 |
| Throw the ball wouldya! |
 |
| Der's somfin in ma mouf |
 |
| Right here, somewhere |
 |
| Blah, darn grass |
 |
| That's better |
 |
| I haz cookie now? |
Friday, February 24, 2012
All Indigo, All the Time
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
8 Months Old
My puppy is now 8 months old. I cannot believe how fast the time goes.
Porter has come a long way in the 6 months he has lived with us.
I never worry about him having an accident in the house (and haven't for a couple of months or more). Although I do need to carefully supervise Indi when she poops outside since he's still obsessed with eating it. Luckily he doesn't care about his own anymore. I wonder if it has to do with his hormones since he also stalks her when she pees and does the male thing of licking it up. Ewwww.
He no longer trying to eat my hands when I just want to pet and snuggle. That first month he was such an alligator and all I wanted to do was pet him. The mouthing has mostly stopped. If he's super excited it will start up and for some reason, when I'm on the phone, he bites my arms and clothes pretty hard. Thankfully I have bags of treats easily accessible, so while I'm talking, Porter and Indi get tossed treats every few seconds.
He does amazing in his crate despite having the worst time the first week and a half. He does so well that he will run to his crate from half way across the agility field. He's happy crated in the car unless he can hear me playing/training other dogs and desperately wants a turn. He hasn't learned to sleep in yet, but I'm still holding out it will happen. I also realized that other day that he's only a month away from being the same age Indi was when we stopped crating her at night. Porter will not get that freedom at 9 months. Not because I don't trust him but since he's so big and clumsy he'll smash Indi if he tries to sleep on the bed with us all.
He's coming along in his agility training. We had a great class this week. He had no problems driving through two obstacles and towards the throw toy reward. He wasn't clingy at all :) He also did great on the dog walk. We need to work the contact more, but he did very well considering we haven't worked on it in months. He's building a lot of motivation for the obstacles. He knows that if one is near it's very rewarding to take it. Which means I need to be careful when listening to instructions in class while he's on leash with me. Sometimes he'll decide he should get himself over to the tunnel nearby. I also need to pay attention when walking to a new part of the field so he doesn't try to take the obstacles we pass.
We're going over some of the behaviors needed for the NADAC Beginner Agility Test. Porter cannot take it until he's a year old, so there's plenty of time, but so far he's right on track. It'll be great to have a small title soon and get those ring nerves over and done with before getting on a full course. I think it's smart of NADAC, too, since it will draw more people in and early and then hook them to these venue.
We have made a break through with his flirt pole tugging. It was impossible to get it from him once he caught the bag but I discovered a way to do it and it's working well. Treats were not working at first and I couldn't bring them close to him to let him see how awesome they were since he would just start playing keep away and would run off. So now I toss hunks of string cheese right near his nose when he's looking down. At first this did nothing. Then he started letting the bag go, gobbling the cheese, and quickly grabbing the bag again. So I was patient. I just threw more and never made a move for the bag. Then I started tossing some farther away and so on. Now after the initial toss he'll drop the bag and sit and wait for his treat. He's not afraid I'll steal the bag anymore. He'll even sit and stare at the bag in anticipation of me making it move again. It's like when the dogs wait by the hunter to be told to go get the ducks they just watched fall. He's waiting...tense...but controlling himself. I think he really likes this part since sometimes he wags his tail. It's great for his impulse control.
He doesn't counter surf, but he has tried to put his paws up there a few times, not so much in the recent past. My counters are not free and clear of things like they should be, but I do keep tempting food items pushed farther back.
His stays are looking great, especially his start line stay for agility. We are adding a hand signal for down. I have not worked his drop it and leave it has only been situational default work (like food on the coffee table or his dinner being set down). I haven't taught him any "tricks". So much to do!!
He will now retrieve the toy, kind of. I finally did what I do for Indi. Every time he brings the toy back I reward him with a treat. I didn't think I'd need to for a retriever but I must have messed something up, probably playing chase with him. But now he'll happily bring it back most if not all of the way when we play in the backyard.
