Day 42

Hops went to the trial at Argus today with me and the boys. He was once again great, nothing there bothered him and he could completely relax while upside down in my lap while I watched people run their dogs. He snoozed in the car, greeted other dogs and puppies, loved every person he met and was comfortable being left with other people. He practiced going around cones, doing push ups and heeling.

 

For Hops’s dinner we played the recall game with him inside. I called him and rewarded then Jeremiah called and rewarded. Sometimes we sent him back to the other right away, sometimes we had him do sits/downs/stands/rollovers/touches/heels/etc. before sending him on. He did great with the game.

 

Later on we did a bunch of nosework, starting with boxes then doing a dozen simple interior searches. He did a pretty good job. Something new for his interior searches was lingering odor as we did the same rooms twice, moving the hide between searches. He got better at moving on and heading toward the new source as he went. Once he found source he stayed with it too. Good puppy!

Day 41

Hops had another take session this morning. I tried a different object this time, a soft rubber handle. I held it in my hand at first, marking then rewarding him for biting it. He still does not like this game but he was more willing to play today. I gradually moved the handle to the ground until I set it down. Once it was on the ground he offered to pick it up and lift it few inches off the ground several times. Great progress! I then grabbed a favorite toy and heeled around the house with him, randomly asking for sits and downs, releasing him right away to play tug with me. He had a little more trouble heeling with the toy than he does when I have food. It was also interesting that whenever we approached any mat or rug he would go ahead of me to them. Sometimes it took a few times of backing up, calling him back to me and trying again to walk toward the mat with him in heel before he could do it. He did great with the quick sits and downs though.

 

A little later we practiced perch work on two different balance disks. He is giving me lots of side steps to reward but I found out he does a lot better if I start him next to me and send him to it each time. With the momentum of going toward the disk he side steps half way around the disk. If I reward him for that then wait for more I am rarely get more than one step. We then practiced shake a little bit, played with getting his front feet on two different paw pods, then practiced getting in and on a bowl. Getting in and on is was more challenging for him this time. I think it was because we have not practiced the bowl lately, he is bigger now, and we have done lots of perch work lately so he thought that is what I wanted. Now though he is sleeping soundly!

 

Before we left for work I brushed Hops. I combined brushing with it’s your choice by having kibble loose in front of him. He only tried to grab some once, then waited calmly while I brushed him the rest of the time. I rewarded him often by handing him a piece of kibble from the pile. He did great the entire time, no fussing.

 

On the way to work we stopped by Mud Bay for some canned food to stuff in kongs. Hops did great, he walked well on leash, sat for the women he met without jumping, he came easily away from distractions and he showed off some of his tricks.

 

Hops was once again wonderful at work. He said hello to many different dogs and people, loved all the people and did great with the dogs. Throughout the day he practiced heeling, tugging, fetch, tunnels, tables, tippy boards, pushups, moving sits, balancing on disks, perch work (was better a work than at home earlier, quick learner!) and lots of downs and face. Some of those he did as demos for classes. If I was talking to a class I could easily have Hops out with me. He just offered downs and face and had some great duration so I did not have to constantly reward him. He was able to do the same while dogs ran in my beginner agility class. Such a great skill! I was also able to leave his crate uncovered again while on the matted side. He was quiet 98% of the time : )  After classes I did recalls with Hops and ran around the ring with all three boys. Wow, Hops has gotten much faster since really ran like this last! Unfortunately when he really gets going his mouth also really goes! He barks/cries as he runs top speed after Dillon!

