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Owner Comments:
November 25, 2006
Pat,
Had to send this picture. Tim
caught it while I was in the kitchen cooking Thanksgiving dinner. I
named it "helping Mom cook Thanksgiving dinner is tough and requires a
nap".
Our girl is doing just great. Each
day she continues to blossom and her personality just explodes. I am so
glad that we selected Magna for our new puppy. After much research and
going back and forth we decided that we wanted to go with a breeder that
was close enough that we could pick up the pup. I personally am not a
fan of shipping and Tim was absolutely dead set that we would not buy a
pup that would require shipping. I understand that there are times that
a pup must be shipped, but we personally, try to avoid it. The drive
from Michigan to West Virginia was well worth it. It gave me time to
start bonding with her and to help her work through any uncertainty of
the new experiences and environments. She did really well for being
loaded up in a strange vehicle for a long ride. When we would get out
at a truck stop so that she could potty all the noise was slightly
disconcerting the first time, but by the 2nd and 3rd time she was an old
pro and not really concerned about the noise or big trucks.
I have to tell you that your web
site is what sold me. All of your pictures were of the pups being
allowed to be pups. They were playing and romping, covered in dirt and
mud, and having a good time. We saw so many other web sites during our
search and the pups appeared to be in impersonal, kennel-type environments.
The pups didn't look happy. On the Magna site there were so many
pictures of you interacting and playing with the dogs/pups and that
means a lot. It goes a long way toward a dog that is well socialized
and very personable and Chic is exactly like that. She never meets a
stranger and her tail wags so much that we think her rear is going to
fall off.
Your work with her for the first 5
months of her life has made a huge difference in where we are with our
Obedience training. While others in the class are struggling with stay,
I can put her in a stay and walk away from her, return by walking around
her and while she moves her head to watch me, she doesn't move anything
else. The best part in my book is the training you gave on keeping
digits in tact when receiving "cookies and the training for good
behavior when at the door. I can put her in a stay, open the door to
let the boys out and she doesn't bolt for the door, but sits there
calmly waiting for me to call her. And, in a reverse of teaching, she
has taught the boys to sit and wait their turn when going outside.
There isn't a mass rush for the door any longer.
I know we could have found a pup
closer to us, but we firmly believe that we got the best. The
additional charge for getting an older pup that you have started to
train is some of the best money we have ever spent. I have been around
Giants from various breeders and have never run into a dog as sweet,
lovable, and well behaved as she is. In fact when I was there all of
your pups appeared to be just as sweet and well mannered. Chic's
breeding is exceptional, her personality just sparkles, and the training
she received before she came to live with us is invaluable. Tim, who
was reluctant at first just keeps saying how happy he is that I stood my
ground and said that this was the breeder and pup for us. He is elated
with our girl and said that if we decided to get another Giant (when
something happens to one of the boys) that we will be calling you.
Keep up the good work. We'll be
back I am certain of that!
Deb
November 2, 2006
Pat:
Chic had a big day today. She was romping and playing
with Bud and Bud was showing her how to dig in the yard. Between the
two of them, had the mole been anywhere around, he would have never
stood a chance. Needless to say tomorrow or Monday will need to be bath
time. She is covered in crusted mud. Her nose, her paws - everything.
It is adorable, but we want her to be a pretty girl for her first
evening of school.
She is just a dream. We start obedience school Monday,
but have a jump start on the class. I have been working on recall
and stay. I don't know if you had been working on stay, but I can open
the door and walk out with out her trying to dart out. That has to be
one of the hardest things to teach, but she either had a head start
before we got her or she picked it up very quickly. I also have her
where she comes to me when I call her. She is also learning "leave it"
(with Roxy and the boys that is probably the command that I used the
most). She is catching on, but we still have some work to do.
Potty training is going very easy. We are up to almost 2
hours before we have to go out when in the house playing. She is making
it all night without any accidents in her crate. I was taking up the
water bucket about 2 hours before bed time since she likes to
drink.....a lot! Last night I left the bucket down to see what
happened. She drank quite a bit about 2 hours before bed. I made sure
she went out and pottied right before bed and we had a dry crate this
morning.
I'll be sending some cute pictures of how tired she was
earlier today (and right now they are all napping in their crates). She
didn't even hear me get the camera, take the pictures or go outside.
She was out. She just keeps blossoming every day right before our eyes.
Tim told me today that he was glad that I "hounded" (pardon the pun) him
about getting a dog from you. The time you put in with the dogs makes a
huge difference in their behavior and personalities. She is an absolute
joy.
Deb
October 31, 2006
Pat,
Our new girl is doing great. No accidents in the house
today. She is goi ng to the door and either whining or goes to the
door, comes to us and then goes to the door
again. Each time she goes outside and potties. I
am very proud of her. Today we went for a car ride to help reinforce
that she comes home with us when she leaves. We
went to the bank and the up to the Vet's office for Dr. Broschay
to see her. She absolutely loved her as does all the staff - they spoil
her rotten, worse than we do.
We went for a walk along the river yesterday (Bud, Harvey
and Chic and they had all their manners and were
well behaved). She was so funny when she saw all that water for the
first time. She just stood and stared at it. It sure looked like it
could be fun. I almost felt like she was going to turn and say "how
much trouble would I be in if I jumped in for a little swim?". I was
very proud of her, with the river along one side and a fairly busy road
on the other side she didn't shy away from anything. The cars and
trucks didn't even phase her, including the car that went by without a
muffler. She just pinned her ears back but didn't try to hide or get
away from it.
Each day we see her personality emerge more and more.
She is such a wonderful pup and so loving. She is terrorizing the
boys. For the most part they oblige her, but they let her know when
they don't want to be bothered. They just growl and she decides that
maybe that wasn't the best idea she has had. She goes and finds a toy
or something else to get into.
The new raw diet is going over pretty good. I caught
chicken on sale at the store today and almost cleaned them out. The
manager was teasing me about needing to restock the chicken section
after I was done. Harvey did better with it today and Bud didn't have
any problems at all. Today was the first time that Tim got a chance to
see her reaction when I start preparing her "traditional" dinner. She
just stood fixated with her little tail almost wagging off her butt. He
was laughing at her and decided that she knows exactly what I am doing
and what Chicken is - there is no doubt in his mind.
Deb |
