Happy Holidays!

Sully has been getting in the holiday spirit!  Perhaps he is remembering a year ago when he was diagnosed with parvo and spent five days in a vet hospital, requiring critical care.  His second Christmas has been very, very different. 😊

 Sully is all decked out in his festive Christmas collar and bow tie!

Even in Phoenix, a Boxer boy can get chilly ... his new scarf will help keep him warm. 

Quite a different Santa hat, wouldn't you say?

Yes, Sully got extra meatballs for posing in his 

Christmas Tree glasses.

These were Ivy's antlers so they are very special.  Sully wears them with pride.

I won this festive hat at my high school reunion so Sully decided to give it a try.

 Competition obedience class holiday party!  In the back row:  Sully, Hudson, Fred, Thay, Emmy and Holly.  The two elves in front:  Brody and Pebblez.

Our wish for you and your family this holiday season.  😍

It's Halloween!!

Sully had a difficult time choosing his Halloween costume ... he tried several and the folks on Facebook weighed in on the decision.  Let's see what happened ...

First ... pirate!  He doesn't look thrilled, does he?

He wasn't all that excited about holding the 

trick-or-treat bucket, either.

Instead of holding the bucket, Sully decided it was more fun 

to chew through the handle.

Sully's imitation of John Wayne in The Cowboys!

Okay, he DOES make a cute scarecrow.  

It's a bird ... it's a plane ... no ... it's SUPER SULLY!!

Just clowning around, don't ya know!

But this is the winner!  Sully now wants to change his name to Thor - perfect for this Boxer Viking!

Sully's 1st Birthday!

Just think ... less than a year ago, I didn't know if my puppy was going to live.  He was being treated for parvo and pneumonia.  But Sully made it and he is one year old today!  Here are some photos of his party. He celebrated with friends in his obedience class.  

Fred's mom brought flowers and sparkling water - and set up a lovely table for Sully's party.  The hats are ready and so are the party favors - moo tuggers!

Mocha is really diggin' this hat thing ... she's getting to be a pro!

Sully is NOT a pro, yet.  He's not quite sure he likes wearing hats.

Okay ... everybody looks good except ... 

Sully, you're losing your hat!!

What a group shot!  Thay and Fred are wearing their hats at a rakish tilt.  
Sully, Bullitt and Mocha are patiently waiting for the photographer to finish.

Yay!  A retrieve!  Puppy Thay likes his moo tugger and 

Shana is excited about the retrieve!

Mocha brought Sully a present ...

Wow!  It's a new furry friend ... he now brings it to bed with him.

A brand new pair of sunglasses ... they lasted all of 45 seconds. 
 Just long enough to get a photo.

Sully - Winmere Bare Knuckle TKI    

1 year old

Sep. 9, 2017

Sully's Rattlesnake Aversion Training!

While Sully lives in Central Phoenix, I had to remember that snakes - rattlesnakes - can certainly make their way to the inner city.  Garages, backyards, gardens, and even in the house.   I wanted to make sure that Sully went through rattlesnake aversion training and I did my research.  What kind of training methods were used?  Snakes in cages? Dead snakes? Live snakes? My competition obedience instructor also did some research and she recommended RattlesnakeReady.

Cody Will trains snake aversion using sight recognition, scent recognition and sound recognition.  And he uses live snakes that are not in cages.  Cody maintains a good collection of snakes and since their fangs have not been removed, he "muzzles" them with surgical tape.  The snakes are well cared for and they are given frequent days off.

I wanted photos of Sully's training, but I also wanted to make sure I learned his behavior.  You have to read your dog's behavior, so the photos aren't great, but they will give you an idea of what the training was all about.

Cody arrives bright and early for Sully's training.  He came to my home since that's probably where we would run into snakes.  He will also go to other places, depending on what you do with your dogs.

Out come the rattlesnakes, the snakeskin, the rattleblind and the e-collar.  Yes, he uses an electric shock collar but uses it only in the strength he needs for the individual dog being trained.  He starts off very, very light and ups the shock only if necessary.

