My weekly training and development diary with Brady AND NOW JAZZIE !
Week2 with Jazzie (Age 8 - 9 weeks, October 9 - 15, 2017). Well, how much new can there be in just one week? Jazzie is growing stronger every day. She runs and plays for more and more of our big walks with the boys, and all too soon there will be no carrying her. They grow too fast ! She weighs 12.6 lbs, up from 8.8 at the time of pick up. She a good eater. She still hasn't been in water any more than getting her feet wet and that's fine. She comes to her name very well and has learned the sit command. We are practicing it daily with tidbits of string cheese, hot dog and Pupperoni. She still hasn't figured out the "down" command. Jazzie walks pretty well on the retractable lead, sometimes trying to shake free, sometimes carrying the lead for herself (typical lab), but mostly ignoring it. Jazzie is becoming great pals with her big brother Brady. The two of them play with toys together, chase and rumble daily. I can see they are going to be a deeply bonded pair. Attention span for playing fetch is short. She is discovering lots of other things to play with and get into. I've concluded that her favorite fetch objects at this point are her small "Chuck It" rubber ball, about half the size of a tennis ball, and her small "DuraPlay" ball, also smaller than a tennis ball.
Week 2 with Brady (Age 8 - 9 weeks, August 2 - 8, 2015). Mostly more of the same this week, solidifying what we learned last week. "Sit" and "Here" commands are getting really good. He learned the "Down" (lay down) command this week, started working on "Kennel" and moving from front sit to "Heel" on either side all driven by Pupperoni or hot dog pieces. Spent time at the pond each day and by the end of the week confidence is building but not yet fully there. Brady attended four big dog training sessions and three days of field trial. He was at the line to hear shotguns and met lots of nice people. Brady even went to Cracker Barrel with me to order take-out. He got quite a bit of practice walking on lead at the FT.
Week 1 with Jazzie (Age 7 - 8 weeks, October 2 - 8, 2017). Jazzie is doing great. She recognizes her name and is starting come when she's called. She learned to sit in one session on Monday and we're practicing it every day. She doesn't get the idea of the "down" (lay down) command yet but we'll keep trying. She likes to play fetch with the rolled up sock, fuzzy squeeky toys and her little purple DuraPlay ball. She's been on long walks with the big dogs where I've had to carry her most of the way. She watches the boys play fun fetch in the pond and has gotten her feet wet both in the pond and in the creek. She doesn't seem too interested in getting wet any more than her feet although I have washed mud off her in the sink with warm water. She's been to Sarah's house in Ohio, home in Brockway, PA and home in New York. She's taken multiple car rides and usually sleeps in the crate soon after starting to drive. She'll be a good road warrior. I've taken her to field trial training sessions where she's stayed at the line in her crate. There's no problem with distant gunfire. She's watched the big dogs work as long as she can stay awake and she's seen and smelled live and dead ducks and dead pheasants. At nighttime I'm sleeping close by her crate. She's getting more used to it every day and doesn't fuss much when she goes in for the night. We've had a couple potty accidents in the house, but as usual, these are primarily my fault when I get to busy to be paying attention.
Week 1 with Brady (Age 7 -8 weeks, July 26 - August 1, 2015). We had a very productive first week. Brady learned his name, learned to sit and learned to come when called (sometimes). He can go up AND DOWN stairs. We're working on crate training with only a few accidents inside. Brady plays fetch with my rolled up sock in the hallway and is liking it more each day. He's been to several big dog training sessions and has heard shotguns at a distance (100+ yards) and .209 primers as close as 30 yards. We've played in a few ponds and creeks, been completely underwater a couple times. He's actually swam a few strokes without touching bottom on several occasions. He's still very tentative with water, but not afraid. He got teeth brushed once and went to visit the Doctor on Saturday.
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Week 46 with Brady (June 5 - 11, age 51 - 52 weeks). After spending the first half of the week away on business, I returned late Wednesday night, June 8. This was the day of Brady's first birthday. What a good boy and good student he has been. Thursday morning we did a refresher on Double-T and 8-hand casting, followed by a hunt test type water series. Thursday night we ran a land series. Friday morning we ran another water series in a different location. I introduced Brady to simple hunt test style triple marks this week. He has been successful on all attempts. On Saturday morning Brady qualified in his fourth AKC Junior hunt test completing his Junior Hunter title !!! Quite a week for the little guy turning a year old on Wednesday and earning his JH title on Saturday. By the way, Brady is currently tipping the scale between 66 - 68 lbs. That completes my series of weekly training updates for the first year of life from crate training to Junior Hunter. I will continue to give monthly updates through the "Transition Phase" of training.
