Day 123

Hops had three shaping lessons of going all the way around the plunger this morning. He is improving and he even turned away from me a couple of times. Then we did some formal retrieve work and he retrieved a plastic cup, a measuring cup, a toy, a plastic dumbbell, a metal dumbbell, an old cell phone, a bib and leather leash. He did a great job, understanding that I wanted each object in my hand. Sometimes it took him a couple of tries but for the most part he brought all the objects directly to my hand. I was kneeling on the ground so I was not very high so it was easy for him to reach my hand. I then brushed Hops’s teeth for the first time and he was really good for it. We then spent a few minutes outside with the chuck it before leaving for work. Hops continued his new trend of retrieving the ball before I release Dillon from his stay. Cool! So today I threw two balls, one for Hops in one direction then after he left, one for Dillon in the other. Hops is growing up!

 

Hops went to work with me but stayed in the car then on the way home he went into Rite Aid with me to get my meds. He heeled very nicely through the store, was great with the people he saw and was good when he was petted by a friendly woman.

 

When we came home Renee and Taffy were there waiting for our play date. Hops and Taffy played hard outside then played again when we went inside. After they left I brought Dillon outside to play ball with Hops and Hops retrieved Dillon’s ball like this morning so I again threw two balls. I was quite impressed by Hops bringing the ball back so far with Dillon out there! Before all he wanted to do was chase him.

 

Later in the evening I did three more short shaping sessions with Hops. He made big improvements and is turning away nicely now when going counter-clockwise, making full circles. Going clockwise he turned away a couple of times but he still needs more work going that direction. Dillon continues to be the best of the three dogs at learning this new trick.

 

For the rest of Hops’s dinner I had him practice position changes from a distance. I had him in the part of the bedroom that is raised a step so if he moved forward when he changed position he would be off the ledge. That set up worked well and I was able to get further than ever with him being able to sit, down and stand without moving forward, with me about 15 feet away. If he moved forward I just said uh oh in a light voice and he would immediately put himself back up on the ledge and would get it right the next time. Good puppy!