Early Christmas present for Hoot

Hoot and I went herding with Cappy on Christmas Eve. 

Each time I put Hoot on sheep at this point she changes dramatically.  This time her confidence was amazing, had just a bit of trouble lying her down, and more than a bit pulling her off the stock when it was time to rest.  Also, some snipping came out (wanting to bit the sheep).

Cappy and I worked mostly on Hoot keeping her distance from the sheep and preventing her building a bad habit of biting the sheep.  I was trying to learn how to keep her back, and recognize when she is going to come into the sheep.  Funny, with as much dog language as I am aware of, behavior and agility, I have something to learn with herding.  I probably have seen it all before, but I need to put it in this context.  Which is a great reason why I blog.  If I write it down, it helps me put it in context and remember it.

So, coming into the sheep...  Hoot would have direct eye contact with the sheep when she was going to dive in, similar to what you see before a dog attacks another dog.  Cappy was having me work to keep her eye contact indirect, keep the sheep calmer and she won't dive into the sheep.  Also, when she lies down, how to point the stick so that her first move is away from the sheep.

I really don't mind feeling like a complete novice again.  Basic things like what to do with my training stick.  The coordination of moving it from one hand to another as Hoot changes sides, how to reach over the sheep to slap the ground or throw dirt, discouraging Hoot from diving in and staying off the sheep.

Hoot is a smart girl, if I let her she will have me trained in no time.  Cappy was pointing out how that will happen if I am not smart.  Hoot would flank ahead of the sheep and wait, wanting me to bring the sheep to her.  I need to make sure I am diligent in instructing her to get back around.  Eventually this could lead to Hoot just heading off the sheep.

I have to say I am very quiet and calm with my dogs.  The thought of taking a stick and slapping the ground to communicate is not my nature.  But, herding brings out the prey drive in Hoot and if I am not serious with Hoot, she will walk all over me and the sheep.  This is the first time that I have really seen her be this strong and determined.  She is a pushy bitch on sheep.

There is so much to learn in the beginning, just like agility.  Trying to train a dog while you are training yourself.  I know I will make mistakes, but I am hoping that if I get good help in the beginning, we can prevent/minimize most of them!

What an awesome 9 month old--she is a worker

Hoot continues to amaze me in every way she can...

I taught a class this past weekend and used Hoot as the demo dog for several things.  While she was not working I just asked her to lie down, really thinking nothing off it.  After class I began to think about the accomplishment of my 9 month old.  She could lie down, no leash, stay put while other dogs/puppies were running on her agility field.  She didn't chase nor break. I am blown away by that.

Hoot In Action

When I did ask her to work in class she was spot on.  I didn't get any kind of over-stimulated behaviors, nor did I get any kind of stress behaviors.  She just got the job done and in brilliant style.

I can honestly say that none of my other dogs could have done all of that at 9 months.

No wonder I can hardly wait to get out to the agility field and work this little girl, she makes me smile.

On another front Hoot and I are still pursuing herding.  She has a lot of natural ability or so they say, I on the other hand know nothing but am trying to not ruin my dog while I learn.

In our last lesson we were working on a small round pen.  Things seems more chaotic and frenzied than normal.  I am really glad my husband taped the session.

I went back and watched the video.  As I was watching it occurred to me that the pen was too small.   Hoot normally keeps a bit more distance from the sheep and with the pen size she was forced to work close.  I think that her balance point was closer than she preferred.  It was stressing her and the sheep.

So we herd again this week and will try for the bigger pen and see if that removes the stress. 

Blown away by this girl

This puppy is fun! She is smart, quick, sweet, and always willing to play. Love her!

Hoot had some huge milestones as far as puppyhood goes. At the start of life with us Hoot had several self-control issues (not unlike almost every puppy).  But there are a few that I needed her to overcome before others. Ones that involve safety first and next, ones that involve being able to live in the pack well.

• Recall - This will always be reinforced, but I am proud to say that Hoot has earned my trust.  On our daily jogs she can/will now come to me.  She fights off the desire to herd Tangle successfully.   Her recall has been tested while camping, at Cynosport, jogging, in our front yard, and off of the agility field.  She has control of her demons and can come when called :)
• Stay -  She has had a beautiful stay for a while.  But within the last month she has been able to stay at the agility gate, the opening to all things fun, until I release her.  First it started that she would stay, but not without having a seizure.  Now she can actually sit fairly still and wait.
• Stay while the other dogs are running.  This is still a work-in-progress, but I expect it to be.  Right now Hoot can stay if I am doing semi-boring things with the other dogs.  One jump skills, just the tunnel, that kind of thing.  

