Progress at 13 weeks of age
Fido is 13 weeks old and going to his second Puppy Class. He is getting clipped for the first time. Richard does a little less on the basic "sit, stand and down" behaviours and tries to introduce more play to maintain Fido's motivation. On lead walks are progressing.
Hi Kaye,
It has been quite a different week with Fido. He is 13weeks old and is more independent and robust every day. He plays hard rugby with Pepper and takes greater risks.
I am amazed at how calm and contained he is compared to the other puppies at Puppy Pre
School. He often goes to sleep on the mat; last night that happened about ten minutes into the session. It is intense living with me and the poor little bugger might just be exhausted. We’ve really made progress in the last week with lead training. He hadn’t had a lead on until I realised he needed it for the class last week. Since then I’ve tethered him for short periods regularly and he is really getting the hang of ‘on lead walks’. We’ve had a few short walks in the park in Gisborne and some ‘retrieve play’. Ping Pong balls have revolutionised retrieve play. They are much more interesting and much more manageable for the little guy.
I’ve backed right off sit/stand/lie down/roll over drill. He still needs plenty of work on those things and he is still coming asking to be trained very regularly. That is so precious with such a laid back character. I’m trying to preserve it and promote it by doing more lively fun things. There is plenty of bounce in him a lot of the time. I’m wondering if nodding off is his way of coping with stress. He went to sleep on the clipper's table last Saturday and at the vets getting his vaccinations and micro chip on Tuesday. It seems he often goes to sleep pretty quickly when ever we are at a new place. Who knows?
At puppy class Francis the trainer with Julie opened a tin of cat food and that got him interested. He chose cat food over his favourite fluffy squeaky toy as a reward for coming when called. Julie had a great way of training that. She says don’t call unless you’d bet $50 he’ll come. So the set up becomes vitally important. I often use the word too early, before he is 99% reliable. I’m also carrying a plastic bag ‘back up’ in my pocket. I can get his attention by shaking it almost any time.
I’m very keen to explore play and capture more fully in the next few weeks to see if I can help him increase his attention span a bit.
I’m looking forward to seeing you this arvo with his very first full clip, hopefully!
Cheers,
Richard
