6 Months Old!

Wabbits

October - 6 months old

Landry hasn't been here in almost 2 week so will spend this entire week reviewing where we are.

• can use Go to Mat to call him to settle out of play with Lily
• had to remind him that he's not allowed on furniture here but he remembered quickly
• ZERO tolerance for jumping up on me
• ZERO tolerance for "defying" the Come cue (little bugger)
• We have begun lots of variations of Come, especially when Lily is free because she has an immediate and fast recall.  
• Tues:  This morning, cold, with Landry upstairs looking for Shayla and Lily downstairs w/me, I called a quiet "Come" and Landry came immediately.  HVT.  Then played "Come" from 2' - 5', facing him, facing away from him, etc. just to build some "muscle memory" to respond to the cue.  Will continue this all week.  Inside and outside.  And add hide and seek.
• Sit and Down on pretty good stimulus control
• both here and in the clinics, Landry whined in his crate so we will reteach crate, beginning with entering the crate on cue and waiting to be released (Let's Go)
• Tues: He is doing great on entering on cue from 8'.  We've been doing lots of going in, coming out, etc so he doesn't feel that every time he enters the crate he is going to be restrained.  
• Today we will also work on increasing duration.
• working on 10 seconds of duration on both the Sit and the Down
• 10 seconds of duration on Hand Zen and Floor Zen
• Dale has been working hard on Lazy Leash with good results.  I am leashing him frequently in the house, with my two dogs free, as I go about my business, including up and down the stairs
• L1 Touch is solid

Today we will move on to Level 2.  What we know.  Where we are.  As we continue working on the points above.  I will begin re-viewing Landry's Stand.

• Non-lured Stand forgotten.  We will begin from the beginning, shaping backward motion.
• 830AM:  Settle Down on mats.  Began this yesterday w/Landry and Lily on mats 3' apart, resting quietly.  I plan on asking for this twice more today.  More self control.
• completed for 10 minutes, no C/T except at the end.
• Shayla joined the mix with a bully stick in her mouth.  The 2 Ls remained quiet on their mats
• CRATE:  Followed GTM w/Get In and closed the door.  At the very first whimper, w/o saying a word, I covered the crate.  All is quiet.  I want 10 more minutes of quiet.

An interesting day

What an interesting day!


We're working more on coming out of play with Lily and settling down enough to listen to his brain.  It's a good exercise for both dogs. 


Sometime in the last two days, both Lily and Shayla have had a "meeting of the minds" with Landry and have taught him to respect them when they tell him that enough is enough.  And respect them he does.  It makes for an entirely different dynamic in the household.......at long last.


I am insisting on no running in the house.  That requires the cooperation of both the "L" dogs, because there is always the chaser and the chasee.


No xpen today for Landry.  With new dynamic and new house rules, it wasn't necessary.  But there was (and will continue to be) crate time.  For everyone.  My girls readily understand and accept the crate and Landry does, too.  We have trained L2 CRATE:  Get In the crate on cue and the duration has just been built gradually and by necessity.  I continue to "train" the Get In so sometimes he must stay long enough for the door to be closed and opened and then released on cue (Let's Go) and other times he is confined.  Always, though, he gets the extra special treat reserved for the crate.


Landry is teething big time and he and Lily were playing tug on a toy that Landry brought with him this morning when I noticed bright red blood on it.  Couldn't find the source of the blood on either dog.


MILESTONE:
Landry was expelled from Satin Scissors this morning.  He became so overwrought by their attempts to trim his nails that they feared he might injure himself.  So, until he can accept nail trimming and handling calmly, he may not return.  Work ahead for Dale on this one.  Fortunately Sue arrives tomorrow.  Hopefully she will help us with a rehabilitation plan.


A trip to McDonald's where Landry remained crated, the hatch up, watching the world and listening to sounds and activities of the base.  Then, out of the crate but sitting in the car calmly.  Then, giving me L1 behaviors in the car and 5 seconds of watch.  Out of the car for a very nicely done Lazy Leash.  Toilet on cue on chunky bark.  That makes:  concrete, grass, gravel, bark (2 varieties that I am aware of) and mud.


When we returned home this afternoon, Dale had been here and taken Lily for a walk.  It was very interesting to watch Landry search the house for her.  Now he is resting quietly on the floor beside my chair chewing on his bumper.  Shayla is resting quietly along side.  An entirely different dynamic without Lily.  This shows me another side to Landry.  Quiet.  Focused.  In control.  And still respectful of Shayla.


For the very first time, he heard something outside of the yard and alert barked to it.  He ran to the courtyard (I thought perhaps it was Dale and Lily returning, but it wasn't).  I called, "Landry, Come" and he did and returned to my feet.


We look forward to more of this time w/o Lily in the mix.

Training on Base

Landry had another training session on base this morning.  Dropped my car off for an oil change at 7AM.  Then the Man and I (and his brown bumper, a bully stick and a rawhide in my computer bag, the computer, and my backpack) began a LLW from the garage to the NEX.


Lots of new surfaces, new smells to investigate.  Landry wore his Sensation harness but kept a fairly loose leash.  With all of Dale's "leash pressure" practice, Landry is giving to the pressure on a pretty regular basis.  BUT........we were in no hurry.  We had an hour and a half to fill.


At the NEX we found an outside table near to an electric outlet and I plugged in my computer, put down the brown bumper and "chewies" and made a nice little home base for us.  At 7AM there are people going in and out getting coffee and light traffic, but it's the perfect time and place to take a young puppy to work on socialization, focus and attention.


Landry has a very well developed nose!  He stands and observes his surroundings, looking at and smelling everything.


He met people, trying to remember to keep 4 on the floor.  He had pigeons to watch.  He toiletted on gravel.  He successfully did Leash: Step 2, laddering up to 15 steps before turning.


Sometimes he was able to focus enough to give me his L1 behaviors.  Sometimes not.


Sometimes he was able to focus enough to give me 19 seconds of DownStay.  Sometimes not.


Every little bit counts.


And when he had investigated enough, he lay on his mat with his chewies and I emailed on my computer.


