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Hello everyone,
Monza and I finished puppy class last Thursday with flying
colors. He sure is food motivated! The "watch me" command in a high
tone along with a treat of some sort does wonders to keep his attention
focused.
Our original plans were to take a couple/few weeks off and
then start Canine Good Citizen instruction. But, my instructor
informed us that the facility she uses is going to be changed & there
won't be a place to continue classes. That was a huge blow! She
came up to me after graduation and said that she's still going to try her best
to meet with a few people and if I'd be interested, she'd include Monza and
me. I'm going to try my best to get him through CGC.....which may
take many moons! He's the little Wal-Mart greeter, so to get him to walk
through a group of people without acknowledging them is going to take a LOT of
learning on my part.
He's a tugger on his leash at times, also. GET BACK
is a familiar command to him. I mentioned using a harness a few weeks ago
to my instructor & she advised me of a great way to stop
tugging that won't promote building of upper body strength while
continuing to pull. You may have already heard about this
device....buy about a 1/2 inch dowel, screw in a eye loop on one end, and
attach a swivel snap ring thingee. Attach this "rod" to his or her
collar while practicing settle, heels, etc. It's SO much easier
to control than a lead. It really makes them think that you ARE the
boss! These are commercialized too, but it's cheap & easy to
make. Now that I experimented with one, I'm going to make one for
Monza.
These pups are definitely smart. Monza doesn't have
much to do with other puppies and would rather check out his environment or be
with people - even my puppy instructor marvels at his unique
disposition. We continue to work on the dominance issues. He's
been taken to the ground a few times by the instructor & me and told to
knock it off after getting an attitude. He's also still learning his
place in the hierarchy and that people are not fellow playmates to bite.
He's not constantly around another dog or any animal, so we believe that is a
factor.
Overall, his looks are changing incredibly and his
disposition is becoming more calm. He still has puppy fluff on his ears
& over the top of his head - looks like he's wearing ear muffs. The
rest of him is maturing very quickly. Things are starting to click with
him in reference to commands and I'm very pleased.
Monza and I are making a road trip to Northern
Minnesota in a couple of weeks so I can safety steward a car rally. I'm
concerned about the mammoth mosquitoes over there flying off with him, so I'm
collecting ideas.....have any? Also, he's quite the
farter. (now you're thinking the farts could keep the bugs
away?) It could be very true that he's gulping air while eating.
I've read some things in the past about putting objects in their food to slow
them down. Can't put my hands on the info, though.....any
ideas? He's also just a kibble eater.
Lyn
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