Day 27

Hops had a food toy for breakfast then a play session with me in the yard. I played with the chase it toy with him. The easiest way for me to play with it is to swing it around me and have him run in circles around me chasing it. But, he is too smart for that. If something is going in a circle then why chase it when you can just stop and wait for it to come back? If I ran he chased it fine of course! : )

In the afternoon we went to my parent’s house for Thanksgiving dinner. Hops had not been there before so it was all new to him. He pottied on leash no problem before we went in and did not have any accidents while we were there. He thought the trolls on the ground (about 1.5f tall) were a little scary at first but quickly they became fun to poke. He sat for all the people, hoping for handouts but getting mostly attention which he enjoyed as well. He met his first cat, Niko and was very calm but interested. He followed him around for awhile, sniffing his butt. He tried a couple of times to get Niko to play with him but Niko was not interested! Hops also had a fun play time with Taffy, Jazz, Rice and Dillon in the yard. They had a blast running around and playing! During dinner I put Hops in his crate and gave him a stuffed kong and he was quiet the entire time. After dinner we set up some interior hides for Hops and he did great! As soon as he smelled odor he started hunting for the source. In one of he rooms he did get a little distracted by things he could climb on but that only happened when I made one hide too difficult. The other hides he found right away so he did not get distracted. Hops was also easily able to show off his tugging, pushups, it’s your choice, roll over, and targeting skills to everyone. He is such a good puppy!

When we went home Hops had an it’s your choice session with toys. I waited for a sit, moved the toy away from him and released him to play when he stayed. By the end of he session I was able to toss the toy about six feet away with him saying in a sit, wow! Later for his dinner he had a shaping session with paw pods which he did great with, offering to put his front paws on he two I had out. Then both Jeremiah and I had a heel and side session with him. He is doing great with both, easily moving into heel on both sides. He is also doing a great job about remaining in heel until I release him. He even moved into heel when we said the word a few times on his own so he is starting to get it!