Day 37

Hops went to the trial with us this morning and again did great. He relaxed while we watched others run, happily greeted many people, was held by lots people and was watched by Kari so he could practice being okay with being left with someone else. She said he was a little worried at first but quickly relaxed. He also said hello to different dogs, showed off his tricks, was good in the car and walked great on leash.

For dinner Hops had his second lesson of shaping back up. It clicked this time for him and by the end of the lesson he was backing up a good 3 feet, mostly straight, to a mat behind him. He easily lifted up his back feet wen he reached the mat. He would offer to remain there some of the time and I rewarded that as well. Some of the time he would offer to back up again after being treated versus returning to me. Also by the end if I did not click his first step back he would offer more. Then we practiced pushups with which he continues to improve. Next we practiced a little roll over, saying the word now before giving him the hand signal. Then we did hand touches with it’s your choice. I held treats near his nose in one hand and asked him to touch my other hand. It took a little thinking for him to get it but he was soon able to turn away from the treats and touch my other hand. Giving a paw was next and he is now lifting his paws much easier and we only introduced it two days ago. I ended the lesson with having him come into heel from the front position and he was able to do it all by himself a few times! So smart!

We then got the puppies playing and playing tug for some cute photos!