Then we introduced the grocery cart to Landry and our trip back to the garage was spent walking beside the cart.  We walked all the way around the garage.  We made left turns and right turns.  He was a real little champ.  Walking the cart on the street it banged and bounced.  Landry was unphased.


A good session with lots of new experiences.

The chicken or the egg???

Which came first?


Landry had a tough morning at FD class.  There were many unexpected challenges.  The dogs outside in the play yard were confrontational with each other and their verbalizations with each other were upsetting to many of our older dogs as well.


Then we had more dogs and crates in our training room than usual - 10 altogether.


First, I put him in the tent and zipped up the door.  Now he had been in and out of the tent many times, but never expected to stay in it for more than a minute with the screen zipped.  And in a room of many other tents and crates containing other dogs.  Although his tent contained his "blankie" - his brown bumper - and a bully stick and a chew toy and food, he wanted none of it.


From the very beginning he wanted OUT.  So we put him in Logan's wire crate but that didn't do.  We covered the crate and I even hit the crate, but to no avail.


Then we let him roam the room freely.  That was better, but disturbing to some of the other dogs.  So I got down on the floor with him.  He refused food.  He showed a bevy of stress signals.  And then he began to tremble.


As I began heading outside with him he deficated on the floor.  A very loose stool.  We went outside and almost immediately he deficated once again.  And then he began to sniff and relax.  For the remainder of the 2 hour class, trainers took turns coming outside to take his leash.  And by the time we left, he was our Landry of old.


On the ride home and since, I have been replaying the scenario in my mind.


This morning before we left, he had two similar stools, so the loose stool was not brought on by stress.  They are stomach related I am certain.


Was his frantic behavior because he needed to toilet?  It very possibly could have been.


Already we know that he is not relaxed in the classroom, but he is also interested in all things going on around him.


So before we attribute his behavior and his stress to any single thing or analyze it too deeply, I want to balance facts with supposition and the biggest fact was the stomach upset that preceded arriving at the classroom.


We are too often apt to jump to conclusions.  This one deserves thought.

The video shows me that he was frantically saying that he needed to toilet.  Now that I am watching the Flip I see many similarities to the way he tells me the same thing when he is in his x-pen.  I should have been more observant.  Another example of why you need to focus on your dog and not on other things.  Hard to do when you are trying to lead a class at the same time.  I'm sorry, little man.  I should have taken you out sooner!


This reminds me of a story Sue tells about Stitch running out of a seminar to toilet.......and then returning after the mission was accomplished.




Here is the same puppy two hours later at home.

Week Ten: 18 Weeks Old

Tuesday at Lily's


Don't know where yesterday went, but here it is.....Tuesday already.


This morning we had a great few sessions between the front gate and the grass.  (See: http://landryflips.blogspot.com/2010/08/lazy-leash-and-distractions.html )


Then around noon Landry and I went on base to the Navy Exchange and "hung out" by the main entrance.  On the way, however, he took a potty break on gravel.  Because the tarmack was hot, he was wearing his Sensation harness and walked pretty well beside me....although he didn't check in w/me or take any treats.  However, the leash remained fairly loose.


On a 4' leash we stayed within 4' of the automatic doors, but relatively out of the traffic.  Directly around the corner from us was the ATM line and we had many opportunities for exposure to men and women in uniform, civilians of every age, children (who asked to pet him and I said, "Yes!"), strollers, grocery carts, a wheelchair and a man on crutches.  We eventually walked through the doors and out the other side and after about 20 minutes, he was able to give me his Level 1 behaviors on cue.  One sailor spent quite a bit of time with us and Landry Sat for him as well.  He  showed no signs of hesitation or shyness with all of these strangers.  It was a good socialization outing.


This afternoon I was in the yard playing w/Lily and Landry and Landry decided to dig more ferns.  I introduced him to Sue's "Grumbling Zen" and from half a house length away, as soon as I saw him digging I started my grumbling out loud as I walked straight for him.  He hightailed it to the back garden and hid under some plants.  When he cam out, "Good boy"  "Hi there.  Where've you been?"  A couple more times of that and the ferns weren't as appealing.


Then I got out the broom to sweep the scattered dirt off of the sidewalk.  Always before Landry has thought that sweeping was a game designed for him.  This time I showed him the broom and taught him Broom Zen.  Maybe it's just the way the planets are aligned, but a neutral No and he backed away from the broom and I finished my sweeping.


Stand is coming along. It's too early to add a  cue, since he is still not volunteering the behavior.  But I have dropped the food lure.  He still needs the luring motion.  I think the next step will be to shape this behavior as an alternative way of teaching it.

Problem Solving with Sue

Landry is still too over his threshold in his Puppy Class
or in his xpen at the FD class to listen or respond to very much.
Looking, sniffing, head cocked to the side and listening.
Anything we could or should be doing besides more exposure
and NOT asking when we know we won't get it?

Take him further and further back. Set up situations - take an expen to the base and set up in a distant parking lot. Show him that expens are places that he CAN pay attention

Ahhhhhhhhh. Yesterday we took him OUT of the x-pen and tried to work him there.

Then, show him that he can pay attention IN THE XPEN in the class, which, of course, he did!

With Beth outside the xpen and cueing/treating from there. Is that what you are saying?

Yes. Set him up with the expen as a place he can pay attention. Then move the pen closer and closer, and use it as a door. Pay attention IN, step out. Can't pay attention out? Go back in.

He has been to FD class twice now. In an xpen both times.

There are xpens available at his puppy class. They would give me one if I asked, I am sure.

Not using them for any of the puppies, however, except for puppy play.

Also not asking pups to do anything except look at each other, accept handling by strangers and intro to clicker.

Also note: puppy does not get to play with other pups UNTIL he pays attention. No going into class to play and then paying attention later.

Week Nine: Second Puppy Class

Today's Puppy Class was very different from last weeks.

First, we arrived only five minutes before the start of class. We had to park at the very far end of the parking lot and, without C/T, and wearing his Sensible harness, Landry walked on a BEAUTIFUL Lazy Leash all the way into the classroom.

The same puppies were there this week, with the addition of two more. We all seemed to take the same seats in the same location of the room. No x-pens w/sheets were needed today. Landry's tail was high. "Oh, this place!"

