Thank You Anna & Malone ! !

[Tucker216]

I wanted to share some Pics of Tucker and never could figure it out! Well Now I know and it is all thanks to Anna ! Tucker was adopted on 2/16/02 from the waco animal shelter. He is our 5th since may 9th 1986. Our first was Pebbles and she was with us until 1999 when we lost her to old age and diabeties. For 2 years we could not bring our selves to get another. On September 22 2001 we adopted Jake. His story is long for the short time he was with us. Please take a moment and read Jakes story here...http://pets.burnerkitty.com/4280

[Tucker216]

After we lost Jake we decided to adopt again and this time we got 2 beautiful lil girls.. Anni and Molly. Sadly we only had them for 2 weeks due to them being exposed to parvo AND distemper at the shelter. At that point I said NO MORE! I just couldnt go through this again. Well one morning I woke up with a feeling inside that said " GO TO THE SHELTER" and after fighting it all day I finally went and there was Tucker! ! He wasnt up for adoption until the next day and needless to say I was there waiting when they opened lol It would be 4 hours till my husband could get there and I didnt want to take any chances so I took him out to the play area and kept him there till Alan arrived lol. I know in my heart the Jake and Ani and Molly sent me to him and everyday I thank them for it! Once again I want to give a big big THANK YOU to ANNA for helping me get Tuckers Pics on here!
this was taken 2 weeks ago when we went camping


this one is when he was 3 months old!

[Cookiebaker]

You are very welcome...I'm just glad to see pictures!!

I just read Jake's story...it was so touching and I was crying my eyes out at the end. I am glad that you have Tucker now, he's a cutie-pie!!! Is he a yellow lab or lab mix or ?? And do you know how old he is??

[Tucker216]

Yes Tucker is a lab mix A Lab and a Aussie Cattle Dog but the only mix I see in him are the lil spots on his legs and across his nose. The vet said he is a cream colored Lab tho I have never heard of that before. He was 2-3 months when we got him so he is about 10 months now and oh so spoiled lol The only real problem I have had with him is CHEWING omg When left alone and free to run the house he eats EVERYTHING and I really mean everything lol when I wewnt back to work 3 months ago he went nuts and ate a hole in the livingroom wall then came the curtains and the mini blinds and the big scare was when he ate my meds.. mostly blood sugar meds When I called poision control they said none would hurt him but to watch him for signs his sugar was dropping. Well the next day he decided his sugar was too low so he ate a loaf of bread, a pkg of hamb. buns, 3 bags of regular. potato chips,a bag of pretzels,4 squash, 5 tomatos, 6 potatos, a small box of mac and cheese and for desserts a whole box of BROWN SUGAR LOL have you had any problems like that? Ive done some research on it and found out it is Seperation anx. He is now Crate Trained but I really hate it

[Cookiebaker]

*LOL* Tucker is LITERALLY going to eat you out of house and home. Yes, we have had troubles with Malone eating EVERYTHING--first it was kitty litter *yuk*, ROCKS (they seriously threatened surgery), a bar of soap, sneakers, socks, the whole nine yards. Malone is crate trained now, also. I hated it at first but more & more I look at it as a life saver. He is happy to be in there and it gives me a break so that I don't have to constantly worry where is he, what is eating etc.

I have heard about separation anxiety--one thing I heard is that exercise supposedly helps. Dogs get anxious when they need exercise and don't have a vent for it. Also, our vet told us that if you can keep the dog pacified for the first 20 minutes after you leave, it is likely he will be content the whole time (the first 20 mins are most crucial). They give tips like: feed just before you run out the door, kongs filled with liver or peanut butter etc.

[Tucker216]

LOL Labs are sooooooo much fun ! Did you have any problem crate training him? and also how long do you leave him in the crate? Tucker has been the easiest to train out of any dog I have ever had! Sometimes he is too smart for MY own good lol He really took well to the crate with lots of treats thrown in there with him and as for Potty traing omg I didnt even really have to do anything ... he brings his leash when he has to go and then sits in front of you just waiting! he can sit, ( still working on stay even after all these months lol ) he will shake and do a high 5 and say him all wilh either voice commands or hand signles and when I am in the pantry and the door closes he will grab the towel hanging there and pull it open for me when my hands are full. Truth be told I think he would make a wonderful service dog ! We are workin right now on bring the phone when it rings! Now if I could only train him to go to work for me lol

[tatsxxx11]

Oh Jessica, what a heartwrenching story!!! You have been through so much in your life. And as you said, always, during those darkest days, your furkids were there to lick away the tears and lift your spirits. I'm so very sorry that your lost your precious Jake. But I do blelieve he was sent from above for a specific purpose, to be your guardian furangel. He was a very special, very beautiful doggie indeed! I loved seeing his sweet pics! How sad that so soon after his passing you lost Ani and Molly. But now you have the beautiful Tucker What a sweetie!! Thank you so much for having the courage to share your life's story. There's a lesson in there for everyone! I wish you, Alan and Tucker and all of your furkids peace and happiness. I'm sure Tucker will see to it that his Mommy never knows another sad day!!

[Cookiebaker]

Crate training went really easy for us as well...the first few night he yowled, but bopping the top of the crate with a "stop that noise" REALLY nipped that in the bud. I'm home almost everyday, but regardless I like to keep him in there for 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon. That way I have peace when I have work to do, and also if I DO have to be away, it's not a shock to his poor system--"OH NO! What did I do to deserve this????"

It sounds like you are being a lot more successful in training than we are...Malone is just so stubborn sometimes...we can't even get sit/down/stand/stay down pat. Our trainer told us to do all 4 simultaneously, but I am thinking it just makes him frustrated when he doesn't understand. I am wondering if taking one of those things at a time will work better. Our trainer doesn't believe in using treats as rewards for good behaviour, so the going is a lot slower than with treats. He believes that the training is more effective in the long run without treats.

[Tucker216]

oh no lol he sounds very hard headed lol Funny thing with Tucker is that it took all of 5 mins to train him to open the door and 2 months to get him to shake hands lol I used food rewards when I first started training him and I also used a clicker but now we dont use either one! I think your trainer is nuts lol The food reward does not have to be anything big just tiny lil pieces that he can smell in your hand( I used chicken breast) they help to keep their attention. The clicker worked good at keeping his attention until the cats heard it and started coming to check out what it was and then "POOF" there went Tuckers attention lol We have a lot of stray cats out here and he loves to chase them and he never hurts them but it is a habit I need to break him of. As for his crate ( I know I will get some bad responses for this) he is in it all day while we are at work. We bought the largest one out there.. made for Danes.. so he has lots of room and can totally stretch out in it and I do it for his protection as well as for the house. The only doggy day care I could find was 100.00 a day and a not very well kept place at that and I have no one to help us when we are home he is just fine.. even at night.. he sleeps in bed with us with no trouble at all.. but the second we leave him alone oh lordy lol My husband and I took the trash out one night ( we have a long driveway) and when we got back Tucker was sittin at the door with a pkg of flour tortillias at his feet! and we were only gone for 3-4 mins. oh and also with his training.. we started off working on things for 10 mins or less at a time and I always look for natural triggers and that helps alot!
to get him to say hi I just started making noises that would make him bark and then made that sound and when he would bark I would reward him then I made a hand signel when I made the nosie and again rewarded him soon I dropped making the nosie all together . Finally I would tell him " say Hi" with the signel and now all I have to do is " say Hi" and he barks 1 or 2 times lol sounds like a lot but he learned it all in 3 days! Lord I am long winded lol