14 Weeks/BC behavior sighted!

Fourteen weeks old to the day and a classic, BC behavior has been observed. Yesterday I sprayed the hose in the backyard, and Trigger was intensely thrilled and started chasing the stream of water. Prior to this he was really not interested in hoses or water spraying. Big change in attitude!
This could be a lot of fun and a great way to get him tired out, but I am not going to toy with this. I understand that BCs can get very obsessive-compulsive over water, shadows, flashing lights, laser beams. etc. and I do not want to encourage that!
I have a feeling we are going to see a little changes in the little man over the coming weeks.

A Social Animal is born.....

Wonderful results from today's two puppy socials.
Trigger was pretty reserved at the first social but started playing with a tiny Boston puppy during the last quarter hour. They found a tunnel and took turns running through it. Sometimes Trigger would stand inside and Aston, the BT pup, would race under him between his legs and out the other end!
After he had a brief nap at home, I put him back in his crate for a ride down to the other session. He wasn't too interested in the other shy, small dogs but wasn't fearful either, so we put him on the other side of the fence with the more outgoing puppies. At first he did quite a bit of watching, but by the end of the hour he was wrestling with bigger obnoxious puppies.
What really broke the ice was when I started playing tug with another big puppy, then handed off my grip area of the toy to Trigger so he could play tug with the other puppy. A few times of that and he was a new man! He has discovered that other dogs are fun like his little buddy Gladys and I think it will just get better from here on out.

Good news!

Today's puppy kindergarten class went extremely well. We had an excellent teacher who led the group with knowledge and confidence. Trigger was a little nervous at first but there was no hard staring or snarking at others. He went nose to nose or butt with several little puppies and Peppino, a tiny adult chihuahua who was the demo dog. Trigger even started to get a little bit playful with a few puppies.
He was also very pleased to meet a variety of children and adults during class. We are incredibly relieved to see so much progress so soon. His car riding fear/sickness also seems to have resolved. He relaxed very happily in his crate today during the drive to and from class.
I know that he is going to be just fine now. Tomorrow he has a puppy socialization hour at Planet Pooch and another at Pet Food Express. Every day I will be taking his somewhere for new experiences. Next friday morning we will return to the school yard during the children's recess and gauge how much progress he has made since the week before.

Stanford Campus/Take Two!

We had as nice drive to Stanford campus this morning. Trigger relaxed in his crate and was able to take any bits of treats that I offered him along the way. He was much less nervous when we started our walk than he had been the day before.
Today he was fine with people walking and bicycling past him. He initiated approaching several people with a wagging tail and soft eyes. He met a man in a kilt, a young woman dressed in fairy wings as part of a sorority initiation ritual, workmen in carts, students, etc. He wasn't hardly fazed by workers using drills, slamming doors, honking horns, luggage rolling by, etc.
It was very encouraging seeing that much change in him already.
The only thing that did bother him was seeing another dog running around after a frisbee about 100 yards away from us. The dog and his owner quickly disappeared into a building, but Trigger was definitely worried by the sighting.
I've signed up for another puppy kindergarten that starts tonight and will probably also sign up for one that starts this saturday. I will also attend the sunday puppy plagroup and continue on with our kindergarten class that met last night.
I think this will all work out okay. Trigger seems to need time to sit and observe new things, but then seems to be able to handle and enjoy them. He loves Gladys and just needs to learn that other dogs can be fun for him to play with too.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.......

Puppy Class............
We had a nervous boy at puppy class. Tail between his legs, looking for the door. Avoiding other dogs, climbing onto the chair or trying to get into my lap. Didn't like the all-black German Shepherd puppy. Gave the "border collie stare", growled and snarked at her. Seemed to even forget his name.......
(that was the bad and ugly)
After about 30 minutes, a gradual change was seen. Little man started kissing up to some of the people and touched noses with a couple puppies and was markedly less reactive to La Shepherd.
(that was the good)
Teacher says prognosis is good. His love of people and change of attitude during the first class were very positive.
I'm going to enroll him in a some more puppy classes and will take him to Little Paws puppy socialization sessions at Planet Pooch on Sundays.
It was great to get home and watch Gladys and Trigger reunited like long lost buddies. They're enjoyment of each other is so sincere and joyful that I have high hopes that Trigger will learn to enjoy the company of other dogs as well.

Fear Period...13.5 Weeks of Age..

I've noticed the start of some fearful behavior over the last day or so. This morning Trigger was very apprehensive of the pooper scooper and also started barking when he heard the garbage truck pull in front of the house. He's also afraid of his collar and dislikes having it fitted around his neck.
I decided that it is time to ramp up his outside world experiences. He's had 3 set of puppy vaccinations and so it is time to take more chances with the outside world. His first puppy class is tonight but I decided to take him over to Stanford campus this morning. Stanford has lots of lawns, bikes, people, cars, buses, trucks, squirrels, trees as well as being quite dog friendly.
The car ride went pretty well up until he decided he needed to urinate on his crate pad. But, at least there was no fear, vomiting or drooling happening. Randy suggested just removing his crate pad and seeing if that makes the crate a less attractive peeing venue.
At first Trigger was OK with walking along the sidewalk but soon became scared and refused to budge. I was able to pick him up and carry him over to a bench where he sat on my lap and watched all the commotion around him. At first he was trembling but after about 30 minutes he was sitting next to me happily with his ears up watching the world around him. He was quite interested in a Bedlington terrier that walked past us with his master. (I wonder if he thought it was a baby ewe?) He eventually forgot about being scared and we set off for a walk around the campus. He was fine on the leash except for barking and showing some fear towards one heavyset man who walked by us rather grimly.
His car ride home was blessedly uneventful. And I'm happy to say that the pooper scooper was no longer a scary proposition after his outing.
He's had a bath, a play session with Gladys, a meal and now he's down for a nap. We'll see how puppy class goes tonight.