The training starts with Junior,  a juvenile Great Basin rattlesnake.  Sully, of course, wanted to get up close and personal and he was allowed to do that.  As soon as he got way too close, Cody gave him a static correction with the e-collar.  It didn't hurt him, but he jumped several feet off the ground!  His lesson:  the snake is really not a fun toy after all.

Cody moved Junior several times and Sully needed only one other correction.  After that, my pup wasn't having any of it!  He saw the rattlesnake each time and ran right to me.

Next up:  snakeskin.  This is for scent recognition.  Again, Sully went right up to it (please note: he's not on leash through any of this).  Cody let him get a good whiff and then gave a static correction.

Sully doesn't associate the small shock with Cody or me.  He associates it with the snake - and the scent.  So ... let's put him to a real test ...

Cody moved the snakeskin to an area on the side of my house (encircled in red).  I was on the other side and gave the recall command.

Sully DID come to me on the recall ... GOOD BOY! ... but he made sure to avoid the snakeskin and took the long way around.

Up next:  sound recognition. Cody's "rattleblind" is audio equipment with large and small rattlesnake sound recordings and he hides it from the dog.  Keep in mind: Sully has already heard Junior's tail rattling.

This is Sully's reaction after the small rattlesnake sound ... he knew exactly what it was and didn't even want to go near.  Same thing for the big snake sound.

And now it's time to bring out the big boy.  Apache is a very large Western Diamondback rattlesnake.  Cody placed him in several areas of the backyard, on the porch, grass, concrete, foot rug ...  and Sully stayed clear at each and every location!

Again, the recall.  Sully came to me, but made a huge circle around Apache who was hiding in the grass (the snake is actually out of the photo on the left side).  No way he was getting anywhere close - and you notice how he crouched down; it was as if he wanted to make sure the snake didn't see him.   Several times during the training, Sully ran to the back door to get away from the snakes so ... Cody put Apache right at the door and I acted like I was going in.  Nope - as soon as he got a glimpse of the rattler, he refused to come any closer and he backed off.  At this point, Sully started talking to me ... I'm sure he was telling me to move away from the snake.  :)

Sully's rattlesnake aversion training was complete after just 30 minutes.  In 6 months, we'll do a test to see if he's retained what he learned.  I was impressed with the training and with Cody.  He answered questions, explained the training, and he handles the dogs and snakes with care.  The hood of his vehicle caught my attention ... the head of a snake.  :)

Sully - 8 months old!

It was not long ago that Sully was in a vet hospital fighting to live.  I nearly lost him and, because of that experience, I make a point of celebrating each milestone.  Today, we celebrate that he's 8 months old!  When he was so sick, he lost a little over 20% of his body weight and recovery took a long time.  But now he weighs 49 pounds and is gaining muscle every day.  Take a look!

Here's Sully guarding against a sparrow sitting on top of the block wall.  Or maybe it's a blade of grass ... who knows!  Whatever it is, he is ready to protect his territory!

And then there's the back gate.  There MUST be something on the other side.  Sully will end up going to the little peep hole you see in the gate; that was put there by Major, my first Boxer.  Every Boxer since then - Jager, Gwennie, Esa, Olly, Ivy and Sully - has used that peep hole to see what's in the alley.

Sully is a very vocal Boxer.  He talks when he runs, when he's hungry, when he's playing ... even when he sleeps!

After a tough and exhausting time of guarding the backyard, it's time for a brief rest.  And, trust me, his times of rest ARE brief.  LOL!

Winmere Bare Knuckle - Sully

May 9, 2017

8 months old

Sully meets Spot

Sully has a new toy.  Actually, Spot isn't new at all ... he's a snake that Ivy left for Sully.  Here are just a few shots of their first adventure together ...

Hi!  Meet Spot!  He's a nifty green and blue snake with spots.  That's why Ivy named him Spot.  I'm not sure I like his name, but he likes it and that's what matters.

 And away we go!!  Be brave Spot ... be brave!

 Sometimes you just gotta look mean if you want to play like a snake tamer.

Thanks, Ivy ... I miss you, but you left me a real neat buddy.  Spot and I are already good friends!

Goodbye Ivy ....