Extension to collection work - we started off working this drill and it was kind of like the kids game "pick-up sticks".  Any place she had to collect coming out of extension the bar would go down and perhaps the wing too.  Just way too much for her.  So I got smart, broke down all the skills, practiced them one by one and within a week this was our progress.  Super proud of how quickly she figures it out.  I am still running rather conservatively, but the aggressive handling will come.  Notice that she complains when I ask her to collect after some extension.  Slow is not her preferred speed.

Today was a fun day training Hoot.  Sure we accomplished some things, but she revealed even more how she learns.  The incites are worth way more than what you actually  accomplish.

Hooty is a smart little girl.  She loves her motion.  If the learning is slow and methodical she is not going to be with you for too long.  She needs action! That is OK, it is fairly easy to sandwich the methodical with games of tug.

She reminds me also of my son and gifted children in some ways.  If there isn't value in the activity, she isn't doing it or won't really be in it with all her heart.  That is OK too, easy to build value with her.  Actually sometimes it is very relaxing to work on value building.

Here is a video of today's work.  Getting some distance on sends, nice wraps, learning to stay out of the tunnel until cued, getting some consecutive obstacles.  She is a "hoot" to run!

Holy cow does she love the game!

Been a while since I posted!  Probably because I am busy with a puppy and three other dogs.

As the title suggests, Hoot is CRAZY about agility.  She loves everything about it.

Today I was working with her on a running dogwalk.  We are at the stage where we are transitioning from running on carpet to learning how to run on a plank.  She does think that running on the plank is overrated since it makes her think, but she is still a very willing partner.




For the first time today, she decided that she would much rather line herself up to run the plank again then play with a toy.  She was too busy to play with that toy or be rewarded.  I won't let that behavior persist (because reward and play are too important), but I did find it interesting.

I do adore training this girl, but I am the one who has to have the self-control.  She could so easily suck me into very bad habits (not asking for self-control) because she is so fun, willing, and obsessed.

The other big item that we are working on is obstacle commitment.  No surprising she always wants to follow motion as she should.  But, if I cue it she needs to take it.  So we are doing a fair amount of rewarding at obstacles, some Linda Mecklenburg foundation work on the flat to get that obstacle commitment a bit more solid.

That being said, she will send to a tunnel from about 50 feet now (thank you running dogwalk training).

Dead Toys

This game is called Toy Races.  It is great for building drive to a dead toy, and just building drive in general.  The added benefit for you is that it is a really good workout!

I had fun watching this video.  In 7 attempts, the first time ever playing this game I had Hoot really driving to the toy and trying to beat me.



The next time we play this game I will push her back, send her around something so that I can get ahead, etc.  I will REALLY try to win.

Hoot herding for the first time

OK, this was better than going to Disney World for me and certainly it was Disney World for Hoot.

We tried Hoot on sheep about 2 months ago and she wasn't afraid, but the instinct didn't kick in.  This time instinct kicked in right away.  I had a feeling that it would.  About 4 weeks ago her disposition and confidence changed when I took her out in the world.  

Jim DeKeiffer did a great job with her.  Encouraged her the whole way and narrated what he was doing/thinking the whole time. 

Startlines while in motion--Score!!

Hoot is a fun little dog to train that is for sure!

Lately I have been working on a couple of things with her, impulse control, sends and start lines.

I try to keep each one of these skills balanced in terms of how much we work on them.  Hoot definitely has way more fun the more motion that is involved in our play.  But I need some control behaviors out of her in order to progress with her training.

Too much control she will ditch me for something more fun.

Too much action without foundation and things go south REALLY quickly.

It is a balance and we are figuring it out.

Impulse Control

My whole pack decided to have an intervention last night and sat me down.  They explained to me that it was time that Hoot loose some of her puppy license and that I begin to require some impulse control.

There is wisdom in this pack!

Here is a video of this morning's session.  Hoot has a really tough time with over stimulation on the agility field.  When she gets over stimulated (more instinct talking than conscious brain) she wants to keep her distance (watchful from a distance), can't come, can't follow commands and can't play.



