had to click on the link saying '5 comments' to access a pop up to make this comment.)
Laura and The Corgi, Toller, & Duck – ( June 30, 2011 at 7:34 AM ): I know Blogger is having issues with comments. I keep switching the comments settings from full page, to pop up, to now embedded but it seems to work differently for different people. I just switch back to embedded as it works best for me so I"m leaving it like this now, but it doesn't work at all for some people....
Cynthia – ( June 30, 2011 at 5:21 PM ): She's adorable, and what a cute name too!
Jaana – ( July 6, 2011 at 11:34 AM ): What a lovely baby! Good luck with her!
Eapen@ClickerTrainingDogs – ( July 15, 2011 at 12:20 AM ): Fiona is indeed very cute. Is she easy to train? Are you using Clicker to train her? I am sure she will grow up to be a great service dog. All the best !
Laura and The Corgi, Toller, & Duck – ( July 15, 2011 at 8:23 AM ): Thanks for stopping by! I think all puppies are easy to train, they're just sponges! I like the fiesty ones better though.

I do use a clicker and do a lot of free shaping. But while I consider myself a "positive trainer" I am not a "clicker trainer" in some people's eyes as I use positive punishment, just not physical force of any kind.
Deepak Eapen – ( July 15, 2011 at 9:15 AM ): Positive punishment even if not physical is not recommended. Negative punishment is the best. What do you say?
Laura and The Corgi, Toller, & Duck – ( July 15, 2011 at 9:29 AM ): Well I agree that neg punishment is more effective, but the most common examples are an E collar and collar pops. In order to use R- you have to present something negative in the first place and keep it up until the dog stops. In my opinion it is difficult to use without force where as a simple "ah ah" or body block can decrease behavior and allow you to reward the right one.

But the philosophical side doesn't interest me all that much. I much prefer to just train behaviors than think about what quadrant I'm using.
Deepak Eapen – ( July 16, 2011 at 11:46 AM ): I am not here for a debate, but I just want to clarify that R+ training is not philosophy, it's a proven science. It can do wonders ! :)
Training Tampa – ( October 5, 2011 at 3:32 PM ): Another informative blog… Thank you for sharing it… Best of luck for further endeavor too.