After 40 minutes he lost his attention span and stopped taking treats. Not entirely, but usually. He was still able to Down on cue onto the towel. I had brought his chew toy. When I asked him to Down, he did. And was content chewing on the rawhide.

He was unable to respond to the "kissy noise" or to his name. He WAS able to watch other dogs and not react. One of the exercises was to walk toward and nose touch another dog (on leash!) and then be lured to return to the owner.

The second exercise was accepting food while a stranger touched him. Landry was not comfortable with this exercise.

The third and final exercise of the day was greeting and playing with other puppies in an x-pen. Landry was great and played with Kippy, a pit bull mix puppy, and then with Zoe, a larger black puppy of unknown parentage.

An hour and a half of Puppy Class challenges Landry's comfort level and his threshold. However, he is much improved over last week. Dale arrived at at the end of the class. It was a full day for Landry today.

Week Nine: 17 weeks old

Monday at Lily's

Landry is In the Dance this week. Either crated, penned or tethered to me, unless play time outside. House breaking issues that we need to get over.

Today we reviewed Level 1, using handsignals and verbal cues. He has forgotten the handsignal for Down, so we are "changing the cue" from verbal to handsignal. But his Sit, Down, and Stand are getting stronger and stronger. Still no verbal cue for Stand. We are using the hand motion of the lure as a hand signal. It is not necessary to lure any longer. The hand motion is sufficient. Stand from a Sit only.

When he is in the x-pen I am cueing the Sit and Down from greater distances and am getting good latency from 8 - 10' away. He is tending to want to Down when Sit is cued, but is responsive to the clicker and I can catch him before he commits to a Down. Also building duration with both behaviors.

His Target to hand is solid, but we need more work with objects. I only used the dumbell today.

Because the concrete is so hot, we worked on Leash: Level 2: Step 2 in the shade. This afternoon we added sitting at the front gate. This morning when working on Step 2, directly in line of sight from the gate was Ace, the black and white neighbor cat resting quietly under my car. Landry was really good at this and we were able to go 5 steps from the gate down the walk before turning and there was no tightening of the leash. The "devil cats" are going to serve a positive purpose after all.

Tomorrow we will go on to Step 3 - working up to 15 seconds of Floor Zen.

Tuesday at Lily's

Again, first thing in the morning a repeat of yesterday's Leash: Level 2: Step 2...in the house this time. Lily in the downstairs crate so that we pass her frequently. LOTS of off leash, then adding the leash.

3 dog Sit and Down: Lily, Landry, Shayla. Side by side by side. Puppy pushups. Verbal cues. Handsignals only. Then, adding some duration...letting Landry set the pace. 8 seconds of DownStay.

Crate the big dogs after a long romp in the yard. Stand still needing the empty hand under the chin. I am working now on waiting and shaping the behavior. I am tired of bending over and I don't want that to become a cue, anyway. Not terribly successful, so that will be a goal for the week.

We have continued In the Dance, successfully getting all toileting outside AND on cue! Well, by that I mean on time - I add the cue while he is in the process.

Getting some very nice Lazy Leashes up and down the sidewalk now (real life walking in a very controlled environment of my yard.

And the best leap forward today - Landry is beginning to THINK and to control his standing up on the side of the x-pen as opposed to sitting to be lifted out. No cue. Nothing said. He must decide on his own.

Did some L1 Target, L2 Retrieve work together this morning. Touch my hand. Move to touch my hand. Stretch to touch my hand. Touch the dumbbell. Move to touch the dumbbell. Stretch to ..... well, you get the picture. Then introduced a kitchen cooking spoon. He voluntarily touched the ladle part and not the handle....his work with the scent stick is carrying over to other objects. Plastic and metal for today. I waited for a Two-fer, but he isn't ready for that yet.

Wednesday at Lily's

We began the morning helping me tidy the yard - picking up the orange dates (117 of them this morning), poop, hosing down the hardscape. Then he worked for half of his breakfast doing off leash LEASH:L2: Step 2, Level 1 in puddles and wet concrete, several more recalls from outside to inside etc (L2).

MILESTONE: puppy's first trip to the groomers.

Landry "Caruso" Fortlage made his first trip to the groomers. You know how he sings when you arrive in the afternoon? That's NOTHING compared to his singing at Satin Scissors. OMG. And before anything happened! He had time to explore the waiting room (tail tucked tightly under).....but wouldn't be lured to meet the more than life size stuffed dog lying in the cornes. Definitely over threshold as he refused all treats, including those in the basket beside the water dish.

BUT, overall it was a GREAT experience! Sal and Janine were wonderful w/him and took lots and lots of time before trimming his nails. Ended up clipping the nails this time. I would like to take him back weekly until Sue arrives. Then have Sue work with you and Caruso on dremeling.

MILESTONE: Then, with Lily in the car as well (Landry in his car crate, Lily tethered) Landry made his first socialization trip to McDonalds. We go through the drive through with all windows down and all noises coming in. Then sit in the parking lot with the tail gate open, watching the world pass by. People stop to chat with the dogs.....people in uniform, older people, young children. I did this a lot w/Lily as a pup and think it is very valuable.

Thursday at Lily's

Landry's second week at FD class.....in the x-pen. He gave me attention in the car with a sit, a down and a touch. But walking into the building I had him on his harness. It was one of those "I'll be late" moments and since I was late and since I was teaching the class, I didn't have or take the time to use this as a teachable moment. (That's what the harness is for!)

Beth was going to handle Landry in class. He would default sit before leaving the x-pen and he would both sit and down when cued in the x-pen, but outside in the room all bets were off. Landry was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay over threshold. Too much to sniff and see. No amount of the highest value treat was enough to capture his attention. Twice we gave him a chance and twice he said, "No thanks". At the end of the class, when all other dogs were crated, he did two recalls to a default sit - once to me and once to Beth (although I had been the one to call, she is the one to whom he responded. (See Problem Solving with Sue)

We left home at 815 and returned home at 1. He took a nice long romp in the yard w/Lily and then they both slept for almost 2 hours.

Dale picked him up at 4 for a MILESTONE first trip to the Dog Beach. Dale will tell us all about it, I'm sure.