Week 45 with Brady (May 29 - June 4, age 50 - 51 weeks). Ran 5-leg pattern and ladder drill on Sunday morning before heading to camp for Memorial Day weekend. Left Tuesday for overseas business trip and gone until next week.
Week 44 with Brady (May 22 - 28, age 49 - 50 weeks). Introduced 5-leg pattern blind and ladder drill to further reinforce blind running foundation. Continued to work on casting, FT marks in the evening, prepping Riley for Memorial weekend trial. Running short cold blinds with Brady after marking sessions.
Week 43 with Brady (May 15 - 21 age 48 - 49 weeks). Continued to run Double-T Mon, Tue, Wed morning sessions. Worked 8 hand casting during lunch and marks in the evening. Did not train Thurs, Fri, Sat due to travel and other schedule conflicts.
Week 42 with Brady (May 8 - 14, age 47 - 48 weeks). Training was limited this week due to my business travel schedule. We had to shelf running the Double-T and worked only on marking, and only 3 or 4 sessions this week. Ran Del Bay RC Hunt Test on the weekend and got our third pass on Saturday. One more needed for JH title.
Week 41 with Brady (May 1 - 7, age 46 - 47 weeks). Continuing to work on Double-T and marking. Training partners Mark and Laurie Schmiedeshoff have returned from wintering in South Carolina. We were able to join them one evening for training on field trial type marks. Also spending time on hunt test type marks. Introduced Brady to marking from a canoe (on land).
Week 40 with Brady (April 24 - 30), age 45 - 46 weeks). I have transitioned Brady from Single-T to Double-T. This transition has gone well with some minor bugging that has created nice opportunities for correction. We are training up to three times per day, although normally we have two sessions. One session is dedicated to drill work and the other to marking. He is performing solidly in all aspects.
Week 39 with Brady (April 17 - 23, age 44 - 45 weeks). Continued to work on the full scale Single-T. He's doing a real nice job with it, and gaining endurance for the repetitive runs. Also did a couple sessions of four corner push - pull drills and taught eight bumper wagon wheel. Marking sessions focused on hunt test style set-ups this week; lots of duck calls, closer falls and no white coats. Had two more sessions of water marks. Ran our first AKC Junior hunt test on Saturday and passed with no issues at all. Brady was a perfect gentleman at the line, ran excellent marks with perfect hand deliveries. Very proud of where this young boy has gotten in 10 months.
Week 38 with Brady (April 10 - 16, age 43 - 44 weeks). Taught full scale Single-T and worked on it each day. Initially had bugs to get out of the system but have it down to a science now. He is a hard worker and trains with enthusiasm. Had our first session of real water marks.
Week 37 with Brady (April 3 - 9, age 43 - 44 weeks). Mother Nature is a cruel, unforgiving bitch (I can say that on a dog website). I landed in Cleveland Saturday night and was greeted by a spring blizzard. This followed me to PA, and ultimately back to New York. Very little training was done in the early part of the week. I did work Brady on handling real birds, both chuckar and mallard, and eventually walking fetch and fetch no-fetch with birds. He did very well with all of that. Later in the week as the snow on the ground diminished, we went back to 3 hand casting which he remembered very well. Ultimately I also taught him the backyard "Mini-T". Ran marks Thursday & Friday with real ducks. Some marks up to 200 yards. He did a great job both marking and with mouth manners on the birds. Very happy with this boy. By the way, Brady turned 10 months old on the 8th.
Week 36 with Brady (March 27 - April 2, age 42 - 43 weeks). Brady gets this week off to rest as I am traveling to Asia on business.
Week 35 with Brady (March 20 - 26, age 41 - 42 weeks). We finished our force to pile sessions and I've begun teaching Brady to handle via the "3-hand casting" drill. After initial sticking point on left-back, these sessions have gone very smoothly. Brady now knows the four primary casts: right back, left back, right over and left over. We'll soon start "Single-T". I've already introduced a "3-Leg Pattern Blind" and plan to start "4-Way Push-Pull" soon. All this time we continue to work on marking (daily when possible). A typical marking session for Brady is four singles followed by two doubles. I vary the distances from 20 to 150 yards. Right now with blinds I include both a duck call at the line and stickmen in the field. This should help prepare him for both hunt tests and field trials. We also run stickman drills for introducing and practicing marking concepts.