His coat is fluffier but not too crazy at all. Only a tiny bit of feathering. Most of the lays nice and flat with only his neck being a bit plumped out. I really like this length and would love for it to stay this way, but we'll see what happens as he matures.
One lone canine has still refused to move into the proper position. It doesn't affect his eating or tugging, but it does hit the roof of his mouth. The rest of the teeth look great and where they should be so I'm thinking this might be it. If so, it would keep him out of the show ring. While I'm not really a conformation person, he's such a lovely dog, both in his attitude and personality and in looks that it would be a shame not to title him. I will still be working on getting him ready for the ring just in case his jaw keeps growing, which I heard it can do up to about a year. His brother, Tatum, is like his twin in every way (except he has perfect teeth), so at least he can pass on these great genes for the litter one day.
On two occasions Porter seemed to have an issue with another unaltered male pup just about his age. The first time was with his Vizsla friend, Harley. They haven't played together in a few months and after class I lete them interact (which I normally do not do). They were wrestling a bit and I'm not sure what went down. Maybe Porter felt tangled or got stepped on, but he took offense to something and let Harley know. Only he didn't back off. Once the growl came out I stepped in and separated them and had Porter's collar but he was still growling and pulling to get to Harley. I'm not happy that he held on to the grudge after it was all over. They've seen each other since but have not played and wrestled so I don't know what to make of it. The second time was a week later. He wanted to play really bad with Finnly (a golden). Way back in my puppy kindergarten class when they pups were 3 or so months old, they had some play time. Porter would posture and make this growling sound while trying to stand tall over Finnly. I would quickly redirect Porter and then move him elsewhere. He hasn't interacted with Finnly in ages until last week. He saw Finnly wrestling with another dog so I let Porter say hi when he suddenly growled. Things I did wrong...they were all on leash. Porter was excited to greet and probably frustrated since I was holding him back. When I did bring him over the leash was still tight since he was was straining to make contact.
So now I need to figure out...does he has issues with other intact males, does he have issues greeting on leash, is be becoming dog selective? He hasn't been to a dog park in a month or so. All the dogs he's been interacting with the last month have been the same ones and most of those are females (one being an altered male). Does he just have an issue with Finnly, since he seemed to have problems with him from the start and maybe the deal with Harley was a fluke?? Ugh.
Porter has come a long way in the 6 months he has lived with us.
I never worry about him having an accident in the house (and haven't for a couple of months or more). Although I do need to carefully supervise Indi when she poops outside since he's still obsessed with eating it. Luckily he doesn't care about his own anymore. I wonder if it has to do with his hormones since he also stalks her when she pees and does the male thing of licking it up. Ewwww.
He no longer trying to eat my hands when I just want to pet and snuggle. That first month he was such an alligator and all I wanted to do was pet him. The mouthing has mostly stopped. If he's super excited it will start up and for some reason, when I'm on the phone, he bites my arms and clothes pretty hard. Thankfully I have bags of treats easily accessible, so while I'm talking, Porter and Indi get tossed treats every few seconds.
He does amazing in his crate despite having the worst time the first week and a half. He does so well that he will run to his crate from half way across the agility field. He's happy crated in the car unless he can hear me playing/training other dogs and desperately wants a turn. He hasn't learned to sleep in yet, but I'm still holding out it will happen. I also realized that other day that he's only a month away from being the same age Indi was when we stopped crating her at night. Porter will not get that freedom at 9 months. Not because I don't trust him but since he's so big and clumsy he'll smash Indi if he tries to sleep on the bed with us all.
