Did your Britt make you laugh today? Did he do something so smart, you are blown away? Those puppy teeth causing you to tear up, and you need an outlet? Or do you want to post a picture of his or her latest point? This is the place for it!
I have been coming here for years and have always enjoyed the comradery of Brittany people. I thought it might be nice if we all reintroduce ourselves, or more importantly, our Britts!
My husband and I have three Britts: Kallie (12), Trapper (11), and CharLee (6). All were adopted through ABR. Kallie looks amazing, and we say she is 12 going on 6. She is the liver and white. CharLee was born blind and does not know she has a handicap. You can tell from looking at her she is blind. She looks like any other Britt when she is running though. She has our entire yard and house mapped in her head. I forget she is blind and give her hand commands. Then there is Trapper. What to say about him? Trapper is “that dog” -- the one that takes up most of our time, the one wanting attention all the time, the one getting into things. We say he was dropped on his head at birth because he is unlike any Brittany we have ever known. He rarely sleeps and I thought maybe he was in pain when we first got him because he was constantly pacing. He is devoted to us and we love him for that.
Here is a picture of our Britts. Please note the quilt in the background – I won it through an ABR raffle.
What a great picture of all 3 dogs. They certainly don't look their age! We've now had 2 liver and white Brittanys and neither one of them ever got gray/white in the face. Doesn't look like yours is either.
My name is Anne and I live in the desert in So Cal. I adopted my first Britt from a a local rescue. Briefly reading up on them I knew they were high energy dogs and that was fine and besides after one look at him we had to adopt him. High energy and so much more. I had no clue how much personality these dogs have. Sammy has become a joy in our lives! He has only been with us 3 months. Sammy has just turned 1 yr. old from what the vet says. He's more of a short coated Britt and very easy to keep clean. He is an orange and white with dark amber eyes and a few scattered freckles!
I don't know how to post a pic here, but I have posted on ABR face book page.
Thank you all for all they helpful advice. Looking forward to future conversations!
Since I haven't posted here in forever (but I'm still keeping an eye on things, like a good moderator should ), I'll reintroduce myself for the newbies.
I currently have two Britts. Buster is nearly 12 years old and was adopted from ABR 11 years ago. Charm is 5 years old and I purchased her from a breeder. Buster competes in Barnhunt and retired from agility last year. Charm competes in Barnhunt and Conformation and is training in agility but has only been to a few trials.
I've been fostering Britts since 2004 and and have honestly lost count of how many Brittanys I've had pass through my home. When I'm not training my own dogs, I teach basic obedience and basic agility classes.
Good to hear you're still kickin Lisa!! And what an absolutely beautiful picture of your "heathens!" I can't believe Buster is 12 and Charm is 5. Wow, time flies!
I just recently joined the forum, but have "lurked" for many years and have learned a ton! We started with Sam, a brittany beagle mix adopted through petsmart in 2004 (he crossed the rainbow bridge in 2013), adopted Gage in 2011 (he's now about 10 or so) and JJ, 3 1/2 months ago (he's 6 yrs old), both from ABR...I have to say that the foster parents we have dealt with are incredible--so supportive and knowledgeable! I have so much admiration for those of you who foster...we've help out with a transport when we can...I also belong to a training club and help teach puppy and "family dog" classes...I got introduced to the clicker through Lisa's suggestions here and have learned more using it in our training classes...
We currently have 2 britts. Emma is 9 years old. We got her from a breeder when she was just a puppy, and she is our silly, loveable little clown. And Sammy, who will be 14 in July, is our foster failure. We fostered him for about 5 months, and then he was adopted. The couple kept him for about 5 months and then gave him up. We didn't want to see him go through another change at his age (he was already 9 at the time) so we officially adopted him and as my husband says, we are Sammy's "retirement home"!
We lost our other britt, Maggie, last year, and we both were (and still are) devastated. These britts all work their way into our hearts.
Oh you have a Sammy too! I just love adopting. We went to the rescue intending on getting a female and I was going to name her Katie (after my mom who has passed). My Dad called her Katie so I figured every time I said the name I would think of them both (dad has also passed recently). Well we came across our Britt and the rescue had named him Gobi...lol...well long story short...my dads nickname for me was Sam...so we now have a Sammy! Or Sam...lol
Pic from last night when I went to bed...someone was in my spot!
The clicker is a useful training tool; it is a little plastic thing that makes a sound (click) when you press it. It is a "marker," so when your dog does something you like (like sits, or lies down, or keeps four feet on the floor instead of jumping on someone), you "click" ("mark" the behavior)and give the dog a treat. The dog learns that when he hears that "click," he has done something good and will get a treat. It is quicker than just giving a treat or a pet so it "marks" the behavior you want more precisely; it facilitates communication which is what I think training is really all about. That is a very general description...if you are interested, you can learn more at clickertraining.com When you first start to use it, it feels clumsy and awkward, but after a while, as with any new skill, you get used to it. Also, you don't keep using it forever; use it when teaching new behaviors or "old" behaviors in new situations. Hope that makes sense...
It does...sounds like it might help with Sammy just pointing the rabbits and not trying to chase them! And maybe to help him stop pulling in the leash. We use a gentle leader on him, it's not his favorite but it helps a lot.
In our classes, we find that the gentle leader is often a helpful management tool, though dogs do have to get used to it...I use a "no pull" harness (hooks in front)...I like the Freedom Harness better than an easy walk harness because it has more places to adjust for a good fit and even more, because it has a strap going between the dog's front legs and is harder for them to slip out of. When we first got Gage, we walked him with an easy walk...he saw a rabbit, pulled out of the harness and took off...fortunately, the rabbit went through a fence that stopped Gage...the clicker can be very helpful with loose leash walking (start by "clicking" when the dog lets the leash be loose when you are just standing there...we always want to make sure to start at a level that insures success...then take a step back and if the dog follows with a loose leash, click again...probably better to start inside, again to insure you are building on success) I do think it will take a long time and lots of training to get a brittany to not chase a rabbit if given the opportunity...I think it was Barb on this forum who once pointed out that hunting things had been bred into Britts for 1000's of years and that is hard to overcome...I try to remind myself of that when we are "stuck" pointing at a rabbit or some other critter, or we MUST check out a bush where we found a nest of baby rabbits a year ago...I actually have had some success with Gage when we are "stuck," calling his name and clicking an ear flick or slight head turn that indicates that he at least heard me (and using cheese to reinforce)...he had gotten better at leaving whatever he was pointing at, but I have to admit that I have not been consistent enough--trainer error Maybe others (people who hunt with their dogs?) know how to train better response...
Our beautiful Scout (at the bridge now) quit hunting bunnies after his first pheasant hunt. It was funny, he would look at the bunnies like they were beneath him.
That for the reminder about fostering, Lisa. 
and that is hard to overcome...I try to remind myself of that when we are "stuck" pointing at a rabbit or some other critter, or we MUST check out a bush where we found a nest of baby rabbits a year ago...I actually have had some success with Gage when we are "stuck," calling his name and clicking an ear flick or slight head turn that indicates that he at least heard me (and using cheese to reinforce)...he had gotten better at leaving whatever he was pointing at, but I have to admit that I have not been consistent enough--trainer error 