I took her out and this is how she earned her breakfast.

I had several objectives.

• I wanted to keep the excitement level fairly low so that she could engage her brain
• I wanted her attention to be focused around me
• I wanted her to be able to demonstrate that she was consciously choosing to be with me and resist things that typically are irresistible

The recall foundation comes in with my basic belief, it is the dog's responsibility to keep track of me.  Not the other way around.  When I am walking in the woods or in a park, I want them to choose to keep checking in with me.  If I take another path, they need to keep track of me.  I am fine if they run around and wonder, but not OK if they don't check in.  I think that this makes recalls easier.  I have VALUE and they WANT to check in (hence COME). 

I was asking Hoot to choose to be with me.  If she runs off it won't be nearly as rewarding as what I have to offer when she sticks with me.

I worked a lot with her on my right side.  That is the side that is the toughest for her, she wants to cut behind me.  I was also helping very subtly.  When she would wonder off, I would change direction.

I am rewarding with food and play involving the tunnel, which is VERY high value to her.

When she has a good command of a session like today, I will start to use things with more excitement--toys, running, sending her to obstacles, other dogs, etc...

It isn't that simple!

I have been reading a book "Herding Dogs, Progressive Training" by Vergil Holland. One of the concepts in there really gave me more incite into the border collie brain. He talked about teaching a young dog and keeping the stress low. In that you have to work *with* the instinct of the dog. Going against the instinct in the beginning creates stress. I believe this to be very true.

These dogs are breed to herd. That is, think, gather, collect, drive, and work with the human. Put yourself in border collie shoes for a moment. Walk onto a field (any field) and there are three dogs. Your instinct kicks in and you must create balance, keep them contained, and be in a position to get control should things get out of hand.

That kind of describes what I believe little Hoot is seeing through her eyes. It isn't the complete story to say "she is sensitive to motion", or "she is overstimulated". It just isn't that simple and I am not doing her justice by explaining things that simply.

At that moment when I am on the field with Hoot and the other dogs and she is "herding" them, I am very confident that if a bike went by she wouldn't chase it, nor give it more than a glance. That bike isn't her work, the dogs are! So to say "she is sensitive to motion" doesn't fully express what is going on.

Overstimulated implies that she is beyond thinking, she is not. She is not thinking about my agenda, but she is very capable of thinking and reasoning at that moment. It is just her agenda.

This happened this morning. Hoot was on a long line, I had to let it go for safety reasons. So, she went into work mode and began to herd the boys. There was no way I was getting her back. She wasn't going to run away, she wasn't going to stray, and it wasn't about staying away from me (completely). She was working (her work). So, we all ran back to the car, I put the boys in. I stood there and looked at Hoot, she stayed in position ready to be on task. I sat down, and without a word on my part she came running to me and greeted me like she missed me. The very act of sitting down communicated to her our work was done and she could relax.

In the long run do I want this to always be the cue to stop work, certainly not. But, it was valuable incite and a message Hoot understood.

Training a dog is about developing that common language. First we use very simple sentences, like me just sitting down. Then we can begin to form more complex messages, sitting down and saying "That will do". So, eventually Hoot just needs the "That will do" to understand that her work is done.

Hoot for the win!

Hoot is now 4 months (18.5 weeks). Not sure what she weighs, but we measured her this weekend and we think she is just under 18".  Bets are all over the place as to whether she will be tall (above 20") or short (somewhere in the 19's).  Doesn't matter to me at all, just want her strong and healthy!!

One thing that everyone agrees on is that she is confident and pushy.  I agree, but again, not concerned.  I have lived and learned to thrive with one "pushy bitch" and Hoot is more biddable than Tip.  I like confidence in my pets and my people!

I love my little pushy girl.  She is awesome!

Here is a video I took yesterday.  This is Tip and Hoot playing tug.  Hoot wins!




Foundation skills:
We are working on sitting at the door.  She is getting fairly good at this, but takes a lot of control for her.  Sitting at the agility gate with the other dogs takes even more control, but she is getting it.

Meal time - she is a rock star in finding her bed (which is in the xpen) and sitting for release to eat.

Wobble board - first attempt she wasn't sure about it, so I CnT her on it.  Second session was like she had loved it her whole life.  Rock Star!

