Debbie
6/20/03
Blackie & Indy were neutered yesterday and could be adopted any time.
Blackie is pretty good on a leash ... just needs some work. These guys
don't show up well in the pictures, but have great ears and coats and eyes
and teeth and not bad conformation. He's very affectionate with all people.
I'm guessing 3-5 years old ... great teeth, ears, eyes, tail, coat and conformation.
Completely black except for a white patch on his chest. Once the feathers grow back on his legs,
he is going to be really handsome. He marks everything! Heartworm/ehrlichia/lymes negative.
Up-to-date on shots, microchipped.
Sidney
7/3/03
Blackie is such a sweet guy, but isn't doing well at the kennel.
The early 4th of July celebrations right by the kennel were hard
on all the dogs, especially Blackie. When I take him out to the
training yard, he is constantly looking up for danger.
Blackie, Buddy and Nina all wait for me to take them out to the
training yard in the morning and evening before they will go to
the bathroom. Blackie, however, still marks on everything.
I picture the three of them waiting for me at the kennel with
their legs crossed, which keeps me motivated to get out there
after work as soon as I can. I am hoping that Blackie can get
along with Jack and Riley and I can bring him home and get
him housebroken. Unfortunately, with the combination of his
blackness, his alpha attitude toward other dogs, his fear of
loud noises and unknown dangers in the sky, and his marking,
it is going to be hard to find the perfect home for him.
Sidney
7/10/03
Blackie continued to regress and was frightened to come out from the covered kennel area to the
open training yard. It got to the point where he really didn't want to leave his kennel run.
Nina, in the meantime, gets more and more confident. She is still shy when she meets a new person,
but with me she is a happy, bouncy, playful, normal dog.
So, I had the thought ... use Nina to help the others. It worked like a charm. One at a time,
Nina helped me lead the others out to the yard, where every time they started to get a little
nervous, they would look to Nina and see that she was running around and sniffing and they would relax.
This morning, I let each one off leash in the yard. It was such a relief to see Blackie back to
his normal confident self ... running around lifting his leg on everything ;->
Sidney
7/14/03
This morning I was running late so I brought Blackie & Grace & Nina out to
the training yard all at the same time. They had a blast! It is quite a
sight to see two midnight Airedales and one sunrise Airedale bounding around together.
Nina keeps trying to mount Grace to make sure she knows who is boss.
Grace is putting up with it, but I have a feeling she wouldn't if I
allowed it to go on. Although I have had good luck with two girls
together, I think in this case both girls will do better with a male
companion. Actually, if someone had a MAS attack, I think Blackie
would do well with either of the girls.
I lowered all the dog door flaps at the kennel so they could get used
to the sound and feel of them. They all went in and out with no problem,
so hopefully that will help with mine at home.
Sidney
8/4/03
I moved Blackie and Nina over here from the kennel on Sunday and closed out
the account. So far, no problems between Blackie & the boyz. Nina thought
she would try a little dominance move on Miss Rose, which was quickly and
decisively quelled without violence. Rose told Nina loudly to fergettabout
it!! and Nina, smart cookie, immediately went into submissive mode
(meanwhile looking at me with a twinkle in her eye ... "Ok ... I'll let the
long, tall girl think she's the boss"). The home gang now kind of just
rolls their eyes and says, "Oh, my God ... she's brought some more in." I
am so happy I found the "Mark Out" product before bringing Blackie over.
Naturally, his first instinct upon encountering a vertical surface was to
hike his leg. I was able to strongly discourage that and, because he was
wrapped up, didn't have to clean up the mess or worry about lingering smells
and he got the unpleasant experience of wetting himself. His urge to mark
has decreased dramatically in the weeks since he was neutered and I am
hopeful it won't take too much to teach him that it is not the thing to do
inside four walls.
Sidney
8/10/03
The Airezona Airedales were criss crossing the state today. BJ came from
Prescott to Tucson and Blackie went from Tucson to the White Mountains in central Arizona.
Sidney
8/8/04
Blackie is doing great! He is a clown -- he likes to come and poke us or jump on the bed at about 3:30 a.m.
Then, once he has us up -- he goes back to bed! We walk about 4 miles a day and he loves everyone he meets.
Some dogs don't want to have anything to do with him, but he would like to play with them all.
We are moving into town next month, where Blackie will have an entire fenced acre to run around on -- as long
as he doesn't bark. He's not much of a barker -- just a few woofs at the wildlife out here, but I don't know how
he will feel about people going by.
He is still concerned about things over his head and is always looking up. If I turn on the ceiling fans, he leaves the room.
He really has no bad habits. Well, every few months, just when I
think he's over it, I'll let him out on the deck and he'll lift his leg on the bench. I guess he was intact and
fighting for leadership of the pack for too long for him to ever get over that need to mark his territory. He would like
to dig, but it is such hard granite here that he gives up after just a little while. He's 68 lbs. now. The vet says he's fine, but not
to let him gain any more. He loves treats and can hear the rustle of paper from far, far away.
We love him a lot and feel so fortunate and lucky to have found him.
Nelly and Joe
12/6/2004
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
More about Southwest Airedale Terrier Rescue