He's coming along in his agility training. We had a great class this week. He had no problems driving through two obstacles and towards the throw toy reward. He wasn't clingy at all :) He also did great on the dog walk. We need to work the contact more, but he did very well considering we haven't worked on it in months. He's building a lot of motivation for the obstacles. He knows that if one is near it's very rewarding to take it. Which means I need to be careful when listening to instructions in class while he's on leash with me. Sometimes he'll decide he should get himself over to the tunnel nearby. I also need to pay attention when walking to a new part of the field so he doesn't try to take the obstacles we pass.
We're going over some of the behaviors needed for the NADAC Beginner Agility Test. Porter cannot take it until he's a year old, so there's plenty of time, but so far he's right on track. It'll be great to have a small title soon and get those ring nerves over and done with before getting on a full course. I think it's smart of NADAC, too, since it will draw more people in and early and then hook them to these venue.
We have made a break through with his flirt pole tugging. It was impossible to get it from him once he caught the bag but I discovered a way to do it and it's working well. Treats were not working at first and I couldn't bring them close to him to let him see how awesome they were since he would just start playing keep away and would run off. So now I toss hunks of string cheese right near his nose when he's looking down. At first this did nothing. Then he started letting the bag go, gobbling the cheese, and quickly grabbing the bag again. So I was patient. I just threw more and never made a move for the bag. Then I started tossing some farther away and so on. Now after the initial toss he'll drop the bag and sit and wait for his treat. He's not afraid I'll steal the bag anymore. He'll even sit and stare at the bag in anticipation of me making it move again. It's like when the dogs wait by the hunter to be told to go get the ducks they just watched fall. He's waiting...tense...but controlling himself. I think he really likes this part since sometimes he wags his tail. It's great for his impulse control.
He doesn't counter surf, but he has tried to put his paws up there a few times, not so much in the recent past. My counters are not free and clear of things like they should be, but I do keep tempting food items pushed farther back.
His stays are looking great, especially his start line stay for agility. We are adding a hand signal for down. I have not worked his drop it and leave it has only been situational default work (like food on the coffee table or his dinner being set down). I haven't taught him any "tricks". So much to do!!
He will now retrieve the toy, kind of. I finally did what I do for Indi. Every time he brings the toy back I reward him with a treat. I didn't think I'd need to for a retriever but I must have messed something up, probably playing chase with him. But now he'll happily bring it back most if not all of the way when we play in the backyard.
His coat is fluffier but not too crazy at all. Only a tiny bit of feathering. Most of the lays nice and flat with only his neck being a bit plumped out. I really like this length and would love for it to stay this way, but we'll see what happens as he matures.
One lone canine has still refused to move into the proper position. It doesn't affect his eating or tugging, but it does hit the roof of his mouth. The rest of the teeth look great and where they should be so I'm thinking this might be it. If so, it would keep him out of the show ring. While I'm not really a conformation person, he's such a lovely dog, both in his attitude and personality and in looks that it would be a shame not to title him. I will still be working on getting him ready for the ring just in case his jaw keeps growing, which I heard it can do up to about a year. His brother, Tatum, is like his twin in every way (except he has perfect teeth), so at least he can pass on these great genes for the litter one day.
On two occasions Porter seemed to have an issue with another unaltered male pup just about his age. The first time was with his Vizsla friend, Harley. They haven't played together in a few months and after class I lete them interact (which I normally do not do). They were wrestling a bit and I'm not sure what went down. Maybe Porter felt tangled or got stepped on, but he took offense to something and let Harley know. Only he didn't back off. Once the growl came out I stepped in and separated them and had Porter's collar but he was still growling and pulling to get to Harley. I'm not happy that he held on to the grudge after it was all over. They've seen each other since but have not played and wrestled so I don't know what to make of it. The second time was a week later. He wanted to play really bad with Finnly (a golden). Way back in my puppy kindergarten class when they pups were 3 or so months old, they had some play time. Porter would posture and make this growling sound while trying to stand tall over Finnly. I would quickly redirect Porter and then move him elsewhere. He hasn't interacted with Finnly in ages until last week. He saw Finnly wrestling with another dog so I let Porter say hi when he suddenly growled. Things I did wrong...they were all on leash. Porter was excited to greet and probably frustrated since I was holding him back. When I did bring him over the leash was still tight since he was was straining to make contact.
