[Mackenzie’s Admin]

Hi, I think I figured out how this thing works!

Red continues to do great! He is in obedience classes and his performance there has far exceeded my expectations. The instructor is EXTREMELY impressed with him and we have only had two classes so far. We are calling him "Rockstar Red" in class. Because of his great performance and excellent disposition I am considering pursuing therapy dog registration/certification with him. I’ll keep you posted!

I thought you would also like to know that we have enrolled him in doggie daycare and he will attend 1-2 days per week so he can have fun with other dogs and get his energy out. He had his first day yesterday and his behavior was "excellent" according to the daycare. He loved it and came home extremely exhausted. I posted his "report card" on my Facebook page if you’d like to check it out – it’s really cute.

[Mackenzie’s Admin]

Happy Anniversary, Princess!! It has been one year today that Princess became part of my family. We’ve been having so much fun that I didn’t even realize how long it had been until I saw the reminder on my calender. What a wonderful year it has been!

[Mackenzie’s Admin]

We met Sarah and family at Riverside Park this weekend. It was a beautiful day! Princess was a little shy, but seemed to remember Sarah. Princess loved taking a walk and wading in a pond. Every time we passed another person, she would pull towards them, as if she wanted to go say, ‘hi’. At one point there was a squirrel that got her attention by standing about a foot from her face. She was very interested to going over to sniff it (she didn’t seem to want to hurt it), so I slowly let her walk forward. The squirrel then ran behind a tree. Everytime Princess would look around one side of the tree, the squirrel would peak out from the opposite side. It was very cute!

[Mackenzie’s Admin]

While attending a Safer seminar in Milwaukee we discussed behavior modification protocol. When a dog scored well in all area’s of the aggression accessment except for food; they found it took an average of three days to change that behavior. The method intially is called classical conditioning because they learn that when you approuch the bowl they receive a reward. It then changes to operant conditioning. It is amazing the changes you can make using this method while only using a small amount of your time.

[Mackenzie’s Admin]

You guys & girl, look so happy! Good for you Jorel, Smokey & Fel!

[Mackenzie’s Admin]

I love seeing volunteers come in and the joy on their faces as they interact with our dogs. Interesting enough I see the same numbers during the bitterly cold months as we do in the hot months.

Our volunteers endure all kinds of weather and conditions in the best interest of our canine friends. They are the joy along with the dogs and their committment is incredible. We are all so thankful for all they do here.

[Mackenzie’s Admin]

I find it quite amazing how Smokey’s breed has a predisposition to be dog aggressive and Smokey is usually the one that gets pushed around in that group. I think he has to try and play referee because when he is involved in the play he just gets trampled.

Smokey is very cooperative too. When he is at home with me and Felony(my other dog) he doesnt try and engage her in play at all. I think he knows that she is old and doesnt want to play or be bothered. I really feel Felony appreciates it because she tolerates him doing the occasional sniff and the adorable face kisses– normally she would growl and try to get away. I’m sure they both know how much I love them and how I REALLY want us to be happy family. The 3 Musketeers!!! Watch out

[Mackenzie’s Admin]

I was watching Smokey, Maggie, & Kopper in their play group today. It is amazing how Smokey takes on the role of referee. When Maggie & Kopper get to playing hard, Smokey steps in and barks as if to say "break it up! If you’re not going to play nice, then don’t play at all". The dogs listened and stopped playing. Then Smokey licked Maggie as if to say "it’s ok – you just need to have quiet time now". A while later, Smokey went up to Maggie & Kopper (who were standing there quietly) and started barking again. This time the message must have been "OK, you guys can start playing again", because Maggie & Kopper started to play right after Smokey gave them the go ahead.

Smokey truly is an amazing dog!

[Mackenzie’s Admin]

We have added five new puppies to our group. They range in age from 3 months to 8 months. Our new program for puppies should help us develop well trained and socialized puppies. It is great fun to work with them and to see the smiles on volunteers faces as they do.

They are currently in our isolation area but hopefully will be cleared in a couple of weeks to come into our main facility.
We have a couple of volunteers and staff that are working on markers, touch and some basic commands while they are back there.

[Mackenzie’s Admin]

Way to go, Steph! Maybe he actually likes the brushing, but just doesn’t want you to know it! LOL

[Mackenzie’s Admin]

Great work, Kathy! Roo must surely know you love him! It’s exciting to know he is continually progressing.

[Mackenzie’s Admin]

Little did I know that "I Got You, Babe" would come true! Babe has been a member of our family for a month now. What a great, big babe-y! She’s still a little pushy with her "brother", but they love playing together, going for our walks together, and just hanging out with each other. We are delighted we could give her a good home & especially glad about taking in a big, black dog – who are sometimes hard to place.
WELCOME TO OUR FAMILY, BABE!

[Mackenzie’s Admin]

Roo had his first brushing the other day. He wasn’t sure he liked it but, the more I brushed the longer he stood still and didn’t walk circles around me. Of course he only wanted his left side done. Which is weird because I always pet him on his right side. Oh well, always another day with Roo.

[Mackenzie’s Admin]

Let’s change the water too!! : ) I was refilling a pool with Meadow, Mufasa and Ollie today and had the hose hanging through the fence. It was very funny watching them bite at the water trying to catch. They loved splashing through the cold pool.

[Mackenzie’s Admin]

I agree! Kiddie pools and sandboxes in the yard are great to cool down too.

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