Shaping Up

One of the most important things when training a puppy is consistency.  This applies to every aspect of everything you ever do with your pup: consistently doing body handling, consistently giving them their required 6+ hours of kennel time per day, consistently having the same expectations for good behavior.  

I have had a busy, busy couple weeks, and Moray has not been getting public outings as consistently as he is used to.  I took him out for the first time in a little while the other day, and realized he was rather sloppy in his public behavior.  That is no fault of his own; it's just the way life is sometimes.  So today we headed out for some "get your act together" work.  ;)  

Target is usually our go-to for a low distraction outing where we can practice various skills.

 We started out just walking around and making sure Moray could keep a nice "heel" position no matter how fast or slow I walked.  He prefers to trot wherever he goes, so this has been one area that we have had to work hard on through his whole life.  Because I do have to keep on him for heeling, loose leash walking has never been a skill that seems effortless with him.  But he does well as long as I keep 100% focused on him, so I'll take it!

We did some distraction work by walking back and forth down the dog food isle without sniffing anything!

Moray got to practice commands including "up" on different surfaces!

 We also practiced distractions with balls.  Poor Moray was such a good sport while I bounced them around and over him, and rolled them past and into him (gently!).

I pulled out a hula hoop, and Moray was a little unsure of it, but with the help of some treats, he performed some commands in it, walked through it, and walked next to me while I carried it.  It is important for a future service dog to be comfortable while their human carries anything from grocery bags, to bulkier items too!

"Down" in the hula hoop!

 We had a little fun with a skate board too!  

While this smiling boy is super cute, as many fellow shopper pointed out, its not all fun and games as all of these seemingly common exposures are super important for his training to make him a confident and well-rounded pup who isn't afraid of anything!

A Day in the Life

6:57 am: practice commands

7:09 am: favorite time of the day #1

7:11 am: post-breakfast happy dance

7:17 am: harass the cat

7:18 am: forcefully stopped from previous task; chew time

8:58 am: class #1

10:31 am: water break

10:35 am: gone for walk; ignored dead mouse

10:46 am: found some stairs

11:00 am: class #2

12:30 pm: going home

12:49 pm: waiting for Hannah to put her stuff away

12:54 pm: second favorite time of the day

12:56 pm: post-lunch happy dance

1:03 pm: raid toy bucket

1:42 pm: locked up

3:43 pm: released from the box

4:16 pm: FINALLY!

5:09 pm: water break

 
5:32 pm

5:45 pm: threw temper tantrum in dressing room because he refused to "down." You can see who won that battle

6:37 pm: third favorite time of the day

6:39 pm: post-dinner happy dance

8:35 pm: pre-bedtime nap

Happenings

Life around here is busy, but good.  Do you know how amazing it is to have a puppy who doesn't have to pee every five minutes?  Yeah, I have learned to appreciate even an 11 week old puppy's bladder control.  ;-)

 Moray got to meet my rabbit, Che Bella, for the first time this week.  He was enthralled with her, and very upset that I kept him confined.

Moray also took his first trip to our neighborhood swimming pool.  I was expecting him to be more interested, but he took it all in stride.  I apologize for the extreme poor quality of the photo as the only camera I had was on my (non-smart) phone.  It must have something to do with being my second puppy, but I have not taken near as many photos as when Dante was little.  I need to remedy this as he is growing up waaaaay too fast!

CCI puppy Young arrived last Thursday for a 10 day stay.  The boys are having lots of fun playing.  Yesterday, our friend and his German Shepherd, Izzy came over too.

Pretty much sums up my life right now

They play hard, but they also know how to be focused and work together:

 

47 days and counting down until my Golden boy's Turn In.  Treasuring even the mundane things we do.

This Cutie Pie.  Oh my!  He is a very sweet boy when he wants to be, but when he doesn't... let's just say, lucky for him he is so darn cute!  ;-)

Out and About

Because of Moray's unfortunate luck with sickness (here and here), the only time he has been out of the house was to go to the vet.  While we do not take baby puppies inside public places yet, it is good for them to get used to car rides, parking lots, greeting people, etc.

When Dante first came, I was getting him out at least 2-3 times a week.  I was beginning to feel like I am getting behind with Moray.  While I know for a fact that we're in no way "behind," it was time for us to get out of the house.

