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!

Day 65

Hops again went to the trial in Elma with us today and was again good in the car, crate and on leash. He did more cuddling in laps and more socializing with people and dogs. He and his sister Colleen even played a little.

 

When we came home we played in the yard then played tug. Next I did some training with the toy, using it as a distraction when leaving Hops in a stay and when calling him to heel. When he made correct choices and came to me, not the toy, I released him to the toy or gave it to him and we played tug. Then I used my new dremel to file Hops’s nails and he did a pretty good job. He did some fussing but Jeremiah fed him and he let me file all his nails. A bath was next on the agenda and Hops surprised us by standing still for the entire bath! He was perfect even though he was not enjoying it. Even when we washed his face he was calm. What a great puppy!

Day 64

Hops went to the trial in Elma with us today and was great as usual. He slept in the car and when crated at the trial. He walked well on leash and was able to do all his tricks. He loved cuddling on anyone’s lap and even walked right up onto a stranger’s lap when we were walking down the bleachers! He was good with all the dogs he met and he even said hello to his dad, Solar. This was Hops’s second time in Elma. His first time he was able to go up the stairs to get to the bleachers but not down (they are big stairs). He had no problem going up or down then this time but he was a little afraid of the top of the bleachers which he was not afraid of last time. He was able to work through it though and walk up to the top and along the top row and became more comfortable as the weekend went on.

 

When we arrived home Hops and I played tug then Jeremiah and I called him back and forth. We were surprised because for the first time he totally snubbed Jeremiah! We both had kibble and when Jeremiah called him then asked him to down he ran back to me (I did not reward him). I gave Jeremiah some treats and Hops did the same thing! It finally took Jeremiah having cheese and me having kibble to get Hops to run back and forth when called and do things for us when he got to us. Hops definitely needs to work more with people other than me!

 

Hops is now big enough to jump up onto the couch and to safely jump off of it so we have not been quite as watchful when he is up there with us (he is only allowed up when invited). Good thing were were paying attention tonight though as he just tried to jump off the back of the couch! He is definitely not big enough for that! Good catch Jeremiah!

Day 63

For breakfast Hops had a backing session and did a great job backing in a straight line and picking up both his back feet several inches onto a plastic box. He could stay in position with treats being tossed until released. He and Ren played like crazy this morning! She is being picked up tonight and I know Hops will miss their games of tag!

 

Hops went to work with me today and stayed crated in the car for the most part to keep Ren company. I did bring him in during a break and played tug with him. We ran around the ring together and I had him do tunnels, chutes and tables for the toy. Fun puppy! What did not go well was putting him in his crate and working Rice after playing with him. This is the first time he has barked and not quieted when I asked so I removed him and put him back in the car so he could not rehearse it. I guess more training is needed after he gets riled up!

 

For dinner Hops had a training session starting with stays with distractions. I told Hops to stay then called Rice to me. If Hops stayed I went to him and rewarded him, if he broke position I just brought him back to where he started and tried again. Sometimes of course I called Hops and rewarded when he came to me. He made some mistakes but made correct choices most of the time. I then tried position changes with a little distance. I put both Rice and Hops on the big mat by the back door as a boundary for them, asked them to sit, took a step back, and cued a down. That was easy for them and continued to be even if I stepped several feet further back. Going from a down into a sit was much more difficult and Hops could only do it if I was no more than a foot away. Stand he could do from a few feet but he moved forward a little when doing it. Something to work on! Then I had Hops do some roll overs and say hellos. With rolling over I am working on getting it on a verbal cue and with say hello the same, but with the criteria of his but staying on the ground and only giving me one paw at a time. He did great with both of them. Then we did some heeling around the house with the four basic turns and with moving sits and downs. He did a great job with all aspects of that. To end with I practiced recall to heel with food behind me and on the ground as a distraction. I mixed up what I did after I called him to me. Sometimes I turned (away or towards him) and released him to the cookies on the ground, sometimes I rewarded in heel then turned and released him, sometimes I rewarded in heel then asked for a few position changes before turning and releasing him. He was a very good puppy!

Day 62

Hops did not have very much training today. He did lots of playing with Ren and Rice and some with me. I did practice calling him away from Rice while he was chasing him and he did well. He also came out of play with Ren easily. He did not go to work with me today but stayed home to keep Ren company and play with her once Jeremiah came home. He was a good puppy for him and was good when I came home!

Good puppy!

Release!

Day 61

Hops went to work with me today and was great when he was crated, great with people, but he was grumpy with an adolescent golden : (  He did play however with a papillion and a springer. He also met one of my favorite people, Kathy Sdao. She loved him of course!

At home I practiced calling Hops off of chasing Dillon (when they were running toward me) with great success. Calling him to me before I threw Dillon’s toy is still more difficult. The first time I had to walk almost all the way up to him before he broke his stare off of Dillon and could come to me. I slowly build distance back up and was then able to call him in pretty easily. I also worked on keeping him with me longer, not letting him go right back out to chase Dillon and he started to offer that a little by the end.

Hops had a stay lesson for dinner. I said stay often as I walked around and rewarded him for staying in a down. I do not want to have to say stay but I do want him to learn the word! I worked on distance first, getting to the point that I could walk out of sight, open a door to another room and go in, and return and he stayed. He made a couple of mistakes in the beginning but after he figured out the game he made no more. Then I worked on distractions like calling the other dogs to me, bouncing a ball, slapping udders on the floor (that got him), tossing cookies, running away, he was great. Then I put him in a sit stay and practiced being able to walk laterally away and towards him, in front of him and behind him, and having him not move a single paw. He could turn to look at me if I crossed to a new side, but no paws moving. In the beginning his left front paw wanted to move out a little but soon he was perfect, not budging an inch. Good puppy! We then worked on going to bed on cue, going to kennel on cue, then discriminating between the two. If my body language supported the correct object he went to it 100% if I was ambiguous he made mistakes. For the most part though I fully supported the object I was naming. After the lesson Hops was thirsty and the bowl was empty so it was a perfect time for a shaping lesson of picking up the bowl! He has done it before out of frustration so I know he can do it. I waited while he scratched at the bowl, then when he finally bit it I clicked and treated. I did not want to reward the same behavior too many times so after a few clicks for biting the bowl I held out and (after lots of pawing and talking!) he picked up the bowl a couple of inches! I clicked, jackpotted, and filled the bowl! Good puppy!

Hops had a couple of crazy play times with Ren today but was always able to come when called. He was always rewarded, then sent back to play more.

Hops says his favorite Christmas gift was this really comfy Labrador chair!