Week 34 with Brady (March 13 - 19, age 40- 41 weeks). We moved quickly and successfully through the collar conditioning phase of force fetch. Brady has graduated from Force Fetch School and is on his way to becoming quite a good performance retriever ! We've completed our work on walking fetch, fetch - no fetch and started force to pile work.
Week 33 with Brady (March 6 - 12, age 39 - 40 weeks). Brady turned nine months old this week. We completed the ear pinch segment of force fetch having moved from reaching to moving and subsequently transitioning to retrieving from the ground. We are now moving to the collar conditioning phase. Brady's retrieving desire is really coming out strong these days. Besides eating, there's nothing he loves more. He'll fetch a ball or play fun bumpers until my arm falls off, and will run marks and drills until the moon comes out. He is an interesting contrast to Riley who is still very indifferent about eating but maniacal about retrieving, and Toby who was pretty indifferent to eating until about age 10.
Week 32 with Brady (Feb. 28 - March 5, age 38 - 39 weeks). Following several weeks of fairly regular "hold" training, I began ear pinch force fetching in mid-February. He learned to open his mouth to accept the paint roller very quickly, almost from the beginning. This week he began to reach for the roller. This is big progress! Although our time for marking has been very limited, I've now introduced him to simple doubles from remote launchers. He has done them all well. We are also still running back pile drills. At this point, all deliveries are to hand at heel.
Week 29 with Brady (Feb. 7 - 13, age 35 - 36 weeks). Brady turned 8 months old on Feb. 8. He is now at a very solid 63 lbs. I have continued to work him on obedience, marking, back pile retrieving and hold training when I've been able to. Everything is continuing to progress.
Week 23 with Brady (Dec. 27 - Jan. 2, age 29 - 30 weeks). Brady is very solid with "Hold" training, both with a paint roller and with a bumper. He is ready to move along into "Force Fetch" which I would start if I were not facing a two week business trip in the near future. I will stick with my original plan to Force Fetch in mid-February which should lead right into "Fetch - No Fetch" and forcing on "Back" when the weather breaks. On the heels of collar conditioning the "Here" command, I was hopeful to move into collar conditioning 'Sit" this week using the "Heel - Sit - Heel" drill. Unfortunately, due to the holidays and family commitments, I haven't been able to get that done. We also have not done any marked retrieves in over two weeks, and need to get back to both as soon as opportunity allows. We have managed to get a couple short Pennsylvania pheasant hunts in just to keep the boys in shape and let them stretch their legs out a bit. Brady is learning, but mostly just follows Riley at this point.
Week 22 with Brady (Dec. 20 - 26, age 28 - 29 weeks). Brady is now consistently delivering to hand anytime we do pile work. I have been extending his runs and have him now working from 20 yards all the way out to 120 yards. I'm being really cautious about keeping the reps down so as not squelch his spirit, especially on the long distance piles. A typical session will start with four reps sent from each side to the short pile, three reps each side to mid-distance pile and two reps each side to the long pile. I change all the distances each time we run pile drills. On Sunday (Dec. 20) we completed collar conditioning for the "Here" command following the Evan Graham method) with help from Ray Klemm and Brady's littermate Wyatt. Both boys did a good a job with this high stress drill. The key now is to maintain the standard.
Week 21 with Brady (Dec. 13 - 19, age 27 - 28 weeks). Brady is advancing in his understanding and willingness to "hold". He readily accepts the paint roller and will walk on lead with it. From a front sit, he'll hold the roller and come to heel waiting for my "drop" command to release. He's really getting it and advancing nicely. I'm also incorporating bumper hold at the end of each session. We had a nice breakthrough on Friday while running our back pile drill. On the first run he dropped the bumper short of delivery as he has often done. I told him "no" and gently put the bumper back in his mouth, telling him to hold. From there I brought him to heel as he's done numerous times already in hold session. This seems to have connected the dots for him, and for the rest of the back pile drill he brought every bumper to heel and sat waiting for the release command. What a good boy! This is a huge step in developing the "trained retrieve".
