Day 72

Hops started his morning with perch work on a balance disk. I added myself into the mix and worked on him taking side steps with his back feet to end up in heel. He moved into heel better than into side position. We then worked on picking up a plastic measuring cup, a plastic dumbbell, a rubber handle and his nylon leash. He did a fantastic job, picking up each item and raising it directly to my hand, no backing up, no tossing the item, lifting and holding. Wow! We then played find the hole with his agility leash then a gentle leader. After putting his nose through the nose loop several times I put the leader on and had him do pushups, roll, bang and say hello while he was wearing it. He focused very well with it on. I then took it off and worked on backing without a target and built up to me standing up. He did great! It is interesting that he continues to pus his head down when he backs.

 

Later in the morning I played fetch with Hops, again with a ball thrown down the hallway. He was perfect, retrieving the ball thirty times in a row. Unless he accidently dropped it he brought the ball right back to me and dropped it at my feet for a treat. If he did drop it he picked it right back up and continued on his way to me. Good puppy!

 

Hops went to work with me today and had lots of play during the gap between my classes. First he played with two aussies, one 10 months one 20 months. They chased and wrestled and had lots of fun! When they left I played tug with Hops then had him do forward and lateral sends to a jump standard with tugging as the reward. I then practiced sending him to wrap a standard or wing then ran away, calling him to my inside hand with his toy in my outside hand as a distraction. As usual, if he came to the correct hand I passed the toy to that hand and played tug. If he chose incorrectly I removed the toy and we tried again. Next I put him in a sit stay, led out to the first jump then ran with him past two more. If he ran through all three standards I tossed his toy out in front of him. To end with I had him do pushups while on a short elevated plank. I elevated him so I could work on distance without him being able to move forward. He was able to do all three position changes with me three or four feet away.

 

This evening we went to our friend Kate’s house for nosework. Hops did a great job with all the interior hides (there were seven in all). There was a hide in a cat door, in a cat scratching toy, up on cat furniture (about 3.5 feet high), in toilet paper roll holder, on a basket, on the bottom of a trash can and on a table leg. He was a little distracted by all the new smells but got to work quickly and then went from hide to hide! He downed at all the low hides and sat at the medium ones. He had a little trouble with the boxes but that might have been because they were outside and he has not yet done nosework outside. I also think I need to do more on leash nosework with him. It was a great experience for him though and we were very proud of how well he did. After all six dogs had their turn searching, we brought Hops and Jack (their 6 month old lab puppy) in to play. They were not very interested in playing with each other at first but they warmed up and then had a romping good time! One of the funniest moments of the night was when Hops found their cat’s cat nip nail scratcher and he started rubbing himself on it just like a cat! He then played like crazy with the cat nip toy they had! Silly puppy!

 

Before bed Jeremiah had a training session with Hops. They worked on backing without a target, rolling over, bang, getting in a box, going around a chair, touch, face, it’s your choice with food, say hello, retrieving a handle to his hand, and balancing on balance disks. What a good team they make!

Day 71

Hops can now easily and calmly stay on the mat by the backdoor while I go out of sight to the pantry to where the dog food is kept. After feeding him a little breakfast and letting him play around the house on his own for awhile I tried to play a game of fetch with him. I sat on the ground at on end of the house with a mat in front of me then a mat at the end of the hall at the other end of the house. I threw the ball down the hall : ) and Hops retrieved it twenty times before he stopped brining it directly back to me! Wow! What a good puppy!

 

All three boys and Jeremiah and I went to my parents house for dinner. Hops loved all the attention from my family that he knew and from the family he had not met before. He was calm around the cat again, was great about leaving the food alone that was at nose level and he was able to chill quietly with Rice and Dillon while the humans ate dinner.

 

Before bed I shaped Hops to get in and on a new box that was about four inches high. He was able to offer both behaviors but getting on was much easier for him then getting in.

Day 70

Hops had his breakfast in a food toy and in the afternoon Taffy came over for a play date. They ran around and played like mad for about an hour then Renee and I took them to a small local park. They were both a little spooked when we first arrived because there was a dog behind a fence fear barking, but they settled in and quickly forgot the barking when we came across a little boy and his mother. Hops was a little cautious but went up to the little boy (who was pretty calm) to say hello and he calmly greet the mom too. Then we walked the pups around the park and Hops was great for that. Some nearby crows caught his attention but when I called him to me after letting him watch them for a few moments he came right to me and was able to keep his focus on me. Then both puppies climbed on the playground equipment and when we walked to the shelter they walked along picnic table benches. An off leash dog came towards us and I picked Hops up because he did not look friendly. Luckily his owners came around the corner and were able to call him away.

 

Later we had to return a gift to Costco so I put Hops’s new little backpack on him (empty of course) and took him in with us. He was wonderful, just watched and took everything in stride. He was easily able to focus on me and do all his tricks in the busy environment.

 

Hops was brushed tonight and did a great job with keeping a stand while I brushed. There has been marked improvement with his stand stay.

Day 69

Hops had his breakfast out of a food toy and spent lots of time playing with Rice and Dillon this morning.

I took Hops to a park in Sumner before going to work today. He was able to play tug with me as soon as we got out of the car and he did a bunch of stays and comes with tugging as the reward. Then we walked across the park to the playground equipment and climbed all over it. Hops as usual had no fear of heights or of the surface under him moving (swaying bridge). He climbed up open mesh steps and slid down slides. He climbed up on a merry go round toy too and had no concern when I turned it! Good puppy!



