Since it is the start of the holiday season there are virtually no puppy classes starting until after the holidays. This happened when I got Breeze too since I got her at the same time of the year, sooooooo, it is PUPPY HOMESCHOOLING. I am taking her to classes and making everyone say hello, and exposing her to the nice doggies I can find, and I started on one of the greatest training programs I have found on the net ......and it is FREE.
There is a yahoo group called Training Levels support http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/traininglevels/ . There is also a site with a description of the levels and the testing for each level and how to teach the behaviors at http://www.dragonflyllama.com/%20DOGS/%20Dog1/levels.html
The training levels use clicker training and positive reinforcement to teach everything a dog needs to have a foundation for dog sports or to just be a wonderful companion. If you pass level 3-that is generally what your dog needs to be a wonderful companion and very nice to have around. If you reach level 7 they say it only takes about a months work in your desired area to be ready for trialing, because there is a little scenting/a little agility/some obedience all built into the levels. The yahoo group can also answer questions and help support you in your quest to work with your dog ;-).
OF course I think the most important thing about training your dog is the bond you develops with them, how you get in tune with how they think, and it makes them so much more pleasant to be around and I think clicker training really trains them how to think.
So today we did the test for Level 1-Cricket is 10 weeks and gosh I can not believe how much she has learned in the short time she has been here. I do have to say that she learned crate training and some sit and come before she came, so I got a real head start, or maybe I was cheating?
Getting to know you....
I am having the most fun today, my two legged kids went with their grandma to shop for clothes and I have had all morning to just sit and play with the pup. I started off the morning going to Petsmart and getting a bunch of chew toys-those little needle sharp puppy teeth need something besides my pants to chew on...and we worked on some come games, and sits and downs and Its your Choice game from Susan Garrett (I think that is what this game is called?)-she is getting the idea that when I hold some treats in my fist she can get them by moving away from them, smart Cricket! Cricket has not totally figured out she has a new name yet, but I have been saying it and clicking followed by a treat so she is starting to figure out Cricket has something to do with her.
I am soooo proud of all my doggies, they are all being FANTASTIC with her. Liz has been doing some tugging with her, she loves Liz, Liz moves fast and what is there for a puppy not to like? Breeze will sort of do a little mouth wrestling with her and is fine with Cricket following her around. Chloe is sort of excited there is someone that is willing to PLAY with her and Skyler is ok with her following him but is not pleased when she keeps trying to lick his muzzle.
It has been nice to have a full morning to just sit and get to know each other more without a list of things we want to accomplish. Cric is still pretty perfect, a lot more wild, and starting to do the zoomies once in awhile but still by far the easiest puppy!
How Lucky am I on this Thanksgiving day?
I am thankful we have a day that is just made for pausing for a minute and concentrating on all the things we all have to be thankful for. So corney as it is, I want to list a few of those things ;-). Since this is my dog blog, I of course am concentrating a little heavier on my list that involves my puppers.
I am thankful for my family of course-my kids are people I am very proud of and I am so lucky they are in my life.
I am thankful for my puppy dogs, they are always there to cuddle and they have helped me learn how to more effectively communicate with other people-the ideas behind clicker training and motivation can work in a lot of ways and don't just work for dogs... Mostly they have taught me a lot about myself-soooo much about myself and that is probably the biggest thing they have given me. What ever we will ever achieve in any competition is such a small thing when you look at all we have achieved already in the more important things, learning about how to effectively communicate, learning about love, learning about patience, learning about how to overcome frustration, learning about prioritizing, how many lessons have I learned from my little fur babies? No blue ribbon could compare with those type of presents.
SKYLER-My tri-colored sheltie is my oldest doggie at 7 yrs old. I got him at about 6 months old, he had parvo as a tiny pup and no one wanted him because of that. I think he came from a dad that was a very fearful dog and then having parvo treatment, needles, and being hospitalized at a very critical time in his socialization left him with a lot of issues. I always was so touched by his willingness to trust me enough to try, and to go along with my reactive dog training, and he has made a ton of progress. He really taught me tons about patience. Lately he has gone through a lot of health issues, but he is on the mend and looking a 100% better, so in a few months I think he will be back to his old self.