So now I need to figure out...does he has issues with other intact males, does he have issues greeting on leash, is be becoming dog selective? He hasn't been to a dog park in a month or so. All the dogs he's been interacting with the last month have been the same ones and most of those are females (one being an altered male). Does he just have an issue with Finnly, since he seemed to have problems with him from the start and maybe the deal with Harley was a fluke?? Ugh.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Toy Drive
Porter's private agility session went well today. We discussed and practiced building his tug so we can use that as a reward system. I've never had a dog motivated enough by toys to use it as a reward. Food has always been at the top of the list with toys way at the bottom. My dogs enjoy toys in their free time but are not interested in working for them.
One of things I wanted in this new pup was a dog who was thrilled with toys all the time. Porter (and most of his siblings) showed interest in tugging when they were evaluated at 7 weeks. He happily plays in the house and really gets going when Indi tugs with him. He'll now tug nicely in the backyard most of the time and he's slowly starting to tug in class, but not with as much enthusiasm as he does at home.
The flirt pole is another story. If Porter gets a hold of the bag he turns into a Schutzhund dog and clamps down with all his tight and tugs so hard I can't always hold my ground. I have tried transferring this drive to his normal tug toys by putting a plastic bag on the end of them. It's not exactly the same, but it greatly increased his tug drive from what it was with those toys.
So at our lesson today, the instructor went over how she builds this drive. Some ideas I have heard before but some other parts were new to me and I'm excited to put them into action and see how Porter does.
In our other agility class we toss the reward after the obstacle, but this instructor doesn't do that (I'm not sure if she doesn't toss toys at all or just for certain things). She trains the dogs to be highly motivated to go after the still toy on the ground and not just a toy in motion. She showed me how to build up to that. First we build his tug, then we work on his out. Next we drop the toy right at our feet and release him to get it. Then we drop it at our feet and we back away from the toy slightly and I release him to rush over and get it. I run with him, too, not to beat him, but to keep up and to tug with him right at the reward spot so he doesn't want to turn and run back to me to play.
What I need to do is schedule times to practice this in the backyard first and then in the front yard. If I schedule it like it's a class I'm taking I might be more likely to do it instead of getting busy with other things.
She also told me that NADAC is doing virtual trials! So a dog like Indi, who is too reactive and stressed to be at a normal trial, will have an opportunity to earn (virtual) titles. That is really awesome! I need to look into it more and see if someone is doing them around here. Indi love agility so much (except for the teeter) so this would be perfect for her.
One of things I wanted in this new pup was a dog who was thrilled with toys all the time. Porter (and most of his siblings) showed interest in tugging when they were evaluated at 7 weeks. He happily plays in the house and really gets going when Indi tugs with him. He'll now tug nicely in the backyard most of the time and he's slowly starting to tug in class, but not with as much enthusiasm as he does at home.
The flirt pole is another story. If Porter gets a hold of the bag he turns into a Schutzhund dog and clamps down with all his tight and tugs so hard I can't always hold my ground. I have tried transferring this drive to his normal tug toys by putting a plastic bag on the end of them. It's not exactly the same, but it greatly increased his tug drive from what it was with those toys.
So at our lesson today, the instructor went over how she builds this drive. Some ideas I have heard before but some other parts were new to me and I'm excited to put them into action and see how Porter does.
In our other agility class we toss the reward after the obstacle, but this instructor doesn't do that (I'm not sure if she doesn't toss toys at all or just for certain things). She trains the dogs to be highly motivated to go after the still toy on the ground and not just a toy in motion. She showed me how to build up to that. First we build his tug, then we work on his out. Next we drop the toy right at our feet and release him to get it. Then we drop it at our feet and we back away from the toy slightly and I release him to rush over and get it. I run with him, too, not to beat him, but to keep up and to tug with him right at the reward spot so he doesn't want to turn and run back to me to play.