Hops was good in the crate at work and greeted lots of dogs and people. He stood his ground and fearlessly greeted a huge Leonburger who crossed the room to say hello to him. I had a break in classes today so Hops had an outing to Petco and Home Depo. He was great in Petco, greeting people by wagging his body and sitting and he climbed on anything he could climb on. We tried putting booties on him, hoping for an entertaining show like Rice gave us when we first puts boots on him, but Hops just took them in stride and walked normally! No fun! He also had no problem wearing a small backpack we put on him. He is such a good puppy! He was great in Home Depo too, walking well and taking everything in stride. He offered a down on one of the carts and I pushed him around a little and he seemed to enjoy it! Which it should not have surprised me later when Hops decided he was ready to do a full size teeter on his own! I had just let him out of his crate and he ran over to it, up the plank, rode it down and stood at the end, looking up at me calmly for his cookie. Crazy good puppy!

Day 68

Hops went to work with me and was a good boy again. He met a new BC friend, loved up on his human friends, played with me, and snoozed and chewed in his crate. He was quiet for the most part though he fussed a couple of times near the end of classes. When I told him to be quiet though he did immediately.

 

When we came home, Hops played with Rice and Dillon in the yard then I put the boys in the house and I played with Hops outside. I brought out one of his favorite tug toys and started by just playing tug with him. Then I worked on being able to run away from him in a sit stay then call him to one side of me with the toy dangling on the other side. He made the correct choice about three fourths of the time and when he did I brought the tug to the side he came to and tugged with him. I also worked on doing some pulls and front crosses at speed, tugging with him if he ended up on the side he was supposed to. Pulling to the left was easier than to to right for some reason. He was fun to play with and boy is he fast already! He did get naughty once near the end of the session and nipped me on the heels. I stopped and told him no, that we do not do that! Then I put him on a sit stay and tried again. He did not nip again but I am sure this is something we will have to watch for!

 

I left Hops at home when the boys and I went to agility class and he had a blast playing with Jeremiah while we were gone. Jeremiah had Hops going to bed (he said he did great but could only go to the bed if he could see it), they worked on bang, rolling over and pushups and he did well with all of them. Jeremiah also had Hops playing fetch with a tennis ball! Real fetch! Running across the house to chase it and brining it right back. Even picking it back up if he dropped it! Good puppy! Hops also met the Swan’s guy and was good for that. The only thing Hops did not do well was back, but that is because it is still context specific (he is best with a foot target behind him and I have been on the ground, he does not know it as well if I am standing) and Jeremiah did not know that.

 

Day 67

Hops had a big day today. We woke up early so Jeremiah could take sunrise photos. After that then breakfast we took the boys to Celebration Park in Federal Way and walked the trails for almost 2 hours. Hops did great and surprised up both by how confident he was. I had him on a twenty foot leash and a harness and he was out at the end of it pulling for at least a third of the walk! He came every time either of us called him and was a pleasure to walk. He loved it when part of the pack ran ahead and he got to chase them!

After we came home, my friend Kristen and her two dogs Callie and Da Vinci came over for a play date. It is always fun to watch puppies play and make new friends!

Hops stayed at home with Jeremiah when I went to work in the afternoon and he said that Hops was quiet in his crate the entire time, even with him banging around in the garage. Good puppy!

It is official! Hops turned four months yesterday and today he lost his first tooth! He measured in at 16 inches tall and 19 pounds today!

Day 66

I did some pushups with Hops this morning and ended up focusing on him staying in the down because he started popping up whenever I praised him! Goodness! So I worked on cuing the down, praising, then if he stayed down rewarding. Once he started doing that better I had him do more position changes and he was good with those. Then I worked a little on roll and he was rolling on a verbal cue after needing a hand signal for the first one. We then did some recalls outside, calling him away from the boys. He did alright but still needs lots of work with coming and staying away from distractions!

 

I took Hops to work with me and tugged and ran around with him before my first student arrived. He played well and also did great when I sent him around standards and through tunnels and the chute. I continued to play with him after my student arrived and started warming her dog up. It was more difficult to keep his attention as he wanted to greet them but he was able to refocus on me and play and go through tunnels again so it was a great distraction to work through! After work Rice, Dillon Hops and I ran around the arena. Hops is getting really fast and boy does he like to bark when he really gets running!

 

Hops had a long training session for dinner tonight. I started with perch work on a balance disk. He is continuing to improve and I was able to step in and have him offer to take side steps to get himself into heel. Right now he steps better to the right then to the left. Then we did a take session, first with the handle we have been working with then with a plastic measuring cup. He continues to improve with this too, and put the handle in my hands many times. He does not always get it there though, sometimes he just tosses it or walks aimlessly with it. When I tried the cup for the first time tonight he did great. He picked it up right away and when he gripped it by the handle he brought it to my hand better than the handle. Then we reviewed shaping him to put his head through a nose loop and then I hooked the head collar around his neck for the first time. Hops did not respond at all, just sat there looking at me for a treat just like he did when it was just resting on his nose. When I tried to heel around the house while he wore it he did fuss some, stopped and tried to paw it off, but he was able to work through it and refocus while wearing it. Good puppy! To end the session I brought out my old rally book and went through the signs with Hops. There are only fifty signs in my book, it does not have any of the new signs but out of the fifty there were only a handful that Hops needs work on! He should have no problem competing in rally!

 

A little later everyone had a session on the peanut. Hops loves it! He is big enough now to jump on it by himself and he can sit, down, stand, turn around, and give paws while balancing on it. Good puppy!

 

Later Jeremiah played tug with Hops, having him do sits, downs, stays, comes and it’s your choice with reward to play tug. They had lots of fun together! When I asked Jeremiah for a report on the session he said “He is good at mopping the floor.” Hops seems to like to roll on his back while playing tug and be drug across the floor : )

 

Hops did fine with the fire works though he did not love them. He was very aware of them but was willing to go outside and go potty even when there were all going off at midnight. And, he was willing to go back outside into the fireworks because he needed to go #2! Good boy for telling me and good boy for being brave!