Will and Emma are 3 months (13 weeks) old today. They are coming along quite nicely with their training, especially considering that they are just 3 months old. We’ve been practicing the things we learned at class last Monday, even though the class was a bit frustrating, especially for Will. Both pups had their first visit to the vet that afternoon, and were definitely not feeling their best afterwards. I wish I had known there would be side effects of the shots, for I would have scheduled their vet visit for a non-class day.

They had a whole series of shots, including their first rabies shot, boosters of leptospira, parvovirus, distemper and a deworming pill. It is interesting to note that the first rabies vaccine is given here at 12 weeks, while in Canada it is not done until 16 weeks of age. Poor little Emma didn’t even make it home before she vomitted up her lunch, and big Will had the unfortunate experience of doing it in the middle of the puppy class. I didn’t even realize it was him at first, thinking it was one of the other pups that was closeby. Poor Will couldn’t keep anything down, and had to suffer through the rest of the class, mostly watching but did try to do a some of the lessons. There were no treats for rewards, though, since he had no interest at all in food, and he would not have kept them down anyway.

They actually quite liked the vet, Dr. Goldman, and his assistant, though. The ride to the office went well, and they didn’t seem to mind the crate quite as much as before. According to the advice we have had, I made separate appointments and took each one separately. We are determined to have these pups become as independent as two sibling pups raised together can be. I think Dr. Goldman thought I was a little eccentric, but I am going to do this since I have the time right now. Maybe when they are older it will be different, but for now, I will make this effort to separate them whenever possible.

Homework exercises for the class have included practicing sit and down, sit-stays, leave it (with food), and even a down-stay. Jim has been working with Emma on a down-stay and she is doing quite well. He walks around the room, leaves the room and returns and she is still waiting in her ‘stay’ position. I have not been practicing this quite as much with Will, but he is really getting the hang of it too.

A little fresh air and play

We took the pups to the golf course again both yesterday and today for a good run outdoors. It was tricky with the two of them, but we practiced the recall with them and they both loved to run to my call ‘come’. It is amazing that the old school of thought was that a puppy could not learn these things until about six months of age, but these two are just like sponges for any new challenge. They love to learn new things, and of course, this breed loves to have a job to do. Right now, their job is to learn.

Jim was testing their ‘herding’ instinct a bit today at the golf course. He would run a little from one side to the other, and they both would run with him. Each time he turned a different way, they would immediately follow, back and forth, and back and forth. No nipping, either!

For a change, Jim took a turn with Will and I walked with Emma today. Will is very possessive of me already, so it’s a good idea for us to trade-off once in a while. He doesn’t like it if I am too close to Emma, so we will have to work on this before it gets out of control.