Friday at Lily's

A short session w/Retrieve: L2 touching the wooden spoon (instead of the usual dumbbell). Nice strong touches so I waited for Two-fer - and got it! More single touches and waited again for a Two-fer and this time he touched twice and the second touch he grabbed the handle of the spoon! Only briefly, but we definitely got the grab! A great beginning to Retrieve!

This morning Landry and ran some errands together. A very nice Lazy Leash (on collar; we left the harness at home because I had the time and planned to take the time to make the errands training sessions) to the car. Time to sniff the grass before getting in the car.

Landry volunteered a Paws Up on the rear bumper to get in the car, so from now on I am going to shape it to cue as a standard behavior. He should not jump in or out of the car until his growth plates close at about 15 months anyway. So it's a practical use of TARGET: L2.

Once in the car he had to look around but I was prepared to shape Crate, if necessary. However, on the second cue he entered the crate like a pro.

Off to Lily's vet to p/u some meds. When we arrived there, I opened the gate of the crate and he remained inside until released w/"Let's Go". A nice shake and a stretch and then a good look around. But eventually he did all of his L1 behaviors (except Come) in the car and gave me his attention and his focus. Out we went. He stood quietly while I closed the back hatch and then he wanted to sniff. I let him, keeping the leash loose and slowly moving forward. I clicked a few times, but he wasn't interested in food, just sniffing. The leash stayed loose so that was ok. In the vet he sniffed and explored; tail tucked. But this vet has yummy apple treats and he was willing to play "In the Zone" for apple treats. I used my hand target to get him to step on and off of the scale. He did his own Paws Up, uncued of course, to see what was on the other side of the counter. Magic! A treat appeared.

A couple came in carrying their little frou-frou dog, Bella. Bella and Landry became best friends quickly, still on a loose leash. In fact the entire visit here was on a nice loose leash.

Back to the car, hand touch into Paws Up on the bumper, eventually entering his crate on cue and off we went, to the groomer's where he had had his nails trimmed earlier in the week. I went to pay the bill. Same "exit the car routine", done nicely. I had to do some fancy footwork in this parking lot to let him sniff while I kept the leash loose by moving with him. Across the parking lot, into the toileting area for some more information gathering, then up the stairs and into the groomer's. This visit his tail was up and he was confident. I even led him to the treat basket. Another treat. Prance to the door. Down the stairs. Another trip in the toileting area and to the car, where we met a dirty old man working in his garage. Landry went to make friends, but when the man reached out, Landry backed away. After giving the man some treats, Landry was ready to become best friends, so he wasn't SO shy that he wouldn't accept food.

Same Paws Up routine to get back in the car, although not as willing this time.

Then home for a short romp w/Lily and then a nap in his xpen.

Week Eight: First Puppy Class

Yesterday Landry attended his first Puppy Class at the Humane Society. We got to the facility 30 minutes early. Landry was wearing both his collar and his new Sensible harness. The leash was attached to the harness.

He was able to give me focus and attention in the car - his Level 1 behaviors. Then we began the journey from car to building, through the building to the classroom, sniffing the classroom and meeting the assistants while waiting for the class to begin.

During this 30 minute period, he maintained a pretty loose leash actually. His body language was quite interesting. His tail was tucked tightly between his legs. This place was FULL of smells.

By the time the other puppies began arriving, though, his tail was up and he was very interested and almost surprised!

30 minutes into the class, which was a whole lot of relaxing and being fed (no clicker yet) his interest waned and he wanted to move. He began verbalizing with the 12 wk old Jack Russell puppy about 10' away, jumping up on me, pulling here and there and everywhere. An x-pen was put around us, draped w/sheets to block out the view of the other dogs. Although he didn't see them, he was in no mood to settle down.

I should have packed up and left. Instead, we did go outside but then returned. The remainder of the class was not beneficial. In fact, it was a lesson in frustration.

I think Mr Landry Man did a great job until he got over his threshold.

4 to 8 MONTHS

Play Instinct Period. Flight Instinct Period.

Puppy may wander and ignore you. It is very important that you keep the puppy on a leash at this time! The way that you handle your pup at this time determines if he will come to you when called. At about 4-1/2 months, your puppy loses his milk teeth and gets his adult teeth. That's when he begins serious chewing! A dog's teeth don't set in his jaw until between 6 /10 months. During this time, the puppy has a physical need to exercise his mouth by chewing. Training must continue through this period or all your good work may revert back to stage one. Occasionally the puppy will start to urinate in the house again if this happens, just go back to basic toilet training.

Critical Periods in your Puppy's Psychological Growth by Stan Rawlinson

Week Eight: 4 months old

MILESTONE WEEK: No more counting in weeks. Landry is growing up! He is 4 months old. But his eighth week in San Diego and Week 6 of his training.

A good time to review where we are and what we have achieved.

Landry has passed Level One. He can do Level One cold both at Lily's and at home. For Lynn and for Dale. At Lily's, he has the focus and attention to do Level One, cold, in every room of the house, in both the front courtyard and the back patio. He can focus and do his behaviors with Lily right there beside him as a distraction, but when Shayla enters the picture, he is over his threshold. Here is where Before Moving On becomes crucial. Both Dale and I need to make the time and effort to take Landry On the Road, repeating Level 1 in situations like we did at the flight line and at the Il Fornaio parking lot.

He is working on Level 2 now: Zen, Come, Leash, Watch, Crate, Go to Mat, Stand. We have begun Down Stay and Sit Stay. His Eye Lock is really getting good - especially with Dale - and we both play The Get Lost Game with him. We are working on Retrieve. I have introduced "two-fers" but he doesn't yet understand. He needs LOTS more practice free-shaping. He can target both hands, the scent stick and has been introduced to the target stick and the Alley Oop. Dale is going to teach him Distance (Go Around). We are working on L2 Down - with treats not on the trainer's body. He plays with metal objects as easily as any other objects and will nose touch anything you present him with. He is learning a default Sit at the exterior door both coming in and going out. He easily stays in the crate and the x-pen for extended periods and enters the crate willingly and on cue. Today I began teaching him to recall to the whistle.

