# Little dog trainers!



## ama0722 (Nov 28, 2006)

My little sisters came to visit and can you tell one of them LOVES training the dogs (well the other one does too but wii is good competition!). Well she lures them around with puppy crack- she is a smart kid! But I think it is just as good for the dogs as it is her. Just make sure if you try it, give a treat that doesnt cause loose stool as they hand out a lot of cookies! We don't have kids so they only time the dogs really interact with children is therapy dog. So this was very good for the pups to play with rambunctious girls. Let's just say Dasher's speaker was worn out!  Dora thinks of kids as big pez dispensers and stays right on them. Belle was picked up a little too much so you can see her apprehension. She knew they would get her in with a cookie and grab her-lol!


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## Evye's Mom (Dec 16, 2008)

Amanda, that was soooo cute. As always, your dog's training amazes me !! I enjoyed seeing your house too, it's gorgeous !! Cute, cute little girls.


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## trueblue (Jan 22, 2008)

OMG, Amanda! That is sooo cute! I wish we lived closer...Piper would LOVE playing your sisters. Seeing that reminds me so much of Piper and the way she interacts with the dogs. I love the way the wii player came in every so often with a command.

And, by the way, your house is absolutely gorgeous...the floors came out so good. Looks like it was definitely worth all the hard work.


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## luv3havs (Jul 27, 2007)

Amanda,
That was precious. Your sisters are so cute. I loved the seriousness of the one who did most of the training.
It was too funny, and a great way to start the day with some laughter. Thanks for posting.
And yes, your house is gorgeous.


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## ama0722 (Nov 28, 2006)

Thanks. Unfortunately they are up in Michigan so we dont see them often enough. They are at a very fun age too. And Mario Kart is a very fun wii game, so I am not sure what I would pick either!  The dogs are willing to perform for whoever has cookies. What Caroline is very smart about and I didn't video tape it, is to treat whenever they start to leave her. She knows how often they need a paycheck. She just wanted Dora to jump through the hoop so bad but her arms arent big enough 

Thanks for the house compliments. It is coming along. I have a new couch though (woo hoo!) but the rest is still bare! I ordered end tables and an entertainment center but 4-6 weeks with the holidays. I have yet to commit to the dinning room and I think it makes a good dog training/play area! Then I will start thinking about the walls. Meanwhile we dont have a coat closet cause everything is piled in there!


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## havanesebyha (Apr 25, 2007)

Amanda darling!! I loved it! Your little sisters are so precious and what good little girls they are and super dog trainers too! Your house is so nice too! By the way your pups look so nice and calm and loving the attention ~ huh! 

So tell me Amanda what do you think about the differences between a Havanese and a Maltese? After seeing your friend's new puppy "Taylor" I'm wondering if I should add a Maltese to our family or are Havanese personalities better? You have always said that Dora is a wild one but she looks so calm and sweet to me!!


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## ama0722 (Nov 28, 2006)

Libby- I think you mean Isabelle being the wild one  (Dora is my laid back Havanese) I personally find that maltese seem to come in 2 varieties: calm laid back lap dogs or more like terrier personalities. Isabelle can be totally laid back and she can be crazy stubborn and hyper. I have a friend who owns Belle's half sister and she is totally laid back and scared of Belle even though she is much bigger! People either love them or don't. I find Isabelle does everything with intensity, whether it is love you, try to get out of the crate, etc. She is just a lot more dog in a little body. Maltese are just as addicting as Havs though. With Sharlene adding Taylor and me looking a lot of puppies, I actually brought it up to my husband and his exact reply was "more than one isabelle would kill me!"

I find the Havanese are much more laid back and more pleasing personality. Some days Belle can be my favorite dog and other days, I don't want to admit to being owned by her. 

Here are some examples between the two.
- Squirrel in the backyard: Dash barks runs out and chases it and comes back in the house proud of his job. Belle stands by the fence where she chased the squirrel out and is barking. I take her in the house, she is standing by the window looking at that same spot and still barking.
- Grooming Day: Dora doesnt like it and avoids me, Belle hides in the middle of the bed and is shivering and putting on a huge show.
- dog park with a 3 legged dog. Dash is trying to get the dog to play with him and chase him, Dora is ignoring him. Belle is chasing the dog growling at it not letting it walk around the park (this was so embarassing so I actually left!)
- obedience ring: Dash and Dora almost always q and good scores. Belle either scores really high or she is rolling over and barking at the judge or jumping thru the gate to visit on lookers.
-therapy dog: Person with memory loss. Dash wags his tail and says okay lets keep going they dont want to visit today. Belle jumps on them and throws herself on her back if they stop petting her. 