Week 20 with Brady (Dec. 6 - 12, age 26 - 27 weeks). Time flies when you're living life. Hard to believe, but Brady and his littermates turned six months old on Tuesday (Dec. 8). He is a sweet boy and his retrieving is really starting come along. I've made some big moves in advancing training this week which is only coincidental to becoming six months old. It has much more to do with the fact that Brady seems ready to accept more, I've had the time and weather is cooperating. This week I began the following: "Hold" training with a clean paint roller in preparation and anticipation of force fetching in February, "Back Pile" drills, "Stickman" marks and "Heel"-"Sit"-"Heel" drill with stick force.
Hold training is going well. After initial reluctance I started bribing him with treat rewards. He is now accepting the roller without difficulty and we've even made a few attempts at "Walking Hold". Initial Back Pile drills have come off without a hitch. We started at 20 yards. It certainly helps to have a trained dog to set an example. We've progressed to 40 and 60 yards in the first week. Delivery is seriously lacking at this point but that's not my major concern right now. The weather will most likely cause us to shut down outside pile work in the next couple of weeks and we'll continue advancing indoors with "Hold" and Force Fetch. Stickman marks have been really nice. He is steady and marking well at various distances. Again, delivery needs to be fixed. The heel-sit-heel drill is also going well. Will not advance to collar force on the sit until I complete collar condition for "here" (hopefully this coming weekend). Overall, I couldn't be happier with the young fellow. Below are a couple pics from training this week.
Hold training is going well. After initial reluctance I started bribing him with treat rewards. He is now accepting the roller without difficulty and we've even made a few attempts at "Walking Hold". Initial Back Pile drills have come off without a hitch. We started at 20 yards. It certainly helps to have a trained dog to set an example. We've progressed to 40 and 60 yards in the first week. Delivery is seriously lacking at this point but that's not my major concern right now. The weather will most likely cause us to shut down outside pile work in the next couple of weeks and we'll continue advancing indoors with "Hold" and Force Fetch. Stickman marks have been really nice. He is steady and marking well at various distances. Again, delivery needs to be fixed. The heel-sit-heel drill is also going well. Will not advance to collar force on the sit until I complete collar condition for "here" (hopefully this coming weekend). Overall, I couldn't be happier with the young fellow. Below are a couple pics from training this week.
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Week 19 with Brady (Nov. 30 - Dec.5, age 25 - 26 weeks). Buck season . . . sorry boys, not duck season; This is a tough time of year for working retrievers. The good news is that the weather, although not great for buck hunting, is pretty doggone nice for dogs for this time of year in the northeast. Brady spent about five days with his brother (littermate) Wyatt during buck camp. Although the boys were in their crates when all the guys were hunting Monday and Tuesday, they had lots of time to romp and play and tussle. They had a great time, and even managed a few retrieves and some swimming. Back to the grind next week.
Week 18 with Brady (Nov. 23 - 28, age 24 - 25 weeks). Again, not much to report. I've lost momentum on training with three weeks in NYC for business, down time for dental extractions, a week in Kansas, and now trying to recover quickly, followed by Thanksgiving. I took Brady and Riley on short hunt Friday afternoon. We flushed a few PA pheasants and killed one. Not too bad.
Week 17 with Brady (Nov. 16 - 22, Age 23 - 24 weeks). I made a last minute decision to go on solo hunting trip to NW Kansas; just me and my three boys. The drive each way was grueling and don't know if I'll try that again solo but the trip was great. Not much training was accomplished but Brady did "hunt" alongside Riley, and was able to get a taste of some wild birds. He's growing up nicely. His mouth is all healed. He listens pretty well and likes to retrieve. Time to start building on the basics is rapidly approaching.
Week 16 with Brady (Nov. 9 - 15, Age 22-23 weeks). Well, Brady actually had baby canine teeth extracted on Nov. 6 to make room for the permanent teeth. We'll have to be very careful with his mouth for a week or two. Not much to report.
Week 15 with Brady (Nov. 2 - Nov. 8). If it weren't for hunting and football, this time of year would be unbearable. Daylight savings time is gone and days are getting shorter and shorter. The opportunity for outside training is diminishing. Brady turned 5 months old on Nov. 8 and continues to progress in all aspects of training. We are working on indoor obedience drills a couple times each day. I've started a one that I like pretty well where I call both Brady and Riley to heel, one on each side. I have them remain sitting while I walk across the room. From there, I will either prolong the sit (sometimes out of sight) before returning to them with a treat reward, or I will call them individually to heel while the other must stay seated across the room; in effect honoring the work of the other. Both boys are doing extremely well with this. Brady has also made great strides understanding the "down" and "kennel" commands, and will do both enthusiastically and without fail. All the basic obedience is really taking root. We will begin collar conditioning soon, maybe at six months old.
