Trigger, "Full Throttle"

Our little boy is growing up. Nine weeks old, he's not the little puppy we brought home 11 days ago. He's definitely bigger and now absolutely outweighs Gladys. His little round puppy belly is now lengthening and becoming more adult. His mental focus is increasing and he is able to complete short clicker training sessions successfully. I now know that at this age, I can only work him in very short sessions before his attention wanders off to a leaf blowing by or the wail of a distant siren. Gladys was so different. She was a training machine and even as very young puppy would concentrate and train/play for extended periods of time. I'm having to shelf my expectations and realize that although he is a very smart little boy, he is a much different puppy with a different learning style.
Hand targets are getting more reliable as are his sits and downs. (he had seemed to completely forget what a down was all about for the first week we had him) He does the ring the bell and eventually I will move it by the back door so he can signal when he needs to go out. Recalls of course are still in the embryonic stage and will need tons more work.
Overall, Trigger is very quiet and gentle. He can play pretty wildly with very fragile cloth toys and never tears a hole in them. Tonight I gave him a stuffed lamb that was bigger than he was and he was ecstatic!

Socialization: At Home and Abroad

Yesterday involved another trip out to the mall to meet new people. While we were there, we met up with Trigger's Grandma Penny who had not yet met him. It was a happy meeting on both sides! Grandma now has another little grandpuppy to spoil. Meanwhile back at the ranch, Trigger is making inroads on Gladys. Last night they both sat on the couch with me, one on either side while they chewed and suckled their little fleecy toys.
Potty training continues to progress nicely and he is starting to make a run for the back door when he has to go. Soon I will start adding the bell so he can signal his need to go out.
We did some more work on hand targets today. He's definitely got it. I'll add more distance and locations and other twists to it and add a cue when he seems to thoroughly understand the concept. We also worked recalls and continue to work on bite inhibition and redirection to the chewing of appropriate items. Tomorrow I work all day and so I will leave the pups in the capable hands of my husband, Randy.

Trigger, the Reveal!

This little boy is really starting to show his personality. He's fearless but very gentle with his play-biting. I think he is developing wonderful bite inhibition. We play lots of "wrestling the Evil Hand games" and he is getting more skilled at applying just the right amount of pressure. Gladys is really helping train this also. One of the biggest thrills in her life is placing either her head or one of her limbs into the gaping jaws of another dog. Trigger is ever so careful when her leg is in his mouth. He bites, but no so hard that she has to discipline him. She particularly enjoys this game with her buddy Walnut, who is several times her size. We've dubbed her the Hygienist because she puts her head in Walnut's mouth and licks his molars. I think she is going to be thrilled when she figures out that Trigger will be considerably larger than she is, and that her head should fit nicely between his jaws.
Gladys is starting to play more with Trigger. At first, it was all about body blocking him from being near me. Tonight they wrestled on my lap and she was more interested in interacting with him than in whether or not he was touching me.
Today's tasks:
worked on bite inhibition
reinforced eye contact
reinforced pottying in the designated areas at the edge of the yard
worked recalls
tugging games
hand targets
walking on funny, shifting surfaces
Kong games
quiet crate/x-pen time
And of course cuddling and baby talk!
Tomorrow's tasks:
All of the above plus a field trip to meet more people. Maybe Stanford Shopping Center if I'm feeling ambitious. Otherwise, we'll go to OSH.

My First Outing with Trigger

Tonight for my walk with Trigger, we got out our little puppy frontpack carrier. It's like a pack that carries babies close to your belly except it's a pouch to put your puppy in. Randy went out to meet up with some friends he bicycles with, so Trigger and I were on our own. I decided to take a walk to the little mall at the end of our street and see how many new people he could meet.
I took him past Pet Express, (didn't dare go in for fear of exposing him to parvo or one of its nasty cousins) and we went into Blockbusters, McWhorter's and Ross's. I'd say we managed to meet about 6 kids and 5 adults. Trigger was just as quiet as a little titmouse in his pack. He wouldn't touch kibble I brought for him, so on our next walk I will bring something much tastier like freeze-dried liver to help him to relax more. He did finally offer a few kisses to an adorable like girl who just showered him with her affections. He certainly wasn't withdrawing from the attention or new people, nor did I sense any fear. He was just sort of laid back and taking it all in.
I'd say it definitely took a lot out of him. When we got home he did a bit of wrestling with Gladys and shook some kibbles out of one of his kongs then sacked out. And most thankfully, without even a whimper of distress. He's crated around the corner in the kitchen as I type this, and I am very happy to say that he is relaxed and not concerned that Gladys and I are not easily visible. I'll add a picture tomorrow of Trigger in his little puppy carrier.
Wish us luck tonight!