Moray is still not the biggest fan of car rides, so a 5-minute-away trip to Target was in order tonight.  

He did fantastic in the car, with no whining or barking.  I think that may have had something to do with the stuffed Kong in his kennel, but I'll take it.  ;-)  After we parked, we sat in the car with the back open, watching cars go by, and taking it all in.

I debated on whether or not to take him out into the parking lot, but when he started trying to jump out himself, I decided that he was indeed ready for it.  This boy does not lack in the confidence area!

I carried him up to the entrance of the store where we practiced Checking In when I call his name, and "sit."  This boy is a rock star and did everything I asked of him on the first time!

The people.  Oh, the people!  I forget how many people a puppy attracts.  I had Dante running errands with me most of the day.  When people see an older dog, it is mostly, "Look at the service dog!" "We can't pet him because he's working, can we?"  With Baby Moray it is "Oh my gosh, the puppy!"  "Isn't he the most adorable thing ever?!"  Hehe!  We sat here for about 10 minutes, and greeted around 20 people, and all but three or four people coming out of the store did not stop by.  Dante is very people-oriented, so the answer to petting is usually "no," so to be inviting people over so Moray can learn proper greetings felt a little funny at first.  He soaked up the attention, and did extremely well for this being our first time really focusing on sitting for petting.

Short, sweet, and to the point is the way to go!  We stayed long enough for Moray to get comfortable, and short enough for it to be stress-free and fun.  Not asking too much from him, but eye contact and eating treats from my hand as people pet him.  This boy is so much fun to work with, and I would say his first outing was a success!

Bringing in the Year

Happy New Year, everyone!  Dante and I had a lot of fun (and some not-so-fun) on this first day of the year.

It has been raining so much the last couple weeks.  Our back yard is a muddy mess, and just having a bath a last week, Dante is not playing out there.  

We started our day later than I will admit here, and then took a trip to Target.  Usually, this is pretty mindless for Dante who has been here about a billion times, but today we got some good training in.  I went down this isle, and a hula hoop fell off and really startled Dante, so we stopped and walked through it upright and then practiced commands in it.  I decided to take advantage of the bouncy balls and add in some distractions.  

I love how he tucked his paws in

He did really well and became more comfortable with the hula hoops (some treats helped too!).   We also practiced lots of commands.

He is getting really proficient with his "ups."  I can now step away/behind him and he will stay.

We decided to go to the park where I could let Dante loose in the tennis courts so that he got in some good play/run time and there is no mud.  He was so happy to be able to RUN as he hasn't had really good, totally free play time in almost a week.

Dante is very smart.  He knows what his leash is, that it controls him, and when it is attached and when he can get away with something.  We have been working really hard on this and his independent attitude lately.  One thing that I noticed is that for the first fifteen minutes we were there, he would not come near me or let me approach him, for fear that I might put him back on-leash. 

I know it's really blurry, but it's such a funny pic!

Like I said, it took Dante about fifteen minutes to trust me that I wasn't going to put him back on-leash.  After that, he did many wonderful "here"s and even played Fetch for quite a while (he is also having a hard time getting the Fetch concept, as he prefers to run around like a madman).

"Dante, HERE!"

Watching some dogs walk by (and inviting them to come play with him.  Unfortunately for Dante, they kept going).

Ready for me to throw his ball.

We played for about 45 minutes and Dante was really slowing down.  Tired puppies are good puppies!  But we also noticed that he was limping.  When we got home I sat on the floor to cradle him and get a better look at his paw.  Turns out, he must have slid too much on the court and skinned his two front paw pads in four different places.

After talking with the wonderful people at CCI, my mom ran to the store to get some "liquid bandage" adhesive to put on them.  His paws aren't too bad, as he walks on them OK, but he is definitely cautious.  

Tired out.  You can see by the way he is laying, that his paws are hurting :-(

I had to put his Gentle Leader on to help control the licking.  Poor baby, I feel so bad.  The person from CCI that we talked to made us feel much better by sharing about the exact same thing that happened to their puppy.  They said that it is fine to take him back, but check him every little bit to make sure he doesn't do it again.  But, this means no walks for a few days, and no playing outside for a little while.  

What a way to bring in the new year!