Da 40

Hops had a long day at work with me. I went in a little early to play with him and had him retrieving his ball on a rope on the agility side. He also ran through a 20ft tunnel to chase me and play tug on the other side a half dozen times or so. He just loves the table. One time I was focused on something else and turned around to see him 30ft away from me, doing a down on he table! Good puppy! He greeted the dogs and people coming into my first class then went into the car for a nap. After the first class we played some fetch on the matted side and did recalls. His fetch at work is going pretty well as long as he is not too hungry and it helps if I run away from him. He is bringing it right to me though, without me having to beg : ) During the next class, as a distraction, Hops was a “cone” with me. Meaning he did a stay in heel while the class heeled around us. He was great and paid very little attention to the people and dogs walking and trotting past him. Throughout the day he balanced on a peanut, on a plank on stools and on a plank on balance disks, played with different puppies in different classes and practiced coming into heel, heeling, sits and downs, touches, face, roll over and releases. When we were on the matted side I once again had his crate uncovered so he could see the class. He was quiet almost all of the time. I remember asking him to be quiet 3 times throughout the day and he quieted each time. He is such a good puppy!

Hops came with me to agility class tonight and I discovered a great way to work on flat work. I had him walk with me while I walked the courses. So when I did a front cross, I rewarded, pull, reward, decel, reward, etc, how cool! His focus was spot on too! Hops was able to spend a little time with his sisters as both their owners take classes in Buckley and had brought them. Hops also greeted two adult border collies and a friendly boston terrier adult. He was loved on by everyone and was great about being carried around by others. He went through a dark curved tunnel with no problem with me on the inside of the curve but I need to train the outside too it seems. He climbed up on a tall plastic step stool too. It had just two steps but they were really big. It took some work for him but he was going up and down it easily before the end of class. He was crated in the car while I ran the boys and was always quiet when I came and left. Good puppy!

Day 39

This morning I was stuffing kibble into toys for the dogs and ended up dropping a bunch. Immediately, all three boys froze, waiting to be released. Wow, what good boys! Hops then had a long training session for breakfast. I started with shaping back up, with the same set up as before. He was very purposefully backing up this time. By the end of the session he was aiming for the mat, knowing he needed to reach it to be clicked and treated, he was backing mostly in a straight line, was backing four or five feet and was able to do it’s your choice (staying with his back feet on the mat until I released him while I tossed a treat). What was interesting is he was backing with his head down… Then we tried shaping take. He still does not like this game. He would put his mouth on the ring but while glaring at me! I have hope though because he thought the find the hole game was pretty stupid to start with and today (that was the next thing we did) he was enthusiastically putting his head through any hole I offered. He was even holding the nose loop on his nose by himself for several seconds between cookies. Big progress! I then had him do some roll overs and face’s, naming both behaviors. I tried some moving sits and downs with release to come play tug with me and he did the first few well then started stopping but not sitting or downing... I switched to food and he did them well again, I think he was still hungry. To end with I grabbed one of his favorite toys, a tennis ball on a rope and played fetch with him (still in the living room, throwing the toy toward the front door). He did great, retrieving at least two dozen times. Half the time he came right back to me and dropped the toy for a treat, the other half he brought it back two thirds of the way immediately then took some coaxing to get him to bring it the rest of he way. Good puppy though, it sure felt like a real game of fetch!


Taffy came over for another play date this afternoon and they had los of fun, playing inside and outside.


On the way to preschool tonight I stopped by Home Depot and took Hops in. We walked around for about 20 minutes and he did a great job. He heeled nicely through the store, wagging his but at every person he saw. He was petted by several different woman and three kids. I spotted the kids down one aisle so I headed down it, rewarding Hops all the way. At about fifteen feet I stopped and had him sit and rewarded him for watching the kids. He was curious but a little unsure. When the kids spotted us and asked if they could pet I said yes but to come closer slowly. They were really nice kids, calm and followed directions. They gave him lots of treats and petted him. He was pretty good with that. When we all stood up and they approached him again he backed away but calmly, not frantically. So he still needs work with kids but he is improving! He also met a big black lab there. The lab growled at him when they first passed but soon they were sniffing noses. Hops had great focus there, heeling, sitting and downing, doing hand targets and rolling over, climbing up and down metal steps, he was great!