Lie down at a distance - she is getting fairly solid with this skill.  If there are no distractions she rocks it.  If I am working all the dogs at once she does it, but you can tell she is really deciding if it is in her best interest.

Shadow handling - again, Rock Star!  She follows my motion (when walking) like an expert.  We have RC, FC, Pulls down.

Send to a tunnel - she is funny, LOVES tunnels. Will go from tunnel to tunnel on the field, however she doesn't have the handler motion (at speed) thing down so when you combine my motion and her's, the skill isn't very smooth.

Shaping - working on coming between my legs, getting into small boxes, back feet, standing up on her two back feet

Next steps
Shadow handling at a faster pace, sending to tunnels, and continued shaping.  Every week life skills are always reinforced.

She is on fire!

Last night and this morning Hoot has been ON FIRE in her training.

We are working on smaller and smaller boxes (Silvia Trkman).  Last night I had a couple of boxes that I thought would be a nice challenge.  Put the box down, she hops in (all 4), nice duration and gives me that "what else you got mom?" look.  Both boxes, no problem, no thinking, just got it done.

We also worked a bit on shaping a "through".  Which is come from behind, in between my legs and stop.  I use this to line them up at the start line.  She got it in one session.  Brilliant little thing.

This morning we worked on recalls and tugging out on the field.  She is getting so much better about playing with me on the field and not doing her own little girl thing!  So we moved on to a couple of cones.  I have shaped the going around the cone in the house and am working on getting a nice send and drive out of the cone back to me.  She is JUST A PUPPY but I like how she is using her body so far.

We also worked on tunnels a bit.




She is so much fun to train.  Great ethic to work and always eager.

16 weeks

Puppies are ever changing, like kids.  You can always rely on change.

Hoot is 16 weeks, 21 pounds and 16.5 inches tall.  Hard to say if she is going to be a wee one or not.

This week:

• She can finally recall in the agility field
• Recall from the agility field into the main yard.  The agility field is the ultimate fun zone.
• Can send to a cone and tunnel, working on value now
• Sit and stay at the door to be let out
• Sit and stay waiting for her meals.  Working on focus forward now.
• Drop a tug toy (almost)
• A wee bit of IYC game which is NOT her favorite.  She thinks it is stupid.
• Various silly pet tricks

We took a road trip up to the mountains this weekend.  This is Hoot sitting among the willows.  She did a great job staying with her pack, riding in the car and waiting in the car while we ate lunch.

Hoot 16 weeks

Journeys are filled with micro-journeys

The reason that I write this blog is for myself.  So that through time I can go back and appreciate the journey that Hoot and I have been on.  Also, so that I can relearn and bring benefit to the dogs that come after Hoot, or my client's dogs may benefit from the lessons of our journey.

The little mico-journey that Hoot and I have been traveling lately involves her sense of proper-ness (for lack of a better term).  Hoot, like many border collies has certain expectations and needs for certain things to be done a certain way. 

Hoot on the field

Hoot believes that certain things happen on the agility field and it isn't agility.  Some mornings I let the dogs out on the field so that they can stretch their legs and run.  Hoot has developed the belief that the agility field is for herding the other dogs or watching over things.  Certainly not for playing with me. 

Am I worried about this?  Not at all.  The nice things that comes with having trained a number of dogs is patience, the knowledge that I can change this behavior, and the wisdom to know that a ton of things in a puppy's life are just phases (like kids).

I went out to the agility field knowing that I would get this same behavior out of her.  Sitting, at a distance from me, and watching the field.  I didn't bring the other dogs out to keep the stimulation level manageable.  I went to the north side of our property which is only used for playing Frisbee with the dogs (no equipment) and called her.  I slapped the toy on the ground, ran and soon she was biting my ankles :)  We played tug and chase.

We gradually moved this game into the agility field and keeping engaged the whole time.  I gave her a mini-break while I set up a cone.  (I have used the cone inside, send her around, and tug with her.)  Called her again, slapped the toy and ran.  She once again chased me.

Soon we were playing games around the cone ON THE AGILITY FIELD.

One of the many things that I love about this dog is her ability to progress in learning so quickly. 

We will play this game several more times, each time starting with more of a challenge.  I am confident she will understand that the agility field is for so much more than just herding dogs.  And that I am a valuable part of that experience.