While it seems adorable and sometimes it is, other times it is exhausting. After Ann's last playdate, I left Isabelle there without me. Ironically, Belle was much better behaved, and waited to bark and chase dogs until I came back. I think with Belle, she was probably a bad "first dog" for me. I didn't know much about little dogs and to have one with so much drive and personality was pretty exhausting. She is 7 now so calming down a little and we have been together for almost 7 years and learned a lot from each other. While sometimes I want to drop kick her, I adore my little white monster


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## Evye's Mom (Dec 16, 2008)

And I haven't had Taylor long enough and he's so young to be able to render an opinion on the difference between the two breeds. I can comment on the fact that he will not back down from the two much larger Neezers (and I wish he would). He keeps going back for more. He is also a very good puppy. He is sweet, cuddly, playful, feisty, determined, stubborn...but so are my 2 Neezers. He hasn't found his bark YET (except for play). I know as soon as I say that, he will. Evye makes up for it. Amanda has me on my toes waiting for the White Monster to appear....I know it's coming.


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## havanesebyha (Apr 25, 2007)

Thank you Amanda & Sharlene on your Maltese opinions. I think they are both absolutely adorable!! Bella looks very calm but I do remember hearing stories about her.  Sharlene ~ Taylor is just so very cute!!! and like Amanda, had me wishing for a Taylor too!!!


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## Sheri (Oct 11, 2008)

Amanda, I loved the videos of your dogs and your sweet little sisters! It was very interesting to see how you didn't obsess about the girls being perfect with their instruction to the dogs, and you didn't worry about the dogs getting confused or their feelings hurt if they did a trick but didn't get rewarded right away, or worry about the dogs not understanding the girls who kept repeating the same command... 

Your dogs are so well balanced it was a treat for me to see how you apparently don't get stuck on perfection or think you/they weren't good enough. It is a good lesson on relaxing and enjoying each other. I think I would have been worried that your sister would have the dogs so rattled that they would lose the training I had already done. 

Fun, and valuable, video for me to see. Thanks!


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## Poornima (Jun 29, 2007)

Sheri said:


> Amanda, I loved the videos of your dogs and your sweet little sisters! It was very interesting to see how you didn't obsess about the girls being perfect with their instruction to the dogs, and you didn't worry about the dogs getting confused or their feelings hurt if they did a trick but didn't get rewarded right away, or worry about the dogs not understanding the girls who kept repeating the same command...
> 
> Your dogs are so well balanced it was a treat for me to see how you apparently don't get stuck on perfection or think you/they weren't good enough. It is a good lesson on relaxing and enjoying each other. I think I would have been worried that your sister would have the dogs so rattled that they would lose the training I had already done.
> 
> Fun, and valuable, video for me to see. Thanks!


My feelings indeed. Sheri, you said it so well.

Amanda, it is always a delight to see your furkids. They are gorgeous.


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## ama0722 (Nov 28, 2006)

Sheri-This was a great activity for them all as my sisters weren't raised around dogs and are young. I just felt bad cause Caroline really wanted Dora to jump through the hoop and Dora was like no way. We later played where people laid their legs down and Dora jumped over them. But Caroline just turned 5 and really prefers to do everything herself. She just needs a little help in doing it. Also, she is less likely to pick the dogs up or do their hair while working them (shhhh!!!)

While I feel my dogs are very balanced. Belle did get pretty upset with he girls. I have never seen her growl at a person and she did growl my oldest sister. She kept running after her to pick her up too and it was a heavy reminder they are dogs and as sweet as Belle is, when enough is enough, she will give a warning. It just shocked me cause I have never seen her do that and I removed her from the girls that night.

I don't worry about the training at all. I think if anything, it shows me what they truly know or don't know. She was very fair to them and treated them quite often (I don't treat 1/10th of the time she does!) and if she didn't they would turn into little pirhannas jumping at the cookies and I wanted to make sure that didn't happen. She also only wanted them to do stuff by their own name which is something I need to work more on. That if I say "dora come" only dora should come  If you notice in the video when Dash and Belle went as wel, Caroline hesitated and did another signal so Dora did a drop on recall. It warmed my heart she remembered that cause we haven't done that in over a year


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## marb42 (Oct 19, 2008)

Amanda, your three little musketeers are sooo cute, you little sisters were adorable, and your house is beautiful. I really enjoyed the video!!!
Gina


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## Scooter's Family (May 23, 2008)

Great video, all of the kids are so cute, furry and human!


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## pjewel (Apr 11, 2007)

Amanda, that was so cute. The girls are adorable and your fur babies have a lot of patience. They are so well trained, much unlike two little four legged gentlemen I know and love.


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## mellowbo (Aug 12, 2007)

Amanda, that was too cute! Training must be genetic! Your sisters and furkids are all awesome!
Carole


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## irnfit (Nov 21, 2006)

I wish I had the time to spend to train my furbabies like that. The little training we do, they are so smart. Kudos to you Amanda. The video was great.


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## Leslie (Feb 28, 2007)

Loved the video! Looks like Caroline has inherited your gift for training 

Knowing Belle, it was interesting to watch her hesitation. But, being picked up too much can do that to a girl


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## SMARTY (Apr 19, 2007)

You little sisters are adorable. Dog training is good entertainment for them and the dogs.


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