He rides in the car in a small crate and/or on a restraint harness. His toileting cue is, "Get Busy". He is pretty well house broken, although occasionally deficates in my office, for some reason. At home he navigates the doggy door. He understands Chutes and Ladders and responds well to it. In the yard he is a digger. He entertains himself well alone outside.

He is teething and enjoys mouthing his crate bumpers. We are giving him frozen, knotted wash cloths to chew during this teething period.

We are making an effort to socialize him to the real world, asking for focus and attention in the car before putting him down on the ground, where we are now able to get Level 1 behaviors.

We are training Lazy Leash L2 from Sue's new book. We have gotten him a Sensible Harness to wear in those situations when we can't maintain "the pledge" - no tight leashes. He keeps getting better and better. We are spending a lot of time on Step 1 (giving to collar pressure)....and need even more practice.

His training sessions are short. Landry still chews every morsel at least 100 times so the pace of training is relaxed and slow, but he usually stays In the Game. His On the Road sessions need to last only as long as he remains In the Game as well. More and more this responsibility will fall on Dale on the weekends.

He has attended one FD class where he was fairly content watching everything from the x-pen. This Wednesday he begins a 5 week Puppy Class at the SD Humane Society. What a great little dog!!!

Friday at Lily's

Today we had several successful Lazy Leashes between the gate and the parkway. Landry is standing from a Sit on handsignal only - no food lure. The luring motion has turned into a lovely handsignal. We worked on settle by my chair with Landry on his white bumper. He remained on a 2' leash on the bumper for 30 minutes. Lily and Shayla were crated upstairs. He is reliably coming when called from the backyard into the house and from upstairs to downstairs ... and always gets a HVT for a job well done.

More work today on free shaping. CRITERIA? Interact in any way with the little white stool. Purpose? Teaching Landry to think. To figure out that it is HE who makes the click happen. Very basic introductory shaping. No behavior sought.

Week Seven: 15 wks old

GOALS for the week:

Zen. Zen. Zen.

• no jumping on people
• no dogs in the kitchen
• no tight leashes

Level 1

• begin retraining using Steps to Success

Level 2

• Leash: Steps 1 and 2
• again and again and again
• Watch (Eye Lock) and The Get Lost Game
• Distance (Dale)
• duration
• RETRIEVE
• focus on getting a good start

Monday at Lily's

Began training Level 1 ZEN from Sue's new book. Flipped Step 4 and WWWW.

Uncued WATCH and the Get Lost Game. He is so good at this! Have to be careful, though, to keep the treats behind my back so that it is EYE Lock we are getting and not TREAT Lock!

Tuesday at Lily's

Wow! If I don't "write as I go" it's lost and gone forever!

This morning I put Landry's entire breakfast in my bag and off we went with Leash: Steps 1 and 2. He was definitely hungry this morning and 2 or 3 kibble at a time kept his interest.

We are only going 5 steps and turning. I want the leash to remain loose and there are many distractions on the long sidewalk (orange dates and ferns). He pulls and gives in to the pressure and then we back back back.

Hide and Seek from upstairs to find me in the family room. H&S from the family room to find me in the dining room. This time he ran upstairs. Nope, she's not there. Ran downstairs and, as he was running I did, "Puppy Puppy" to give him a hint. Two great recalls. We called it a morning on this behavior.

Then fun stuff. Crate into the tunnel in the front courtyard. Got that one on Flip. What a smart boy!

Landry has finally had all of his shots and is good to go public. This afternoon Dale, Landry and I are having a coaching session. We are going to a seldom used parking lot on base beside the flight line and play the L1 On the Road game. See if his attention threshold can handle this. Once we find Landry's threshold, we will do this daily.

More WATCH and the Get Lost Game.

Wednesday at Lily's

Started the morning off w/all L1 behaviors in a different location. Worked on "no jumping on people" w/me obviously carrying the big kibble jar and moving all around the courtyard. LEASH: L2: Step 1 (giving in to collar pressure to Landry's right side). LEASH: L2: Step 2 going up and down stairs, on leash. Carefully. CRATE in different location. Exposed Landry to an open umbrella on the floor. It is one of those umbrellas that "snaps" open. This afternoon we will open and close and open and close. COME to Turkey Log (Hide and Seek).

As soon as I am up and dressed, we will practice walking to the car. If we are successful, off to a parking lot to reprise yesterday's outing.

Thursday at Lily's

This morning we are off to FD training class where Landry will be challenged to walk from the car to the classroom on a lazy leash. He will play in an x-pen quietly during the class. A morning of socialization. Long ride in his "truck crate" to and from (hour each way). A new public experience. Lily and Shayla will stay at home.

What an interesting morning we have had. Landry rode in his small crate in the car quietly, after walking on a lazy leash from the house to the car. We arrived at the class site early and he was able to maintain another lazy leash, with the help of some fancy footwork on my part. The whole thing was over his threshold. I am so glad that this socialization is starting now, rather than a day later.

The x-pen was set up and waiting, with his brown bumper, a new soft toy, a well-chewed chew toy and a Kong. Also, a bowl of water from my car. The x-pen was placed beside a floor to ceiling window, giving him a full view of the dog play yard outside. Only Rooster and Cathy were there when we arrived. In total, there was Cathy/Rooster, Patti/Tommy, Jan/Nad, Peggy/Ike and Sadie/Keeper. Mark came and sat beside the x-pen, clicking and tossing treats for 4-on-the-floor. Landry was not interested in treats. He did some verbalizing, but for the most part was quiet. He did a lot of front paws up on the x-pen and only occasionally would he lie down on the bumper and chew quietly.

On occasion, Mark would take him outside and give him an opportunity to toilet. On the return from one of those trips, he got too close to Rooster's tent and Rooster barked and lunged while inside the tent. At that point, Mark went inside the x-pen with Landry and sat down on the floor with him. Landry's tail and body language soon returned to his normal, unconcerned activity.

Landry could not maintain a lazy leash for Mark and refused treats. Despite 3 trips outside, Landry urinated once in the x-pen.

When the class was over (2.5 hours) I carried him to the car. He seemed relieved to be in his familiar crate.

I think he did GREAT for his first time around so many dogs and other huge distractions. I am glad that we placed him in the x-pen instead of in a crate or a tent. The Puppy Class beginning next week will be another excellent opportunity for socialization.