Week 14 with Brady (Oct. 26 - Nov. 1, Age 20 - 21 weeks). Unfortunately, nothing much to report again as I spent nearly all week on NYC on business. On Sunday the day after opening day of PA pheasant season, we did some retrieves with our recently killed bird and some freezer birds. Later, as we were walking the dyke in Brockway, Brady flushed a big ol' rooster pheasant. He chased that bird until the creek stopped him or he'd still be running today. Weighed in this past Saturday at Vet office for monthly heartworm preventative at 39.6 lbs. He's lean and in my mind, looking more and more like Riley each day.
Week 13 with Brady (Oct. 19-25, Age 19 - 20 weeks). really nothing to report this week as I was away on business most of the week. I have noticed many adult teeth. He is doing well in training sessions but doesn't seem to want to listen much outside of the "classroom".
Week 12 with Brady (Age 18 - 19 weeks). Following our sibling visits from last week, we met with Nick and Tank on Monday. Despite being late getting home we had enough time for a little training and a bit of play. The boys had a great time swimming and fetching. Tank did a really nice job on our "walking wishbone" singles drill and delivered every bumper to hand. Very impressive.
On Tuesday I had to pack up for my end-of-week business trip to NYC. Because I have a pretty demanding schedule the next few weeks, I decided that the last of the live ducks had to be shot before I left and I decided to shoot the last duck for Brady. I don't know whether of not this was a good idea, I'll let you pass your own judgment. Mind you, I never thought he was really ready for shot flyer retrieves but the following were in place at lest somewhat:
On Tuesday I had to pack up for my end-of-week business trip to NYC. Because I have a pretty demanding schedule the next few weeks, I decided that the last of the live ducks had to be shot before I left and I decided to shoot the last duck for Brady. I don't know whether of not this was a good idea, I'll let you pass your own judgment. Mind you, I never thought he was really ready for shot flyer retrieves but the following were in place at lest somewhat:
- 1. I know he is not gun shy
- 2. He has retrieved from the remote launcher
- 3. He has carried freshly shot ducks
- 4. He has been practicing sitting steady per the Hillmann "Traffic Cop" procedure
Week 11 with Brady (Age 17 - 18 weeks). This was another big week for Brady. On Sunday (10/4) Brady carried his first ducks (freshly shot) during our training session with big dogs. He did a great job and really likes them. This week we began e-collar conditioning for the "sit" command. This is puppy level e-collar conditioning (a la Bill Hillman) and we are maxed out a low level 2 nicks. Brady is doing good with this and with the Hillman "Traffic Cop" approach. He'll sit steady for hand thrown marks on land and water. His water entries are becoming quite enthusiastic, sometimes getting large "puppy air" in the process. I'm proud of the little guy. His return on retrieves is somewhat improved after reincorporating the hallway work. We did not get to "puppy collar conditioning" for the "here command yet. I think that is coming in next couple weeks. On Tuesday we met Brady's sister Maggie and Carey for the first time since the litter was split up. She is a sweetheart and they had a great time playing together. On Saturday and Sunday we met up with Ray and Brady's brother Wyatt. Again they had a grand time romping and playing, and doing some work. Both boys did a great job at running down live chukars. Unfortunately Brady tore up a nice Mud River kennel mat. I guess he's teething pretty hard.
Week 10 with Brady (Age 16 - 17 weeks). Well, this was a big week for Brady. To start with, he moved from his puppy kennel to his full size kennel. Because I'm a bit of a road warrior, I have a kennel in the house, one in the truck and one in PA. Just makes it easier to manage. We continued with walking singles when we're on our "free walks". Brady started to wear his electric training collar this week. It's never turned on, but he wears every time we go outside. There were several first for Brady this week. He had his first retrieves thrown by a live gunner in the field. My filed gunner (Karen) was wearing white and using a duck call. It took all I had to hold Brady back and steady him before releasing him for the retrieve. Turns out he is more than just a little enthusiastic about fetching. I also introduced marks thrown from my remote launchers. I used the electronic duck call feature to attract his attention as well as white stickmen for these marks. He knows what's going on. Each time I calm Brady and have him sit before launching, and then calm him again before releasing for the pickup. Unfortunately Brady could not stand the prosperity of retrieving without a check cord, or not being in the hallway, and after a few sessions of "free retrieving" he has started to bolt with the bumper rather than returning to me. It's really a setback, and I'm going back to spending more time in the hallway with a paint roller and he'll wear a 50 ft. check cord when running formal marks until he establishes that he'll reliably return with a mark. Note: we haven't worked much on the "here" command. I will start that soon and I'm also thinking about doing "puppy conditioning" to "Here" (Evan Graham) very soon.. I started working the "traffic cop" approach as developed and advocated by Bill Hillmann to extend Brady on the "sit" command, and also require him to sit in the presence of a dropped bumper initially, and progressing to a hand thrown bumper. He is taking to this well. We are spending more time walking on lead. This will soon develop into walking at heel on lead. I can't get him to sit and just hold a bumper or paint roller yet, but that will come in time.
