WOW - what a week it has been!
I don't know about you, but for us it was another super busy week as we rushed to successfully complete more of our summer vacation bucket list items prior to the kids going back to school. We did our very best to incorporate Boots in as much of it as we possibly could considering he still needs a few more critical vaccinations.
In addition to that, we fielded a number of really great questions from some of our followers, uploaded another weekly episode of The Puppy Training Podcast (check these out if you don't already here), video conferenced with Boots and a few of our newer pet parents in order to help demonstrate for them firsthand a few tips and tricks as part of our LIVE! Office hours with Amy option, which is included in our MEMBERS ONLY area (it's great when I have a puppy as smart as Boots to help with these), and we concentrated a lot on introducing Boots to a number of new lessons from our PUPPY PREP program!
In fact, this week we worked with Boots on the following...
Lesson 1.7 "WATCH ME" (A lesson focused on obtaining attention from our puppy - it's hard to get your puppy to do something if you can't first already get his attention). Boots responds to his name as well as "WATCH ME" so now we are practicing outside.
Lesson 1.8 Putting "SIT" on Command (obviously Boots already knows how to sit to say please, now we concentrate on helping him make the connection between the action of sitting with the verbal cue "SIT") Boots' "SIT" means stay as well so we worked up to a one minute stay. Way to go buddy!
Lesson 1.9 Doorway Manners and "WAIT" (absolutely one of our favorites with so many applications for everyday life). Are you struggling to get this one started? The trick is to expect a one second wait then quickly release and repeat. You want to create more successes than not so keep time super short and gradually increase it as your puppy becomes more confident.
Lesson 1.10 Puppy Bitting and "GENTLY" (teaching your pup to have a soft mouth). Boots is a natural at this - not much time needed here. If your puppy has a hard mouth, spend some time in the PAWSfit section playing the games and only give your pup his treat when he uses his tongue, not his teeth!
Lesson 1.11 Bell Training (teaching Boots to ring bells when he needs to go outside for a bathroom break) This is in progress as it takes time to master but we've started it and work on it a little each day. Now every time we go out the back door for a potty break, I encourage Boots to ring his bells.
And although we had planned on getting to these lessons too, the week got away from us a little in all of our craziness (some weeks just happen to go this way) and so we will work on them this upcoming week, in addition to what's next...
Lesson 1.12 Teaching "BACK" (teaching Boots to back away from the door so I can go out or to move back when in public)
As for field trips, we took Boots to the county fair and mets lots of people including a person in a costume, smelled all sorts of new foods, watched kids go crazy on rides and heard a wide variety of noises. We carried Boots through the crowds and enjoyed a summer evening together. We also spent time at our local hardware store checking off items such as: shiny floors, automatic doors, people in uniform, large trucks and tall shelves. Finally Boots visited the vet office for his second set of shots. He weighs a whole 12 pounds which makes carrying him around all the more fun!
This week we plan on completing the following:
- Lesson 2.3 "DOWN" (Again for Boots this is an implied stay as well so we will work to lengthen it to one minute)
- Lesson 2.6 "DROP IT" (Teaching Boots to voluntarily release something from his mouth)
- Lesson 2.8 "LET's GO" (A lesson on loose leash walking)
Should be fun! As always, if you have any comments or questions, please contact us online at BAXTER & Bella and we look forward to seeing you soon!
Happy Training,
Amy
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