What I need to do is schedule times to practice this in the backyard first and then in the front yard. If I schedule it like it's a class I'm taking I might be more likely to do it instead of getting busy with other things.
She also told me that NADAC is doing virtual trials! So a dog like Indi, who is too reactive and stressed to be at a normal trial, will have an opportunity to earn (virtual) titles. That is really awesome! I need to look into it more and see if someone is doing them around here. Indi love agility so much (except for the teeter) so this would be perfect for her.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Agility Update
Porter's progress in agility has been up and down. Some things he does amazing, especially considering how little we have been doing this, and other things he struggles with even though the other dogs are doing well. I can't lie, it's hard having the one dog who didn't do an exercise correctly and looks remedial. I guess I'm pretty competitive. I'm also used to Indi, who did very well in agility classes. Except for the whole the teeter is evil thing. She was older when we started so she already had more obedience training and I think that helped a lot.
 |
| I'm very regal looking... |
Porter is doing amazing with his 2x2 weave pole training. I'm taking it slow, so we are only on one set of poles still, but they are angled slightly and we are working the clock for his entrances. He has great drive for the poles and is doing well hitting his entrance...but he will try to go backward through the poles if I am not careful. I need to practice more, but since he's still young there's no rush and even more reasons to wait and go slowly so he's not twisting and turning too much.
 |
| ...when I'm not looking like a doof. |
His start line stays are fantastic. Thank goodness, since this is important to me and kind of a pet peeve. Does he still need practice with them? Of course. But I can lead out to the second obstacle and he'll wait for his release. Sometimes he looks like he almost self released, but he's only broken his stay once. I can see him flinching in anticipation though.
Today I used a velcro food pouch with a strap and that worked well. He tugged it a bit, he chased it a bit...if I keep practicing it might work ok. I also bought a rip and tug ball from Clean Run (in addition to 50,000 other things). It's shaped like a ball on a string but the ball can be ripped into two pieces and inside is a velcro pouch you can put food in. Indi will love it. Hopefully Porter will, too.
Yesterday Porter did much better about taking two obstacles without trying to cling by my side, thereby squeezing past the second obstacle. It did help that I did a lead out half way to the second obstacle. I also threw a toy (a new orbee ball on a string) so he was looking forward for his reward and not coming to me for it. We need a lot more practice with this and without me leading out so he learns to take his line and not cut over to heel position.
Next we did the same two obstacles (hoops, if you want to know), but after the second we did a 180, bypassed the closest hoop and run back and took the first one again. The first time I didn't turn soon enough and he kept running out ahead, but I called him and got him back to me and on track. The second time (other side) he did great! I was happy that both times he took the last hoop fine and didn't cling to my side.
 |
| Picture Taking is Serious Business |
We worked on a lower dog walk as well. Whenever we approach any obstacle, Porter is raring to go. He sees an obstacle and just wants to take it, so I have to be mindful of that as we wait our turn. But then of course when I released him he kept just walking past it instead! I don't know what was going through his head. Finally he got on...he's not scared luckily and he kept his hind end perfectly on the board.
 |
| So serious we can't even look at you. |
Despite being fine with the dogwalk Porter has issues with the car ramp I got. I think in part it's the steep incline, the carpet which is has less traction than the sandpaper ramps, and the fact that there's a little give and wobble when he climbs up. If I don't have good enough treats he refuses to go up. Sometimes even with great treats he's hesitant. When he's hungry and I let him call the shots he's so much better and was dashing up the ramp repeatedly.
Tomorrow we have a private session with another trainer who Indi and I have taken classes with in the past. Porter and I need more practice time and more instruction and I think it can be good to try out different trainers. Plus it will get us out to a new location.
 |
| This is Porter sleeping. Yes, with his eyes open! Creepy. |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)