CHLOE-What a happy little sable sheltie, she has taught me a whole lot about training and patience because she is a soft, sensitive, little doggie so of course I had to consider a lot of that when we were training, so she is my dog that has taught me sooooo much about motivation.
LIZZIE-she came to me as a pup. She was older and had not found a home, maybe because she was so wild, LOL. SHE HAS TAUGHT ME ABOUT TRAINING, motivation and consistency, LOL, and most importantly taught me how to Laugh, to laugh at life and not take things too seriously and to laugh at myself. She has also taught me not to get so overwhelmed looking at all there is to do and to just keep chipping away and enjoy the journey and before you know it....one day you look around and see how far things have come. She is my dog that made me a real trainer.
BREEZIE-who has so much heart and who will try for me no matter what she is feeling. She loves agility so much that she will work through what ever-she has taught me about not letting things get you down. What a fun dog she is.
CRICKET-newest little puppers who so far is just given me a few days of seeing the world through a puppies eyes. She cuddles and everything makes her excited. My whole goal for Crickie is going to be to not stress, and to enjoy her puppy hood, to trust I know how to train and to raise a puppy, so just to have fun with her and not worry about trying to raise her perfectly.
I am truly thankful that I have met so many people through my dogs that have been so kind and helpful to me. THANKS so much to all my blogger friends who are always there to lend support, and to remind me that my challenges are not unique, and in seeing their successes they remind me that all things are possible.
Cute as a Bug-call name "Cricket"
Yesterday was my birthday and it was such a terrific day. First off I got a lot of happy birthdays on facebook, and actually that was a lot of fun and I got to spend the day with my puppy. At class last night I got a cook bag of the best popcorn and a wonderful puppy toy and a kong from my training buddy Denise, and that was so nice and such a great suprise.... My kids baked a cake for me and decorated it and even put a picture of a puppy on my cake, they are such good kids! SO ABOUT THIS PUPPY- WELL, she is definately a keeper, I am TOTALLY in LOVE with this pup and she has a name! It was so hard to chose a pup that I had never held and cuddled and that I had just seen over the net. All the things that I was told about how this puppy was raised and about her personality really sounded great....and I got such a good feeling, I did all the research I could, but then I got her home and she is all of that and more. I took little Cric to the vet yesterday and the vet (who would definately tell me exactly what she thinks, she always has in the past...) she was so impressed with this little one. She said she shines from inside and out. Those were her exact words, and she said it is obvious this pup has been exceptionally socialized. How cool is that? She loved her structure and said she was very nicely balanced, and had the perfect weight for her body-she is 11 lbs. So Cricket got the big old stamp of approval form my holistic vet.
We still have just had one accident, when hubby was watching her, so I suspect that was not her accident....it was that she tried to tell him and he did not pay attention. She sleeps through the night, she loves to explore, tug and fetch, she is getting along with all the dogs and listening when they correct her but she does not get too upset when they tell her what is expected, she is terrific with the kids. Who could believe the first few days could be as easy as they have been?
Cricket talks all the time. When we come in from outside or when she gets excited she goes whooo hoooo, and talks. That is just too cute. She also is much more into tugging and retrieving soft toys then balls. I have figured out that she likes the huge big doggie balls much better then the tiny little squeeky tennis balls I got that I had thought would fit her mouth right now so much better then the big balls, but she says those little tennis balls are for babies.
I am so proud of how my pack is handling everything, they are doing terrific and do tell her when she is getting rude, but seems to be with just the right amount to let Cric know they are serious, but not enough to really scare her.
I took Cricket to Lizzies class last night and she was so good, Liz was barking and fussing in her crate, but the baby was a good girl. Everyone had to come and say HI, and Cricket was not at all shy, which was great because it was cold and people were wearing hats, gloves, face masks, parkas, and she took it all in stride. She does not seem to be just a total kamakazee without regard, but she will just sort of look at something if she is not sure and try it anyway, and then go after it big time, she really does not seem to be scared of anything yet, and the toy drive is just so awesome.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)