Tazzy on the fence..

Our little black and white cocker, Tazzy, has quite a story of her own. She came to us at about 3 months of age as a foster dog. She was born at a puppy mill out in Ohio, shipped to a pet shop and was bought by a loving (but not well thinking) lady. This lady had an old golden, who began to get sick shortly after she brought Tazzy into her home. After many tests and much money, it was decided that the golden was sick due to stress.... stress from a new puppy being in the house, so she had to give Tazzy up.

Tazzy wasn't her original name, I called her that, because she was forever "in motion" and her high puppy energy would drive you nuts within a short amount of time. I had a fear that she could be a hard dog to place, because many people don't understand this energy thing, nor do they want to put up with it. But Tazzy was lucky, because my dear friend Deb fell in love with her, and was more than happy to adopt her. Deb sent her application in. Now, please don't misunderstand me, Cocker Rescue ( of NE) is an excellent organization, but sometimes... in my opinion... they over look many wonderful homes due to some standard that a home may not meet. Deb was denied because she did not have a fenced- in yard... I tried to explain to them that she would be an excellent home, but my recommendations fell on deaf ears. (however, Deb did apply to Cocker Rescue of Maine, and adopted her little Hallie dog who she dearly loves!!!)

After that, I decided that Tazzy would just stay with us. I wasn't about to go thru that sort of thing again.. having some one else denied, and so Tazzy just sort of "became" a member of the family. Because I wasn't originally keeping her, she did not get the strong structure of training that I do with all of my puppies, and being a "mill puppy" she was in bad need of this. So, I say with guilt that she could have been a finer dog than she is today, if I had not been so lax. Her high energy needs an outlet and if I go a few days without walking her, you can see that showing up.

Now, at camp we have "invisible fence".. and what a dream it is. The property there is not very big, so fencing it for real would have been a pain to deal with... tying a dog there is "cruel" in a way, because the shade never stays in one place and there always seems to be a "dog under foot" with not enough room for tying. Besides, with six of them.. I can't even imagine where I would have six tie outs... so, this idea was the best. Everyone has trained well to the fence, and this summer it was Tazzy's turn to get onto it. This was the first weekend, where she had been allowed "freedom" on the fence, though I still stay with her and warn her even before the collar does. She did take three hits on it, but considering we where there for four days, that's not bad odds. And having this freedom made a world of difference in her behavior, she came in tired and happy. Which for Tazzy... is a great thing. I feel so much better knowing she has an outlet at camp, she likes to swim and of course walk... so camp is going to be a good place for this little girl......