When we arrived back home, I put him in his x-pen here and he almost immediately curled up on the mat and went to sleep.




Friday at Lily's
We had a morning encounter with the "devil cats".
Did some review on Go to Mat and introduced a new crate.
Played with Lily again outside in the yard, racing back and forth.
And discovered that Landry has forgotten how to Sit an Down in the rooms upstairs!
First thing Monday morning we will Re-view, Re-mind, Re-teach Level 1 from the new book as though they were new behaviors.
Have a good weekend, little man.

Week Six: 14 wks old

GOALS for the week:

• Zen. Zen. And more Zen
• Zen in everything.
• Level 1:
• Before Moving On
• generalize
• Default behaviors: Sit
• Hide n Seek: Come
• Floor Zen: Duration
• Target: walk to touch
• Touch stick
• Handsignals
• Level 2
• LEASH: L2: Steps 1, 2 (on leash and off; left side and right side)
• Crate and GTM: in and out
• Watch: The Get Lost Game
• Down Stay: Duration
• Target
• Retrieve
• Introduce L2: Distance (go around)
• 10 sec Duration
• Come: latency
• generalize

Monday at Lily's

MILESTONE: Landry passed Steps: Level One this morning. Cold.

MILESTONE: Landry passed Steps: Crate: Level Two, Go to Mat: Level Two, Come: Level Two this morning. Cold.

Now we will go back and re-teach Level One from the new book.


Dale is going to teach DISTANCE: Level Two to Landry from scratch. And when he thinks Landry is ready, he will tell me and give me the homework of reinforcing it when Landry is here.


Dale and Lily are doing a good job of teaching Landry bite inhibition - each in their own way. I'm not feeling any teeth at all (knock on wood!) And our method of reinforcing "no jumping on people" is showing positive results. The difference between last week and this is hugely noticeable.


Today we got 6 solid seconds of Down Stay. Our goal for the week is 10 seconds of duration on Zen, Watch, Down Stay, Go to Mat and open door Crate. Thinking of every behavior as a ZEN behavior - self-control - and Duration is a perfect example of self-control.

Dale and I are using Sue's words as our LEASH mantra:

Where people go wrong with teaching loose leash walking is that the loose leash is only a priority once in a while. What they need to learn from Song is that you cannot reward the behavior you don't want sometimes. You have to never reward the behavior you don't want. You can't say, "Well, he almost made it to the car yesterday on a loose leash, and today I have to get groceries and get home before supper so it won't matter if he pulls today."

Also, when removing Landry's leash, we are then placing a small handful of treats on the ground and slowly walking away. Using NO release words. We don't want Landry to learn that there is any difference between the leash being on or the leash being off.

Tuesday at Lily's

When Dale drops Landry off in the morning, Landry has not had his breakfast. This morning I started playing a new "come" game with him - to build latency into his recall. I hold a handful of kibble in my hand, call "Come!" and, when he arrives, place a small pile of food onto the floor directly in front of him. While he is eating (and he does so rapidly), I move 5 or 6 feet away and call "Come!" again. He races to me for the food on the floor. We do this over and over and over. I can hear him chewing so know when to call him again. Sometimes I can even get around a corner before I call. Sometimes I turn my back and he comes around in front of me. He is quickly In the Game and I definitely have his attention.

Landry isn't too interested in food today. Could it be that he is teething? As a result, our training sessions have been few and short. The distractions in the backyard took him over his threshold today, too, and he was unable to do his Level 1 behaviors.

I am leaving all of his crates open so that he has the freedom to go in and out. He went into his small "truck" crate and dragged out his bumper, took it out into the front courtyard and jumped up on the chair and just mouthed on it. I have started putting the bumper into the x-pen, too. Chew. Chew. Chew.

Wednesday at Lily's

Lily went to the vet yesterday. One of the two locations of her biopsies is not healing and has become infected. So no free play between Lily and Landry until it does. This will definitely change our routine. We will make the most of it and maximize the opportunity.

Landry has been outside in the side and back yards, free play. From time to time I am going to the front door, "Landry, Come!" The first two times he came racing, slid into a Sit, and got 4 or 5 HV treats one after the other. "Go play!" I went inside and closed the door. The third time, however, he came running but stopped around 5' away and wouldn't come to me. I went inside. Next time it was back to "Pupper. Pupper" No go. I stopped the game. When it was time for him to come in I went out saying nothing. He came to me. I put on the leash and we C/T into the house.

Ah. Inside the house was Lily! Landry forgot that the leash was on. Run! Ooops. He hit the end of the leash. Run the other way. Ooops. He hit the end of the leash. And then. He kept the leash loose! And got to nuzzle Lily as his reward. Then into the crate and sound asleep in half a minute.

From 1130 - 1230 Lily and Shayla were crated and Landry had some free play time. As I made my lunch, I C/T him for not coming into the kitchen, using the small Natural Balance bones, broken in half. I used the same technique that Sue uses when introducing the "drop on recall". I don't think he gets it yet, but he is stopping and sitting on the edge of the carpet. Kitchen Zen.

I realize that Landry's shaping experience is lacking, so decide to do some shaping "nonsense". I am shaping for turning his head to the right. Not to teach left and right. Not leading to any behavior. Merely C/T for turning his hea to the right. It was our first free shaping session ever and he didn't "get it", but we have to start somewhere. There's more to shaping than shaping to get a particular behavior or concept.

During the day I am continuing to call him to come to me, merely for a HV reward.

This afternoon I leashed Landry and opened the front gate. My plan was to a) determine Landry's "world" threshold maintaining a Lazy Leash and, hopefully, b) to see if we could C&L up to 5 steps doing Level 2: Step 2. Wouldn't you know it? The cat was resting in the flowers. I don't think Landry actually saw him, but he knew that he was there. Also, there was a fern the captured Landry's interest. He was definitely over his threshold and unable to play the game. We will do more of this tomorrow morning when he is hungry. Zen. Zen. and more Zen.

NOTE to Lynn and Dale: Think of EVERY behavior as a Zen behavior!

NOTE to Lynn and Dale: Spend much more time on Leash: Step 1 (giving in to collar pressure).