Week 9 with Brady (Age 15 - 16 weeks). I started doing walking singles with Brady this week. He's gotten to really like bumpers. He retrieves everything he sees fall and returns either to or toward me. Sometimes he will still try to evade me in the last six feet of the retrieve but I either catch him and load him up with affection and praise, or I step on the 8 ft. lead he's dragging to stop him from running away. His swimming is strong and courageous. This past weekend he retrieved our the Clarion River in PA; not strong current, but current nonetheless. His lead walking is continuing to improve. I'm starting to get him to take short jaunts (10 - 20 ft. at heel). His sitting is getting really reliable except for when I leave him too long and he decides to lay down rather than sit and wait. I'm slowing substituting more praise for treats, but treats are still the training driver. I am moving him from his puppy crate to a big dog crate this week.
Week 8 with Brady (Age 14 - 15 weeks). Unfortunately, due to business requirements I was in Taiwan most of the week and Brady had a soft week. Anyway, I want to confess to everyone that up til now, much or most of my training time has been still devoted to Riley, and getting / keeping him ready for field trial competition. I think it's ok, though, Brady has been developing just fine, and I believe getting what he needs. Soon the field trial season will be over, about in conjunction with Brady turning 16 weeks old and as he's becoming more mature and ready to advance in training.
Regarding young pups (7 - 16 weeks) Evan Graham said "most people try to do (or expect) too much as opposed to too little". I was watching a Bill Hillman puppy video the other day and he said a couple things that stuck with me. The first is that we should always get the puppy excited before training. It's our responsibility as trainers and owners to keep the puppy happy and in a good state of mind, especially for training. The second, regarding early puppy training is that we should focus on three things:
1. Get him/her to chase something (retrieve)
2. Get him/her to walk on lead with us (not at heel)
3. Teach and practice "sit".
And finally, "Pupppy training is like being a Zen Archer". Every day is the same as the day before with small incremental (imperceptable) improvements or developments (see my comments about transformation from two weeks ago). By the way, this is consistent with my experience in dog training. Despite the pressure we may put on ourselves, there is no urgency. Time, patience and consistency are the solution to nearly everything.
Based on guidance from the two experts cited above, I think we are on track. Brady is a courageous and enthustic swimmer. He likes to fetch, maybe not endlessly but nevertheless enthusiastically. I have him fetching dead chukars, paint rollers, bumpers, tennis balls and squeekie toys, and have started to introduce "memory marks" when on check cord. He can walk on lead; short lead, retractable lead and/or check cord. He can sit, heel, here, kennel and down when working for treats; of these skills, "sit" is the most reliable. I have sparingly introduced the whistle and will begin to add more in the coming weeks. And, by the way, at the Vet's office this past Saturday, Brady tipped the scales at a whopping 29.3 lbs. He is a big boy! I love this little guy.
Regarding young pups (7 - 16 weeks) Evan Graham said "most people try to do (or expect) too much as opposed to too little". I was watching a Bill Hillman puppy video the other day and he said a couple things that stuck with me. The first is that we should always get the puppy excited before training. It's our responsibility as trainers and owners to keep the puppy happy and in a good state of mind, especially for training. The second, regarding early puppy training is that we should focus on three things:
1. Get him/her to chase something (retrieve)
2. Get him/her to walk on lead with us (not at heel)
3. Teach and practice "sit".
And finally, "Pupppy training is like being a Zen Archer". Every day is the same as the day before with small incremental (imperceptable) improvements or developments (see my comments about transformation from two weeks ago). By the way, this is consistent with my experience in dog training. Despite the pressure we may put on ourselves, there is no urgency. Time, patience and consistency are the solution to nearly everything.