13 weeks, can hardly believe it

Well Hoot is 13 weeks, 18.8 pounds!  So, if the rule of thumb is true (the adult weight is double the weight at 4 months) she will be a big girl (since she has 3 more weeks to go).

Not sure that I am going to totally bank on that.  Hoot is from a repeat breeding and none of her sisters are that tall, between 18 - 19 inches.  She doesn't seem like she is growing very fast, nor is she fat.  Who knows.

Hoot and I went out to the agility field to play this morning.  We worked on table games, going around a wing, and some retrieving.  Not really trying to get involved in any direct agility skills, just working on focusing on me with distractions (in this case Split was around), some retrieving skills (useful life skill).





Hoot still impresses me on a daily basis.  Love this dog!!

She is a social thing

 Hoot had several social outings this week.  Still, when she sees people she can not resist saying hi.

She got to go visit my clients this week.  She was awesome, I was pleasantly surprised.  I expected a little hooligan and repeated apologies on my way out of the office. 

We visited everyone for a little bit and then when I settled down to work she chewed on her bully stick and then fell asleep for several hours.  Of course she had to be the typical border collie and curl up in the legs of my chair.

Tangled in my chair

We also went to an outdoor mall that is VERY dog friendly.  Hoot got to go into several stores, but Eddie Bauer was her favorite.  They spent a ton of time playing with her and loving on her. 

In shaping this week, we  put "feet" on command.  She has to put her back feet on the object in front of me.  Also, we put her back up "back" on command.  Lastly we put "lay down" on command. 

Lay down and sit are both hand signals as well.  When the dogs are off lead and can't hear me (trucks, wind, whatever) I use the hand signals to keep them where they are.

We worked on putting all four feet inside of objects.  Sit at a distance.  For that I ask her to go "back" and then ask her to "sit".  Our distance is probably about 5 feet now.

Recalls are a constant training item.  Right now they are good.

When I take inventory of what we do in a week I am honestly surprise at how much material we can get through in a week.

Seriously Fun

I can't even express how much I am enjoying this puppy.  She carries something with her at all times that just makes me laugh and smile.  I am going to have to be careful because I could let her slide on discipline because she is so frickin' cute.  It is hard to draw the line when you are laughing hard.

We had a fun shaping session this morning, this pup wakes up to work.  She now has an awareness of her back feet.  Last night and this morning we worked on putting her feet on a balance disc. 

In shaping sessions at this age it is always a negotiation of what the trick will  be in the end.  Last night Hoot decided that she would put a front and back foot on the disc (I was aiming for 2 back feet), I went with it because it is all good.  This morning however, she did give me the back feet!  Good girly.  The two totally awesome things about the session this morning beside reaching the goal of two back feet was:

 1) Tip and Tangle where right there begging (the distraction factor, not the begging was good).  Hoot was not phased by it at all.  Fed all three, Hoot was being shaped and the other two were being props for me.  She has an amazing ability to focus for this age.

2) After I ended the first session and played for a little bit, Hoot offered the back feet again.  I love it when my dogs offer/invite me to work with them.  Really good for an 11 week old, she wasn't done working, she wanted more.  Yep, she was probably hungry, but like I said, it is all good at this point.

Puppy Table Games

Hoot is telling me that she is ready for more!  Her play is getting more vicious and mischievous and I am beginning to see that look of "what are you going to do about this?". A bored border collie is a bad border collie!

Her nickname is now Hoot-a-vicious instead of Hoot-a-licious.

This morning I decided to play puppy table games with her.  This isn't really about training the table for me,  but it does build a love for the obstacle.  Really it begins to introduce two things 1) shaping without food 2) there might be some rules in order to play (get her thinking). 

This is our second session playing this game and the puppies catch on really quick as to what makes that toy fun again.



Tangle loved this game.  I never really "trained" the table with him.  This game just kept progressing to the point that I would restrain him about 20 feet away and he would run onto the table to tug.  Tangle still has a great table.

Yesterday Hoot learned the word "back" for her back-up and can do it for food or a toy.  She also went out to eat with us and enjoyed getting all the kids to play with her.

The rhythm of life

It has been 4 weeks that Hoot has been with us now.

I noticed today as I was going about my morning routine that she has learned the rhythm of the household. Every house has it, it is what you *tend* to do everyday. My whole pack has it down and falls right into the rhythm.