Thursday at Lily's

Today was "crate day" at Lily's because Lynn and Lily left at 730 for training at Balboa Park. I actually got part of my breakfast in a BOWL this morning! And then I was crated until 11. Lynn and 3 trainers came to the house and played with me. (see video) Then I was put in my x-pen, where I played and slept until Dale came and picked me up.

Friday at Lily's

Landry arrived at 5, without having had his breakfast. He played on the front patio all alone, chewing on his bumper, until 530.

Interestingly, I brought him in the house, prepared to have him work for 1/3 of his breakfast, but, again, he was not interested in food. I put up his kibble and got a small handful of HVT. From 6' away I called, "Landry, Come". He was laying on the tan mat. He thought it over for a few seconds and then walked over to me and sat for a treat. From there he went to the pink mat. I changed my position in the room, but remaining close, called him again. Once more he thought it over and then came to me and sat for the treat. End of training. End of food. One of our goals for the week is Come latency. He "should be" hungry, but he isn't. Now he's running and playing by himself with toys he has taken out of the toy basket. We will wait and see when he becomes hungry.

630 and I bring out the kibble again. NOW he's ready! We start playing Hide n Seek with Come. The only way I can get away from him to call from another location is to put 6 - 7 kibble on the floor when he comes. And he comes running! We hide in different rooms. And he comes from inside to outside and vice versa.

Then we do all of Level 1 for more breakfast. Then, while he is Down and eating the kibble I walk over him from front to back. Then we begin Down, Level 2, where he does the behavior and I reach to the bait bag on the counter to get the kibble. Then we do GTM on different mats.

Then Crate. Then we quit, while he is still In the Game.

I am pleased to see him select metal objects from the toy box as frequently as he selects any other toy. "Metal Day" has paid off!

I am in the kitchen having my breakfast of Coke and Goldfish. Landry comes to the very edge of the carpet and sits. C/toss a Goldfish to him. He comes back to the very spot and we do it again. This goes on 4 or 5 times and, as he is returning, from the kitchen I say, "Down". And he immediately drops into a Down. From a good 6' away from me. "Seize the Moment". Repeat and repeat and repeat. He drops into a down on the cue. I move further back in the kitchen and soon he is giving me Downs from 10' away. Oh, you cute Level 3 puppy!

715 and the natives upstairs in their crates are getting restless. So Landry and I do Crate and release 6 times and the 7th time the door closes for real and Landry remains crated for his morning nap and I go upstairs and release Lily and Shayla.

I told Dale that I would make up for yesterday with a lot of Landry interaction today. Without intending, Landry is learning a great Zen lesson right now. He is crated. Lily and Shayla are free. Lily and I are within 10' of Landry's crate and Lily is playing with the toys. Suddenly, Lily remembered the sock ball upstairs in the bedroom and raced to get it. Oh, how she wants to play. So I remain in the chair and toss the ball into the courtyard for her. Landry Man is doing a pretty good job watching all of this quietly from inside the crate. That's not easy for any dog, much less a little puppy like Landry. Crate Zen. Difficult Crate Zen. Good for you, Landry Man.

I am going to put Lily in the yard and release Landry from the crate as a reward.

I have begun playing the "Introducing Gun Blasts" music on my stereo while Landry is playing in the x-pen in the next room.

Landry is learning something this week that I wish Lily had learned....to entertain himself alone in the yard. He is learning to be comfortable in his crate and in the x-pen while I am interacting with the other dogs. Not a done deal yet, by any means, but he is handling all three well.

We reached our weekly goal of 10 seconds of duration in both the Down Stay and in Level 1Zen. Introduced Floor Zen (Level 2) and he immediately stayed off of the treat for 5 seconds. Only got 5 seconds of Eye Contact (not Eye Lock yet) but we are working that both in the house and outside. Dale gets Eye LOCK at home. Landry is beginning to understandDuration.

13 to 16 WEEKS

Seniority Classification Period

Puppy starts to cut teeth and apron strings! Puppy begins testing its position in the family unit. You must discourage all biting; the dog should have started to learn and understand bite inhibition by this time! It is important that you are a strong and consistent leader. The period between 0 and 16 weeks is the most important period in your dogs life. He will learn more during that short space of time than at any other time in his life. Other windows of opportunity for learning will open during your dogs life. However, what you see at 16 weeks without extensive training and behavioural modification is about what you are going to get as an adult. Therefore, work hard on giving your pet the best start in life.

Critical Periods in your Puppy's Psychological Growth by Stan Rawlinson

14 weeks old

29 pounds

Stitch's Blog and Landry

Where Stitch is at 13 Weeks:

• Distance (2' around pole)
• Go to Mat (5', 2 cues)
• Target (end of stick)
• Watch (10 sec, 2 cues)
• Zen (5 secs off hand, 10 secs off platform)
• Sit (1 cue, no treats)
• Down (1 cue, no treats)
• DownStay (20' out and back)
• SitStay (20' out and back)
• Stand (2 cues only - eeuuww)
• Trick (choice)

She's retrieving (retrieve becomes bringing it back), has acquired bite inhibition, nail clippers and grooming, dumbell (quiet mouth on the bar and a 3 - 6 sec hold).

Time for me and for Dale to be keeping up to date w/the Blog. It's a wonderful training plan and Landry is more than capable. He has passed Level 1 and we are already adding both Distance and Duration. Just need to get back on track and organized.

Dale and I need to get back on a weekly mentoring schedule, just the same as when we were working with Dale and Lily.

What Landry has worked on at 13 weeks:
(This is an on-going list, begun in Week Two but added to as we have progressed)

• name recognition
• come
• settle
• kennel
• go to mat
• touch
• zen
• crate
• bite control
• housetraining
• going through dog door
• handling (tail, paws, head, ears, teeth)
• stairs
• go to sleep
• stack
• sit
• down
• follow me
• lazy leash
• collar
• eye contact
• riding in crate in truck
• puppy pushups
• touchables
• retrieve
• dumbbell
• down stay
• touch stick
• two ball fetch
• PASSED LEVEL ONE
• out of sight
• Hide n Seek
• The Get Lost Game

Cues that Landry has heard:

• Puppy Puppy
• Come
• Sit
• Down
• neutral "No"
• Touch
• Get Busy
• Where's my puppy?
• Get In
• Let's Go
• Go Lie Down

Week Five: 13 wks old

Can this be Landry's fifth week in San Diego already? Well, the calendar doesn't lie.

