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Re: Growing Pups
Hi folks:
Forgive my tardiness ;-) The world is spinning merrily away up
here
and we're running as fast as we can to keep up with our businesses
and dog training....
I'm just now getting back on Carol Jackson's post of about ten days
ago on how to train the retrieve so Hunter will bring the item all
the
way back to hand.
In reference to
which part he has trouble with, it is the fourth...bringing it all the
way back to you without dropping.
This sounds a lot like what Angel was doing. I think we've finally
gotten her through it <s> For Angel, I think it was a
dominance
thing with us. She was telling us that she was in charge of
the
game and that we could come get her dummy, rather than she
giving us 'our' dummy.
I saw her, during the time she would drop it just a few feet away
from us, bring a stick back to a stranger who loved dogs and had
engaged her on the trail to play fetch with him. He wasn't mom and
dad, just a friendly stranger, and I was dumbfounded when she eagerly
brought it back to his hand.
With Angel, it's just been a good dose of patience, knowing that
she
will *eventually* come around to our point of view. We don't punish
her for not returning. But then again, she doesn't get a treat
either!
Since May, she has gone from chasing after the stick, picking it
up and then tossing it down, to early July when she would pick it
up and bring it within five feet of us and toss it down, to early
August
now, when she will consistently bring it back to our hand, maybe
dropping it on its way, but fetching it back up on her own and
bringing it to us.
Watching Angel, we just feel it's a matter of maturity. She
seems
to challenge us less as she matures. She has more focus.
She's
not a slow learner. She doesn't flip her muzzle at us
<s> But she is
very strong-willed and needs to know there is a firmness in us too
about the behavior we are asking for. Once she learns
something,
she is *very*, *very* solid on it. Because of her drive and her
strong
will, we feel she will thrive in performance activities far better than
her cautious, and slightly nervous sister Iris, who has done
spectacularly
well, especially with her wet-behind-the-ears trainers <s>
But Iris
is more sensitive to environmental stimuli and her performances
can easily be influenced by them negatively.
So count your blessings if you have a head-strong, dominant pup
<g>
There are many blessings that go along with them, if you all live
long enough <lol>
When he is really
tired, his behavior gets worse, he chews, cries and will not listen to
anything anyone says, can't say as I blame him, I act the same way.
Besides the chewing thing!
Yup...sounds like typical toddler behavior :-) It sounds like you
can
relate to his being tired and feeling overwhelmed...which is good.
He is getting better
about not stealing food, but Sasha has learned that trick from him and
steals constantly!! Oh well!!
Don't even talk to me about this!!! Our Iris used to be the
Princess of
Perfection. Such exquisite manners! Such ladylike ways.
Now she
burps, farts, eats horse poop, counter surfs (when she can get away
with it). The list goes on of what she has learned from her baby
sister <s>
But this is why we wanted another dog. Iris was too focused on
human
beings and wouldn't play with other dogs. She needed someone of
her
own species to relate to. Angel is teaching her how to be a dog!
<g>
How many of you are enrolled in puppy kindergarten now?
Remember,
most puppy classes will accept up to six month olds and this is the
key time to socialize them with dogs their own age so they can
learn
to read doggie body language. This will make for a well-adjusted
dog that is not fear aggressive when they are older, nor a bully.
Take care all,
Linda
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Linda Shipman
Juneau, Alaska
Linda.Shipman@chezor.alaska.com
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