April 14, 2010

Hi Sabine

Just wanted to check in with you, and let you know that Randy has completed his kindergarten class :) He still needs practice around other dogs, but I'm working on that; by himself he's generally very well-behaved and obedient :) We have a regular group of dogs he sees and plays with nearly every morning during his walk, as well as others we see less regularly but still often enough to recognize.

So since he has completed this first class, and he's four months old now (already! and getting so big, 30lbs already!) I was wondering at what point you would like to have him to do some training for the show ring? Also, are there any commands you think I should be working on?

What he knows (and does reasonably well, at least):
- sit (stay) (though if you leave it too long, which varies, he lies down instead of staying sitting)
- down (stay)
- stand
- come (always gets a treat! though if he picks up something he knows he shouldn't he doesn't like to come within arms' reach.. i'm working on it!)
- shake
- roll over (on to his back for belly rubs)
- leave it
- off
- fetch (though he doesn't always bring the ball back, sometimes he just chases it)
- take it (either a toy or treat or his meal)

What we're still actively working on:
- heel (he's ok, but generally still needs a treat for a lure to keep him there)
- quiet (he likes to bark, especially when he wants to play, or go off leash - i'm using a squirt bottle of water to discourage him)
- easy (not pulling on the leash)
- search (looking for his toys)
- outside (i have bells at the door he uses most, trying to get him to ring the bells to say he needs to go outside)
- smell it (we were told that teaching the dog to smell things he's afraid of will help reduce the fear, trying to get this before he's afraid of anything but the rake, and he's getting better with that)
- trade (trade a fetched toy for a treat or another toy)

I hope you can see I'm working hard with him!

Just as a note, I was talking to my Dad this weekend and found out that the dog we had when I was growing up actually came to my parents a bit older (4 months or so), when the breeder had actually given up trying to train him to be a show dog! And my parents have been very good at not spoiling Randy too much, I gave them a sheet of instructions and they're being good about sticking to it.. though they do give him more treats than he probably needs!

Anyways, hope all your family is well, and I will look forward to hearing from you.
Cheers
Paula
 

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Feb. 27th, 2010

Hi Sabine

Just a quick note to let you know that Randy is doing well, and he's been enrolled in puppy kindergarten classes :) He'll start on March 8th. Here's the website if you want to take a look:

http://dogsmart.ca/

Hope you and all your family are doing well
hugs
Paula
 

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Feb. 19th,2010

Hi Sabine

Just wanted to send you a few photos I took on my cell phone 17 Feb 2010 (68 days old).
Randy's doing well, sleeping through the night (unless someone gets up early... then he doesn't want to go back to sleep).
He absolutely loves the stuffed duck I got him the other day :) it has squeakers in both the head and the tail, so he's not allowed to have it in his crate at night when he's supposed to be sleeping ;)
He's also always hungry, but I'm resisting giving him extra food at mealtimes, and making sure he works for his treats between meals.

On quick question though, he seems to randomly get hiccups, is this something I need to worry about? It doesn't last very long, maybe a couple minutes, and it's not just after eating. I put a large rock in his food bowl to help slow him down when he's eating... it's working, but I may need to find a second one ;)

Hope your family is doing well, and not missing the puppies too horribly :)

Paula

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Feb. 10, 2010

Hi Sabine

So far Randy has been very good :) He's waking up less at night (only once last night!) and is generally happy to just hang out with me during the day, whether I'm outside in the yard playing with him or sleeping beside me when I'm reading. He's not nearly as happy being outside alone as when I'm out there with him (no big surprise - which is why I only put him outside alone for short periods at a time) but half the time I'm out there with him he just runs off doing his own thing (though he always eventually comes to me when I call him). He has a bad habit of trying to eat the fallen leaves though... and barks like mad when I use the rake! He's already learned to "sit" when I tell him! Such a smart boy! And he's learned "quiet time" means I want him to be quiet and go to sleep... I use this when I want to take a nap during the day and when I'm putting him in his crate at night. He grumbles and whines for only a minute then huffs and lies down quietly :)

That's all for now. I have to find my camera so I can send you photos of Randy playing in the back yard :)

Take care

Paula
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Feb. 6th, 2010

Hi Sabine

The first night wasn't too bad. He slept about an hour and a half at a time, but he's whining less when I close him into the crate than on the trip home. He''s mostly figured out his name, and he comes most of the time, and he's learning to sit when I put the leash on and off, and before going through the door (and to wait for me to say "ok" before he goes through the door). He also really likes running around in the backyard (especially running to me, then Liam, then back again when we call him), and there's so many new smells! The cat doesn't come very close, but isn't hissing at him either, and he has only tried to chase her once (I didn't let him go more than a step or two). At least the weather today and yesterday have been nice!

Hope you have a great weekend, big hugs back!

Paula and Randy