Based on guidance from the two experts cited above, I think we are on track. Brady is a courageous and enthustic swimmer. He likes to fetch, maybe not endlessly but nevertheless enthusiastically. I have him fetching dead chukars, paint rollers, bumpers, tennis balls and squeekie toys, and have started to introduce "memory marks" when on check cord. He can walk on lead; short lead, retractable lead and/or check cord. He can sit, heel, here, kennel and down when working for treats; of these skills, "sit" is the most reliable. I have sparingly introduced the whistle and will begin to add more in the coming weeks. And, by the way, at the Vet's office this past Saturday, Brady tipped the scales at a whopping 29.3 lbs. He is a big boy! I love this little guy.
Week 7 with Brady (Age 13 - 14 weeks). Another week and more of the same. Playing fetch, walking on lead, obedience training. This is the core of what we do. Brady had a very stylish water entry this week jumping from shore into our pond to fetch a bumper. Very impressive like his daddy. We also attended more big dog training sessions and another field trial. We've done some work fetching a paint roller with the check cord attached, but he is already pretty reliable at coming back to me from hallway fetching sessions.
Week 6 with Brady (Age 12 - 13 weeks). Transformation . . . the changes happen so slow you don't really notice any difference day to day. Remarkably, the changes happen so fast you wake up one day and say "WOW"! I looked at Brady the other day and realized the baby I brought home six weeks ago was gone. The puppy is still there for sure, but the baby is gone. The puppy is no longer a baby, but a little dog. Gone is the helpless little insecure ball of fur. His outer coat is coming in nicely. The days when he would stop at my feet on our morning walks looking at me longingly, wanting to be carried rather than chase after Riley are gone, forever. I'll still call him in and carry him a short way to continue our bonding. He's heavy, must be three times the size of when he came home. I'm feeding him 3/4 cup of food 3X a day plus treats and he seems always hungry. Gone (for the most part) are potty accidents in the house, thankfully. Gone is the baby who wasn't sure if he'd get in water over his belly. It all happens so fast it's almost sad. The good news is that here is a bright-eyed puppy, brave and bold, a good citizen, good in the house, wanting to please, eager to learn with a sponge for a brain and a heart of gold. I couldn't be happier with where we are. We haven't done anything really new, yet everything is still new and exciting. Retrieves are enthusiastic. He'll chase almost anything anywhere, and in most cases bring it back to me, or at least part way. I'm planning to start more formal outside sessions on a check cord with a paint roller soon. Swimming is enthusiastic and bold. He'll chase a bumper 20 feet out into the water and return. Sitting has become pretty solid. I can sit him and move back 20 feet and he'll stay sitting. Soon I'll move briefly out of sight and see if he'll hold the sit. This past week Brady went on vacation. We rented a house on Deep Creek Lake, MD and took four dogs (three labs and a sheltie). He got to swim and play every day. It was good for him. Brady and Riley play together regularly. They really like each other. At almost six years old and a very accomplished retrieving dog, there's still alot of puppy in Riley too. That's a good thing.
Week 5 with Brady (Age 11 - 12 weeks). Brady is 12 weeks old today, August 31. He continues to progress nicely. Daily he is getting more enthusiastic for fetching things and more confident around water. The increase in water confidence began last Sunday when I threw a "happy bumper" for Toby which he either didn't see, or didn't want. Brady made a 20 yard swim for the bumper. Unfortunately, he lost his nerve about 3 feet short and headed back to shore without the bumper. I did pitch another bumper to him about 5 yards from shore which he fetched and brought back. Since then he's been braver about swimming and will regularly swim 10 - 15 feet to fetch a bumper. We continue to work on basic obedience, walking on lead, exposure to gunfire at training sessions, and general socialization. And, oh yes, did I mention, Brady's daddy is now QAA !