Hops also was great at preschool. He played a little with the other puppies, of course did sits for lots of people and he was able to play tug with me. We started class with impulse control exercises and Jeremiah was able to get multiple cookies on Hops’s front legs while he did a down stay. He did line ups with zen cookie easily, so to challenge him I tossed some kibble on the floor and then tried to have him line up next to me. Boy was that difficult for him! He did not want to leave the cookies on the floor! I did not say leave it, just waited, if he looked at me at all I praised, which of course focused him back on the cookies. When he was finally able to move away from them and come into heel I rewarded him in heel then released him to go get the cookies. Both Jeremiah and I worked on this and it will need more work! Then there were two different short tunnels that all the puppies ran through tonight and Hops did great with both of them, working for both Jeremiah and me. While the other puppies took their turns going through the tunnels I had Hops going to his mat, where I worked on naming it and him staying on while cookies were tossed on the ground. Then both Jeremiah and I worked on him backing up to a target that was first 1/2 inch high then 1 inch high. He could back up a couple of feet and stay with his back feet on the target while a cookie was tossed in front of him. He was also quiet whenever we put him in his crate and if he was not in it and the door was open he would offer to go in. On our way out of class he very happily said hello to a very fluffy golden puppy. He is such a good boy!

Day 38

Hops was great at work this morning. He met a couple of puppies when we arrived then did some recalls before my first lesson. He was in his crate during the lesson and talked a little to his toys in the beginning then fell asleep for the rest of the hour. Afterward we did more recalls and some tunnels and tables. I also started working on moving sits and downs and he was just amazing. He made some mistakes but he was able to stop and sit or down and stay while I kept moving. Wow! I am not using a stay or wait cue, just sit or down. When he stayed, I alternated releasing him to me for a reward and going back to him to reward. When releasing him I am making sure he is going on the verbal cue, not on any motion of mine. Next he was awake for entire 1.5 hour agility class but was just quietly lying down in his crate the entire time. I kept checking on him, expecting him to be asleep because he was so quiet but he was always awake. I dropped kibble in the crate to reward him throughout the class.


Hops had a big day a work in the evening with me. To start with, only one person signed up for my intro to odor class so I signed Hops up for it so the class could run. He did great with the tall boxes, shoes and cones as containers, having no problem generalizing containers. He seemed to know what he was doing from the start and did great with sticking with the odor when he found it.  During the next class he stayed in his crate and I tried having the crate uncovered so he could see the class. He cried a little but if I told him to be quiet he did and I rewarded him often for being quiet which he was the majority of the time. The next class was fun and focus one and Hops was also in it, with Jeremiah handling him this time. He did a great job with the plank, the ladder, perch work, hand targets, crate games, and stool work. He needs work on tugging in a class environment and with food around and needs work with heeling with distractions. It was not the other puppies that were distractions for him though, it was the equipment! Jeremiah did a great job with him, being very patient and consistent. It is a great class with six puppies in it and all the handlers are great with their dogs. For the last class one of the observers kept Hops out and rewarded him for being held and for doing down stays next to him. Hops was so calm and controlled while the dogs in class ran but would quickly become fired up if I brought him out to play tug with me. Perfect!


Here are some photos from last Tuesday’s preschool class.

The class was asked to not feed Hops during play time (so he would play with the other puppies and not beg), cute photo with everyone turning away!

Hops's sister Love tackling him!

Cute, confident Hops!

Look what I can do! Will you give me a treat?

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!

Day 36

Hops stayed home with Jeremiah today while the boys and I went to the trial. When we came home Renee and Taffy came over for a play date and all the dogs played together. We did a little training too, working on coming out of play, collar grabs and group stays.



Later for dinner, Hops had his first shaping session to back up. I started by sitting on the ground with Hops in front of me, facing me, with the mats at the backdoor just behind him. I held treats at his nose level to help him not down and waited. I clicked any random movement backward and tossed the treat between his legs to reward him so he often took another step back to get the cookie. If he did step back again I rewarded again. I then had him do some pushups, heel and sides and roll overs. We ended with a bunch of collar grabs. Sometimes I rewarded as soon as I touched his collar, sometimes I moved him a little before rewarding.