After we get up in the morning and have at least a moderate amount of caffeine in our blood, we, actually I start to bring chaos to the morning. I generally go jogging with the dogs and then we work out a bit, either agility, shaping, something to make me laugh and the dogs to have fun.

Intense

Then, on work days, I settle into my office chair for a long duration of sitting, programming, and focusing.  I take a few breaks during the day, but generally speaking no fun reigns on the house again until after work hours.

Hoot has figured this out and has started to adapt to that rhythm.  She is a wild little thing in the morning, biting, running, and playing.  She loves the walks and groves on the tricks.  Then, she looses her energy, settles into a slumber in the xpen for MOST of the work day.  Right now she makes it until about 3 pm without asking for more activity.


In the evening there is NO peace until bedtime.  She is like a 2 year old and just gets more wound, playing, biting, picking on the other dogs, harassing the cat, etc.... We have our constructive training moments, but she is all energy!

This routine works for us, or at least me.  I can get my work done, do what I do to get paid to do, but then the dogs pull me away from serious life to do something fun again.

Red Rocks Park

On the social front I have found a new favorite place to socialize dogs.  Red Rock Amphitheater.  Lots of joggers, bikers, tourists, etc...but mostly people, kids and dogs who are willing to take a moment to say hello.  There are steps, trails, rocks, puddles, mud, all sorts of things to get acquainted with.  And best of all, it is 10 minutes from my house!

The amphitheater

11 Weeks and a Confident little thing

Wow, is it possible, Hoot is 11 weeks old.  This pup still amazes me everyday!

It's funny when I was talking to the breeder about this litter I think she told me her girls start out soft and gain confidence quickly given encouragement.  I think I missed her soft phase LOL.






This pup is everything I wanted and more!  She is confident, loves people, sassy, thoughtful, smart, persistent, and uber active!

This week we have been working on some shaping.  She goes around jars and poles.  Now we are working on backing up.  I need to get those on video!

Her field trips have been to parks, home depot, a giant pet store, and walks around the block.  Cars seem to be the only thing that gives her pause (can't blame her).

Road trips, new dogs, friendly people and swimming

That says it all!

Hoot went to an overnight USDAA trial with Split and Tangle this weekend. What an awesome traveler she was.  It was only about a 2 hour car ride, she slept the whole way.

The trial was outdoors which made it perfect for her to run and play with other dogs and kids.  She had such a great time.  I am super pleased with her greeting skills with other dogs.  She seems to read them really well.  She spends a moment figuring out the dog, and then can accurately peg who is going to tolerate her rude jumping in their face behavior and who isn't.

Each time I had to go run or walk the course I was really surprised at how patient she was waiting in her kennel until I came to get her. 

Chillin'

Hoot and Seeker

This morning I decided that Hoot needed more new experiences.  She takes each one on so well.  I introduced her to the lake.  Split jumped right in and began swimming around.  Hoot couldn't handle not being able to get to her favorite guy so she jumped in after him.  Didn't phase her at all!

Hoot swimming with Split

Today is the day she begins to learn a bit of self control.  She is getting REALLY obnoxious with her other pack mates and everyone is about really to give her back.  We will begin with It's your choice games!

She Sleeps!

Hoot is a very active dog and only become more so.  She loves the world, chewing on ankles, attacking her pack mates and cat...she loves just about everything.

We decided to go to a park last night, have dinner and socialize the pup. 

We took her down to the lake.  She loved investigating the smells on the shore, and watching the ducks in the water.  On our way back, we walked along the jogging path.  Ha, that was an experience.  First, she wants to say hi to EVERYONE.  I had her on a long line so she managed to get to several people who seemed like they would say hi.

On the way back, I dropped her long line and she decided that she was going to chase after joggers.  Who can blame her right?  I have been playing chase games and this was just another right?  Note to self on this one...she has no idea that the whole world isn't her pack.

We wondered over the the skateboard park.  This was an amazing, cautious, fascinating experience for her.  She kept her distance, then would go closer, then got more distance again.  After about 20 minutes of watching this it was clear she was exhausted!

She Sleeps!

Took her a minute to crash when we got home.  A rare thing in the evening, which is usually her rage time!

Her first snow!

Yep, it is mid-May.  But it is also Colorado.  We can get snow almost any time of year.

Hoot got to see snow for the first time in her life.  Really didn't phase her and  she ended up just loving running and poking her nose into the snow.