At Home:

Monday at Lily's

This week the "non-negotiables" will hopefully begin to be default. No running through the house. No dogs in the kitchen. No dogs on the furniture. No teeth on human skin. No jumping on people. House training.

We played Hide n Seek for the first time this morning. (COME: L1: BMO) He gets it! One time he even ran to find me carrying a toy bone in his mouth. Caught this on Flip.

Played Touch the Scent Stick for the first time this morning. (TARGET: L2) And hope to introduce Landry to the Alley Oop today, too.

He met Cameron with tail awagging. New mulch in the garden. Yum. Something new to dig up and to carry.

Introduced Landry to frozen washcloths this morning for teething. He LOVES them!

No visit on Tuesday.

Wednesday at Lily's

MILESTONE: Landry saw cats for the first time in his life....... the "devil cats" that live next door. All 3 of them. At the same time. As he and Dale were leaving and on leash. I will let Dale add the details.

Today we worked on LEASH: Step 2: off leash, Sit and Down (verbal cues and then, separately, handsignals) and Puppy Pushups, Target (hand target and touch stick target; walking left and right to touch), Zen, The Come Game (one person), Crate and No Jumping.

Introduced the Two-Ball Fetch. Landry played ball with Cameron.

But we had some real breakthroughs today. I am beginning to be able to read Landry's "I need to Get Busy" signals better. I caught him assuming the position upstairs in the hall and managed, with an "Uh Uh" and running to lead him downstairs to the door, to get him outside to deficate. This afternoon Landry was in the x-pen and I was training Lily beside it when Landry began standing on the x-pen and scratching at the post. Unfortunately I didn't read that "sign" correctly and he peed on the floor. Sue says "Listen to your dog" and I will do better, Landry. I promise.

Dale and I both need to train CRATE and GTM more, instead of just using the behaviors. Because Landry "Gets In" his crate so easily and willingly, I have a tendency to only use the cue when I want to put him in his crate for a while. Same with COME. We need to play (train) this behavior with him, using the highest value treats, to keep Landry's eager response to the cue. We each have fallen into the trap of not making it fun any more. And Landry is such a willing, quick learner. A word to the wise.........

MILESTONE 2: Landry went home today wearing a "big boy" collar. Well. I guess I should modify that, since the collar was PINK. Neon PINK. Landry Man has outgrown the puppy collar that he arrived in and Dale wanted to order a larger one. Should he get a small or a medium? I keep extra pink collars for Lily and Shayla (mediums) so I took a new one and made it as small as it could get and it was a perfect fit for Landry. No doubt Dale will get him out of pink as soon as possible.......although real men wear pink.

Thursday at Lily's

550
Just crated Landry and am enjoying my second cup of coffee.
He has pooped and peed.
Trained The Come Game (pupper pupper)
W/Landry down on the mat and Lily down on the floor
played Zen. Introduced Floor Zen w/me seated on the floor with them.
Two Ls have played tug w/the sock ball and have raced at least a mile
up and down and up and down the sidewalk.
While heating coffee in microwave (3 min)
played get in the crate 3 times.
Get In. Toss in a treat and close the door. Door closed for 10 seconds
open the door, he waits, Let's Go and he gets another treat and
then he and Lily play more.
When my coffee was made, we played Crate again and this time
he also got the frozen wash cloth and the door stayed closed.
Turned all lights off. Nap time.

Lily and I left the house for Balboa Park at 740 with Landry in his x-pen and Cameron asleep in his room. Cameron is Landry's playmate for the morning. First time that I have left Landry in the x-pen when away from the house, but I didn't want Cameron to forget L was here and if he was in his crate and quiet, that might happen. Apparently the two of them had a fun morning together.

Returned home at 11 with Cathy, Karen and Jan. All Landry saw of them was their legs, but he certainly was aware that these were dog trainers, because their pockets were full of treats! Landry, Jan and Lynn played The Come Game, which included Landry's default Sit.

Time for toiletting, a romp, a new frozen chew towel and then, into the crate while all of us, including Cameron, went to lunch.

Dale got off work early and picked Landry up early so the day was perfectly timed.

Friday at Lily's

Brief play period with Lily after Landry arrived this morning and then we all went back to bed and slept until 8.

Landry and I have had quiet time alone this morning. After an unusual yesterday I want him to have as much free time as possible today. I filled my treat bag with his breakfast kibble mixed with some Core treats and a clicker. I will wear it all day and we will "Train on the Fly".

My CRITERIA for today is to be on the ready with clicker and treats, but to only work when he comes to me (which is often) focused and involved. So far we have reviewed Sit, Down, Go to Mat, Crate, Watch (up to 3 solid seconds of Eye Lock) and Open Hand Zen. Work on CRATE without having to stay in it so we don't lose his wonderful willingness to enter. A few seconds of this and a little of that.

Every time I see Landry heading my way I turn that into a recall exercise and say, "Landry, Come!" He comes to me and sits and gets a special HVT.

Like Lily before him, Landry is developing into a proficient gardener. His specialty seems to be roots and bulbs. He just brought me this root........with the entire fern attached.

Landry is in his x-pen; Lily is on the outside observing and quietly interacting with him. Landry is standing w/his front paws on the side of the x-pen and the two of them are having the most interesting, silent discussion on bite inhibition. Where is my Flip when I need it? Landry is definitely teething. Starting to be interested in electrical cords, furniture and shoes.

Out for a toilet break and a romp with Lily. Run, run, run. And hide. Then run some more.

1030. Fell asleep in the x-pen.

More play. More COME......when he is already running to me full speed anyway. I'm keeping those yummy treats in my pocket. He and Lily really enjoying playing tug with his sock ball.


Default behaviors: sitting on recall - A+, sitting at door (in and out) - B (only because of my consistency, or lack of it), no jumping on people - N/A (Dale permits it, I don't) ... training issue.


MILESTONE: Landry is selecting the metal toys from the toybox and playing with them!

Just a good, low key day all the way around.