American Brittany Rescue

Kathy, I made a tug rope out of an old t-shirt and we played on rainy Sunday. I emptied a basement room of just about everything and put in tons of toys, soft toys, hard toys, chewy toys, one bone. I hid treats under some hard to turn over toys. That’s pretty much where we spent the day. I played ...

Ann, you’re giving me hope but I’m not sure I believe it. That’s all the exercise required? Wow.

On NICE days Lola and I have found ways to enjoy each other. No problem. However, no amount of coaxing will get Lola outside when weather is bad. It poured all day yesterday and I had to force her out for a pee and she goes crazy inside. Hurricane Wilma is promising to bring several days of bad weather (luckily we’re expecting only bad weather) and I’m worried what days of inactivity are going to do to our relationship. Even worse, winter is coming!

If I had it to do again I would wait until spring to bring home a young Brittany. I didn’t read that advice anywhere (my first puppy was an English Sheepdog and she didn’t care about weather). What I read about Brittanys and weather was along the lines of that they weren’t built for hunting from boats and shouldn’t be left outside in winter. I get anxious when I think about the bad weather to come. When she gets her exercise our relationship is so good. We play and she is wants to please and in the evening she snoozes on my lap. Its great. But when she doesn’t get her exercise she’s just plain bad. She walks around the house pulling at things she knows she’s not allowed to touch and when she’s told “noâ€￾ she barks and bites and is just generally a pain in the rear. Then we fight, she ends up crying in her crate. Its not good for her development. I occupy her as much as possible by giving bones, rawhide, pigs ears etc. But then she doesn’t eat her proper food. So that stuff has to be limited.

No rain planned for today so after work I’ll take her out to the woods for as long a romp she can muster. However, she is only a puppy and does better with many small exercise bouts. So I dunno….. Wish me luck.

I'll try to relax and enjoy. The other puppy that's joining the group is Lola's half brother. He's a few weeks older but I'm hoping they'll become good friends.

Okay, I'll keep her on a leash. If she's obviously frightened should I pick her up or remove her from the situation or just let her work it out? What about holding her and letting her watch for awhile? I feel like a nervous mom whose daughter is heading to a debutant ball. I want the others to like ...

Hi. Next weekend Lola and I will be heading to a camp where there will be other dogs and at least 1 puppy. Most dogs are given all the freedom a dog could want. The camp is on an island and there isn't much danger for them there. I do not want this to be a trama, of course, I want her to love it. Th...

I should also add thanks to everyone for their suggestions. Just the moral support helps a lot and its good to know my Brit isn't unusual. I've read about Levi and it gives me hope. Be assured Lola gets lots of treats, Lola gets way too many treats and has a good supply of chew toys. She just prefer...

Yup, I've enrolled Lola in puppy classes. They start 3 November and I'm very keen. That's the date alrighty! On 3 November all my puppy problems will disappear. Yessiree can't wait till 3 November.

Two reasons I don't want her doing it. The first is not so serious, it just seems like bad manners. I guess I envisioned my grown dog walking into the house and sitting on the mat until I okayed her release (stop laughing!). The second is more serious. Although she's really cute running around the h...

Four months! Are you serious? Four months before I can tire her out with a walk? Well, my husband will shoot her long before then. I know, I know, a tired Brit is a happy Brit. Well, I'm willing to do my part. Lola's going to have to pick up her end. On a slightly different tangent, one of Lola's fa...

I read about Brittanys before I got one. The key everyone said is exercise. So okay, I'm willing to run her for 1/2 hour every morning and take her for a 20 min walk at lunch and an hour after work. I look forward to occasional hikes on the weekend. The breeder said that would be enough. Right now s...

Hope I get this right. I've never posted to a forum before. I got an 8 week old puppy, I've had her for 1 week now and I was starting to become concerned. I'm relieved to hear other Brits go completely crazy in the evening. I thought my dog was insane. Now that I know nightly insanity is normal I'll...