 

This past week as been fun.  Hoot is turning up the dial on being naughty.  She has started running away, wanting to be chased, going under the gates to get into the agility field and in general looking for reactions from me on her naughtiness.  Ah, I remember this well with Tip!

I had to get creative and block off the AFrame, Dog Walk and Teeter.  She doesn't hesitate to climb each one.  So instead she started doing tunnels.  She had an awesome session of the puppy crazy's a couple of days ago and did the circuit of tunnels over and over again on the field.  She loves interacting with all the equipment.

But to counter the naughty she has also stepped up her understanding on being shaped.  She knows what the clicker is for and starts offering a behavior.  Almost always the last one we worked on.  She doesn't hesitate offering something else if that doesn't work.  Nice!!

Hoot is 13.5 pounds, up from 10 last week and still LOVES people.  She greets everyone she can and is sure they are on this earth just for her.

She is 9.5 weeks old.

Courage and Fear

Funny, yesterday Hoot was all filled with courage.  She was absolutely sure that she could do no wrong.  She harassed the big dogs to no end, bit me every place possible and was just generally full of herself.

We took a walk at the local park in the afternoon.  Kids were playing either soccer or rugby all around her.  She was almost beside herself wanting to go play rugby with the kids.  Soccer wasn't as exciting to her.  She still holds firm to her belief that EVERYONE in this world wants to and should say hello to her.  When someone doesn't she is genuinely disappointed.

Today she seems to be in a mini-fear stage.  Probably more emphasis on the fact that she is noticing to world around her to a greater extent and perhaps realizing that it is a BIG PLACE.  Birds are the big discovery today.  After a heavy rain there were a ton of them out and Hoot noticed them all.

We played some chase games this morning to get some energy out of her.  Boy is she getting fast.  Loves to chase.  She believes that her reward is biting my ankles rather than tugging on a toy.  We are trying to change that, but it might be a little bit.

We worked on CnT hand touches at the soccer field, up in the loft (her first visit), in the backyard.  She seems to be able to work in a lot of different places and always happy to tug and play.

Morning walk with the big dogs

Hoot got to participate in the morning exercise with the "big dogs".  She did awesome, loved to run in the field. 

She got to experience sprinklers, prairie dogs, baseballs,  mud holes, following the pack

The ears are going up

First mud hole

Her prize find

Loves the tall grasses

The Pack

She's a keeper (but I already knew that)!

I have had Hoot for a week now and she has had so many life experiences.  Visiting kids at college, agility class, a USDAA Regional, wondering the backyard in discovery of new things.  She loves it all.

This little girl has such resilience.  I took her to a USDAA Regional.  She got to meet a ton of people ('cause everyone holds the puppy), many dogs, several puppies and a judge stole her.  In each of encounters with people she was happy, tail wagging and nose chewing.  With each of her encounters with dogs she was confident, thought for a moment, gave the proper signals and ending up playing with almost all of them.  Never once did she retreat or give up trying to figure something out.  I am impressed.

The sounds didn't bother her, nor all the dogs barking, she was solid.

It is really fun.  At a week you hardly know your puppy.  With each new experience she learns from,  you learn too.  All of this information is great so I can better know the type of dog I am training and shape her lessons appropriately.

Trick of the day:
She learned to put all 4 paws on a pillow.

She's a Hoot

Hoot

Well here she is, my new little girl, Hoot!

Why does she have her own blog? Well I have a feeling that there will be a lot to share and she might take me in some different directions that aren't agility. Herding?  Also, I want to keep my other blog on topic and this little girl won't be ready for that any time soon.

This is who she is at the moment.  All my dogs have changed through the years, eventually they have traits that stick, but they are never the same dog they were last year. That would be boring right?
So, this is Hoot as I know her today.

She loves being with people, smart, learns fast.  She loves to play tug on my hair, shoe laces, shoes, socks and then dog toys if none of those are available. She is a pro at 'killing' paper towels.  She loves to chase and already has the need to get out ahead of me.  She watches everyone intensely when they are working.

 In 24 hours she has softened all the dogs in her pack. Everyone certainly tolerates her well and Tip stays close so that she can play with and steal Hoot's toys.

I have started to prime her to love the clicker.  So far she comes to her name (I know that will change), and is a natural fetcher. I did NOTHING to train that skill.

Versa She's a Hoot