Poor Stevie. Doesn’t it seem like every post lately starts with those words? The girl is such a trooper, but she is really hating her e-collar and her restricted exercise routine. I posted a little while back about her great indoor-outdoor personality, but that personality has been slightly challenged by the killer combo of her youth and the doctor’s orders.
It’s not much longer, that Stevie is in spayed dog detention and not allowed to go on runs or chase sticks; we just need to pull through for another week or so. And so, we’re trying to make lemonade out of lemons.
And so, we find ourselves in situations like these: One of us walks into her room to let her out of her crate, and she starts practically bouncing with joy. Her tail is wagging her whole body, and she is so excited that she is letting out little squeaks and whimpers of joy. Her crate is trembling with anticipation. We open the crate — after she sits, of course — and then the true joyful fury is unleashed. Stevie starts bucking like a little bronco, spinning like a top, jumping like a jackrabbit, and panting like . . . panting like . . . like an overexcited dog who has just been let out of her crate.
At this point I should confess: I’m not much of a dog trainer. We do teach basic manners and occasionally a trick, but we will probably never have dogs who can do a whole host of tricks to wow a crowd. Our specialty? Teaching a dog to just be. And yet, Stevie’s condition gave us a gift that we couldn’t resist exploiting. What does the girl do when she’s too excited to contain herself? She turns right. Never left. And so, naturally, we started trying to teach her to put it on cue.
Let’s just say that with all the pent-up energy from no exercise for two weeks, it’s A LOT more of a right-turning-tornado-meets-rodeo than a trick, but still. Pretty cute. If only we could bottle that enthusiasm . . .
Love and a Six-Foot Leash 
If only we had the all the excitement and pure joy that gets bottled up in dogs….especially the pitties! I know I’d be pretty amusing if I had all the energy! 😉 This is actually something that I’m trying to learn with my girl in an agility class. She needs lots of positive energy to help her know that she is doing the right thing and to keep her confident. I have so much to learn from my dogs!
The real Kudos come from the fact that she does this with the eliz collar on… pretty darn good. So far I have not had to have one of those on Luna, when she cut her foot I just socked it and sprayed it with bitter apple. She only tore into it twice in the month we had them on. I hate the things, and would love if someone would come out with some better options… so far the other options are basically as annoying for all involved, or create rubs on the neck etc.
Hopefully the next week flies by for everyone, thanks for sharing the video, good dose of happy to start the morning
Anna
http://www.akginspiration.com
so i guess the e-collar doesn’t bother her at all? ha! my dog spins sometimes (only one way too!) when he’s super excited/anxious. it is really common with lethal whites. i love that you turned it into a trick though! i hope this resting period is over soon and she can get back to deathing some sticks!
Those darn collars! Yet Stevie doesn’t seem too bothered by it. She’s still a happy girl. Hopefully she’ll be back to deathing sticks very, very soon and with any luck, we’ll see her and Chick together!
Ha! Love it! She reminds me of one those bull-riding rides where you try to hold on for dear life! Too funny.
Yeah, me too. We call that move “the bucking bronco”
She is just a bouncing away! So cute.
She’s just wonderful.
I am dying of cuteness! Bilbo can do various easy tricks but we’re still working on him actually just “being” in all situations. He just gets a bit too excited sometimes. Distracting him with tricks sometimes helps focus his attention somewhere other than the dog/cat/squirrel/people/food so he does bow, high five, commando crawl, roll over, twirl, jump (to touch a hand) with varying degrees of success depending on how excited he is! We’re working on dead now too.
She’s a little firecracker, isn’t she? I can’t watch the video without cracking up at how earnest and crazy she is. I suck at teaching tricks, and honestly have little interest in it. I am very interested in having dogs that don’t chew, jump, beg, or steal, but dogs who can dance, play the piano, or fetch the newspaper? Eh, I can take it or leave it. I would love to see Bilbo do his act though– I never tire of the cuteness of other dogs showing off 🙂
Great job Stevie! We too are impressed at how well she is doing with the e-collar!
Oh poor Stevie the lampshade will be gone soon.
Benny & Lily
Seems like she’s certainly come a long way with that former meek shyness. 🙂 She’s also demonstrating that pit “HEY EVER-BODY!! WOOOO!!!” Pits: They go to 11.
Oh my… that had momma giggling out loud!!! I love how she sits after each spin 😉 What a beautiful girl!
-Corbin
Poor girl. They always look so sad and awkward in the cone-of-shame. You should try one of the inflatable collars. It basically looks like a big blue life preserver that they wear around their neck, but it doesn’t obstruct their vision or cause them to constantly stop when they encounter an obstacle that they can’t get past. Plus, it serves as a nice pillow when they rest their head. 🙂 My dog was so much happier with this, rather than the cone-of-shame.
Hahaha that is too cute! I just love her, and yes her and Janie are IDENTICAL in the tounge slinger photo! I hope Janie grows up to be as adorable as Stevie :). I am trying to teach Molly some new tricks, but I agree with you on I just want a dog that can BE and BE well. Though I would love to have Molly be able to wave on command- totally jealous of Miss M and her skills- so we are trying :). Great work on her turn around though!
Stevie is hilarious! I love the beginning of the video when she bonks the video camera. Ginger is the same way – a bull in a china shop!
Stevie is so cute in the e-collar and with her sits and spins:) She’s having so much fun and wants to please. How long before her stitches come out? I hope it’s soon for everybody’s sake. Stevie looks like she’s ready to celebrate!
I must say…the craziness is certainly endearing.
That.
Energy.
Is.
Contagious!!!!!!!
(bounce bounce bounce)
I am so in love with her– and that video is simultaneously cute and pathetic!