Sadie's breeding mix finally solved-- Yellow Lab + Great Dane + Golden Retriever. Resulting in a short yellow Dane with a little feathering, and with a Dane's little pig-eye and jowls.

She has settled in nicely though, and is the most treat-motivated trainee I have ever worked with. It takes her time to scope out the program, but she does scope it out and has chosen a LR spot that works for us all. A quiet shake of her rattle (pill bottle filled with her small kibbles) calms her as needed for hanging out, supplemented by much ear stroking and the occasional kibble morsel from out of the rattle.

Faulkner continues to shore up his Best Dog/Top Dog position graciously, is learning to catch Sadie-kibbles in mid-air, and continues to be able to learn and model new behaviors while Sadie still lopes around unfocused in her more primitive compliances.

We have a nice balance going, even if it is Mud Season in Pennsyltucky and their paws are bringing in an awful lot of goo.


Sadie surprised us out in the driveway late one night as we came home-- she'd gotten out of their pen and was just SO GLAD to see us drive in to let her into the warm, dry house. She left us a mangled groundhog as a present. When F escapes it takes forever to corral him-- he'd happily roam for days-- but she trotted right in with us.

~S~