Day One...(a quiet moment sharing bully stick meditations..)

First of all, we survived. Trigger's crate training is excellent. No more than 5 minutes or so of whining when he's first returned to his crate. After that it's quiet chewing or sleeping until we take him out in another one or two hours. Gladys is a bit jealous as anyone who knows how much we spoiled her might expect! She is however adjusting, and getting less possessive of her people around him. She's been trying to teach him the Boston face licking ritual which he seems to be absorbing! ;-0
He's getting more playful as he relaxes with us. Today we had some good tugging and kibble chasing sessions. Michelle had taught him to ring a bell, (the type you might find on a service counter) which is something we had also taught Gladys. This afternoon they sat together on the kitchen mat and took turns ringing the bell and being hand fed bits of kibble for their efforts. I'm also doing some clicking for eye contact. I can see that his ability to stay focused is improving already. He's also doing well with the potty box. It's really all in the timing and having a box big enough for the puppy to be comfortable with. Randy went out and bought a large plastic tray for cement mixing from OSH today. He then built a little PVC stand to set it in and keep it steady. Trigger seems quite happy with his accommodations!

UPDATE: Perhaps I was a little quick on the angel pup report. Last night the honeymoon was definitely over and the pup whined and barked for about 3 or 4 hours before settling down until I awoke him at what is to be his accustomed time of 6:30am. I'm hoping that last night was an extinction burst based on how loud and determined he was, and that one day we will laugh when we look back on it!

Just add one Border Collie.....

Except for the one hour flight delay at the San Francisco Airport, the recovery operation went well. Trigger was just sitting in his crate and staring out when they brought him to the counter. He looked dazed and lost, but as soon as he heard his name and got a little whiff of familiar kibble he just came to life! Got a collar and leash on him and let him out right there in the airport lobby. He was overjoyed to be out and to meet us. He was also able to say hi to some kids that were lurking near by hoping to meet the cute puppy.
Eventually we put him back in his crate for the ride home. After a bit of initial caterwalling, he settled down.
Gladys and Trigger are hitting it off just fine. They are kissing, wrestling and chewing on the same bully stick. They spent quite a bit of time demonstrating their ability to sit side by side and be hand fed bits of kibble. Gladys is amazingly accepting about having a new kid in town. Trigger has been using his potty box and taking naps in his x-pen area. He does a bit of initial whining at times when left alone, but then settles down. The whining periods have gotten progressively shorter and I hope that they will soon cease altogether. We are making sure we only go in and talk to him and feed him kibble when he is quiet.
Trigger is exhausted and crashed out in his pen. Gladys is staring through the bars hoping to wake him up, but he is out like a 12 pound trout!

Here's Trigger!

Here's a picture of Trigger taken by his breeder. She sends and posts pictures and film clips for each litter, starting with the actual birth of the litter. She's a clicker trainer also, and at 8 weeks Trigger already knows sit, down, wave, ring the bell and come. She is very scrupulous about health testing for genetic diseases.

The day before Trigger arrives!

This is a picture of Gladys our Boston Terrier, five years ago, on the first day we brought her home. She looks a little worried but don't let her fool you. She took over our house and our hearts before we knew what was happening. I remember how nervous we were bringing her home. We finally got out in the car with just her and each other. We counted all her little toes and examined her tiny little needle teeth. We were so scared we wouldn't know how to care for her but it all just worked out fine.
I'm feeling the same nervous excitement today as I think about Trigger's arrival tomorrow. This will be a totally different ball game for us. Gladys was 3.5 pounds of baby girl Boston that was sweet and gentle from the moment she laid her tiny, iron paw on our hearts. Tomorrow we will go to the airport to pickup 12 pounds of bouncing baby boy border collie! We are going to find out the difference between a companion dog bred to warm your lap and a herding dog that has been bred to stare down and manage several tons of livestock simultaneously. Some might think I am insane (primarily my husband!  ;-0). However, I am driven on by my twin loves or obsessions with dog training and dog agility. For those of you not familiar with sport of dog agility I'll include a few links.