Homework
Yesterday was the first day of my Master Gardener class and also the first day that I did not spend almost the entire day taking care of puppies since we got them. Jim works about five minutes away from home, so he came home at lunch for puppy duty. If this wasn’t possible, I would have withdrawn from the program, I think. It isn’t fair to the small pups to leave them for such a long time, but I guess many people do. I am fortunate that I am not working right now so that I can raise these little guys.
Jim tried something at lunch that I would not recommend. He took both puppies outside at the same time! All they wanted to do was their usual: play fight and rumble the entire time. He said he had to walk with his arms out wide to keep them apart, but they still just wanted to play. He did say though, that when one finally did it’s duties, the other one held off and just waited till it was done. That’s consideration for you.
Today, I am trying to get into a good routine with Will and Emma. It’s pretty ad hoc normally, but I am determined to get some training time with each of them in the morning, afternoon and the evening (hopefully with Jim’s help in the evening). We practiced the homework assignment from the class on Monday (name recognition, sit, down and stand). We even did some ‘leave it’ and ‘take it’ practice, which I read in our puppy training book. This is easier than I thought to train, but will require lots of reinforcement.
Start by giving a treat, then saying take it at the same time. Do this 3 times. The next task is to hold a treat firmly in your hand, let the puppy sniff it and go after it, but keep it firmly in your hand. He eventually will settle down and move away from your hand, and at that moment, open your hand and say ‘take it’ and give him the treat. Repeat this sequence over and over, progressively increasing the amount of time of no contact before giving him the treat. After he is able to wait about 10 seconds without touching your hand, hold the treat between your thumb and finger and say ‘leave it’. When he is still then allow him to ‘take it’. Then try laying the treat on the floor, and say ‘leave it’. Eventually, try placing it on his front leg while he is lying down, and say ‘leave it’. Learning this command could save the dog in many a risky situation! We are definitely going to practice this one.
Jim tried something at lunch that I would not recommend. He took both puppies outside at the same time! All they wanted to do was their usual: play fight and rumble the entire time. He said he had to walk with his arms out wide to keep them apart, but they still just wanted to play. He did say though, that when one finally did it’s duties, the other one held off and just waited till it was done. That’s consideration for you.
Today, I am trying to get into a good routine with Will and Emma. It’s pretty ad hoc normally, but I am determined to get some training time with each of them in the morning, afternoon and the evening (hopefully with Jim’s help in the evening). We practiced the homework assignment from the class on Monday (name recognition, sit, down and stand). We even did some ‘leave it’ and ‘take it’ practice, which I read in our puppy training book. This is easier than I thought to train, but will require lots of reinforcement.
Start by giving a treat, then saying take it at the same time. Do this 3 times. The next task is to hold a treat firmly in your hand, let the puppy sniff it and go after it, but keep it firmly in your hand. He eventually will settle down and move away from your hand, and at that moment, open your hand and say ‘take it’ and give him the treat. Repeat this sequence over and over, progressively increasing the amount of time of no contact before giving him the treat. After he is able to wait about 10 seconds without touching your hand, hold the treat between your thumb and finger and say ‘leave it’. When he is still then allow him to ‘take it’. Then try laying the treat on the floor, and say ‘leave it’. Eventually, try placing it on his front leg while he is lying down, and say ‘leave it’. Learning this command could save the dog in many a risky situation! We are definitely going to practice this one.
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