Week 4 with Brady (Age 10 - 11 weeks). Once again, not much new, just further development of what we've been working on. Brady had a great day on Sunday (8/16). In the morning he got his first bath with Johnson's Baby Shampoo. In the afternoon, while the big dogs chilled in the cool house, he was outside with the adults for a summer party. He played in the kiddie pool, fetched his baby bumper (and returned !) and stole all the bean bags from the yard game. Overall he got a lot of attention and had a lot of fun. When he was exhausted he crashed in his kennel in the shade with a nice summer breeze blowing. This week in addition to the normal big dog training sessions, Brady visited Catherine's creek and had a pretty nice romp. We went to the vet Saturday and got booster shots. Brady weighed 19 lbs. I've decided to wait a while before micro-chipping to avoid any negative / trauma imprinting relating to the big needle in the vet office. We also had a visit from littermate "Sam" on Saturday (8/22). There's still a bit too much sibling rivalry between the pups for this to have been a totally pleasant visit, but it was good for me to see Sam. He looks so much more like Riley than Brady does and is also quite a bit smaller. He's a very sweet puppy. Also, this past week, Riley has started to play with Brady on occasion rather than completely ignoring or avoiding him. It's fun to watch.
Week 3 with Brady (Age 9 - 10 weeks). This diary is going to get boring because things change slowly. Overall we are continuing to develop the same basic commands; sit, here, down, heel (left), heel (right), kennel, no, outside. I've been extending him on sit, both requiring him to sit longer before his reward and from time to time I've been backing away with my hand pushed out in a traffic cop "STOP" signal repeating the "sit, sit . . ." and requiring him to stay sitting. If he breaks, I charge back and get him to sit again. He's doing pretty good with both of these.
I've really accepted the fact that all puppies develop at their own pace. I have decided to pretty much stay indoors in the hallway for playing fetch where there are few distractions. We've gone to a squeaky little stuffed duck. I have to say that Brady absolutely loves fetching the duck. He runs out with enthusiasm and come flying back to dive into my lap. I always sit on the floor at his level when we're playing. When he brings it back I hold him and pet him and let him keep the duck for a while. This should help him to understand that I like fetch and also that it feels good for him. I've been incorporating the words "drop" when I take the duck from him, "mark" when I'm squeaking the duck just before the throw, and releasing him on his name. This is passive training during playtime but he'll live with these the rest of his life. On Sunday we did play outside a bit. I tossed the puppy bumper into his kiddie pool a couple times. Every time he gave chase and returned with the prize.
We still go to the pond to play a couple times each week. He'll follow me in to where he can't touch bottom to fetch the puppy bumper out of my hand once or twice and return to shore. Each time is probably six or seven swim strokes. Still not the fish we're looking for but we'll get there.
Housebreaking is good. Very few accidents. He's getting so big I move the crate divider already once, and now I've completely removed it. Saturday was a day at the field trial and a lot of kennel time, more practice walking on lead, meeting new people and dogs, and exposure to distant gunfire. Sunday was good play day outside, and also got his first batch with baby shampoo.
I've really accepted the fact that all puppies develop at their own pace. I have decided to pretty much stay indoors in the hallway for playing fetch where there are few distractions. We've gone to a squeaky little stuffed duck. I have to say that Brady absolutely loves fetching the duck. He runs out with enthusiasm and come flying back to dive into my lap. I always sit on the floor at his level when we're playing. When he brings it back I hold him and pet him and let him keep the duck for a while. This should help him to understand that I like fetch and also that it feels good for him. I've been incorporating the words "drop" when I take the duck from him, "mark" when I'm squeaking the duck just before the throw, and releasing him on his name. This is passive training during playtime but he'll live with these the rest of his life. On Sunday we did play outside a bit. I tossed the puppy bumper into his kiddie pool a couple times. Every time he gave chase and returned with the prize.
We still go to the pond to play a couple times each week. He'll follow me in to where he can't touch bottom to fetch the puppy bumper out of my hand once or twice and return to shore. Each time is probably six or seven swim strokes. Still not the fish we're looking for but we'll get there.
Housebreaking is good. Very few accidents. He's getting so big I move the crate divider already once, and now I've completely removed it. Saturday was a day at the field trial and a lot of kennel time, more practice walking on lead, meeting new people and dogs, and exposure to distant gunfire. Sunday was good play day outside, and also got his first batch with baby shampoo.
Below are links we like:
Special thanks to:
Dr. Sonya Lawlis DVM (Cornell University Animal Hospital) for outstanding support and advice on our breeding program
Dr. Krista Mendoza DVM (PVSEC) for exceptional dental repair and care for our retrievers when needed
.
Dr. Sonya Lawlis DVM (Cornell University Animal Hospital) for outstanding support and advice on our breeding program
Dr. Krista Mendoza DVM (PVSEC) for exceptional dental repair and care for our retrievers when needed
.