Mr. Adorable lives here....

It's a good thing Trigger is so adorable as he is becoming a little handful of activity. Gladys and Randy are gone this weekend and I have a newfound appreciation of Gladys' nannying skills. Although she is a little busybody, she is a superb nanny and keeps a close eye on the little man and gets him all worn out with her relentless playing. Now that's my job this weekend. Let's give that little nanny from Boston a raise when she gets home!
However, on the plus side I have had several unmonitored training sessions with Trigger. Sits, downs, touches, waits, recalls are all pretty good. Added rights/lefts and he is doing a good job sorting it out although he is not yet fluent. I'll be adding stand and back-up to his repetoire soon. He already knows that when he sits next to the back door he has to scooch back so I can open it. All I have to do is add the verbal cue and he will eventually put it together. Teaching "stand" tends to be a little more challenging than sits or downs. It's clicking and rewarding what seems like a lack of any action and it takes a while for the dog to figure out what it is you really want. He is doing much better with the bell again and I will soon place that near the back door for him to ring before I open it.

Couple of pics...

Randy bought a video camera last week and yesterday he took some random footage of the dogs. We tried capturing a few frames and uploading to see how well that works.
Trigger got a bath this morning and another dremmeling. Tonight is the first night of puppy class. Unfortunately we don't get to bring the dog to this session so it's just lecture.

Dremmels and socialization time!

I'm dremmeling Trigger every 3 or 4 days to keep him used to the machine whirring away near his head. I usually hold him on his back on my lap while I sit cross-legged on the ground. He fights just a little, then finally relaxes. I am reminded of Shirley Chong, (link on right) and her sage observation regarding dogs, "In all lives some rain must fall."
Gladys hates to be left out of anything and oddly enough that even applies to dremmeling. She hears Trigger undergoing the treatment and getting the personal attention that it necessitates, and she comes running in to await her turn. She who used to fight the dremmel like an alley cat strung out on crack, now lies peacefully draped across my lap and allows me unencumbered access to each dainty paw.
This afternoon we took Trigger out for a walk in a "dog-free" zone (still on Parvo watch) and then for a ride in the shopping cart at Ross's. He was relaxed, observant, curious and friendly to all comers.

First Shaping Session Report!

Tonight I finally got up the nerve to try to shape a new behavior. Trigger has been showing excellent understanding and response to the commands of sit, down, touch, and wait, so it was time to add something new.
I decided to try and shape a "right" command. Gladys has a very nice "right" and "left" that I taught entirely by shaping. When Trigger first came home 3 weeks ago, shaping behaviors seemed to be completely out of the question. His attention span was so short, I could barely get even a sit out of him.
Over the last 3 weeks, big changes have been seen. He seems to be a resevoir of latent learning. I repeatedly told him things like, "wait" or "potty" and he didn't seem to be getting it. But now, I say "potty" and he wheels around and charges for the outskirts of the yard. I say "wait" and he freezes at the doorway. Sits and downs are becoming fluent. I say "touch" and hold out my hand and he races across the yard to tap my outstretched finger with his nose.
Tonight we sat down with a little dish of chopped, boiled beef hearts and a clicker. Before the dish of treats was exhausted, the little man was flicking his head to the right for a click and piece of delectable organ meat. I am truly in awe of his learning ability and look forward to what we can learn together!

Socialization Update

The car ride went much better this afternoon. I sat next to Trigger's crate in the back seat, and he was able to relax, eat and nap while Randy was driving. We headed over to Stanford Shopping Center because of its dog-friendly policy. We started with "Make-Up Alley" at Macy's as we have always had good luck trolling the waters there with Gladys. We were not disappointed, we got several children and a couple women to meet Trigger and get his little tail wagging.
After Macy's, we headed outside to a bench, and were able to meet several more people of different ages. He is a little bit shy at first, but warms up pretty quickly. Our trainer Sandy Rogers has told us to get a major socialization campaign underway and we will continue our efforts.

Lions, Tigers & Car Rides! Oh my!

Found something new to work on today. I decided to take the dogs to a secluded office complex up off Sand Hill Road (home of the venture capitalists) so I could walk them on leashes. This was a place we had taken Gladys as a very young puppy as we felt it probably has very little dog traffic and would be relatively safe. I just keep in mind Ian Dunbar's observation that far more dogs are euthanized due to problems stemming from lack of socialization than die of parvo.
I put Trigger's crate in the back of the 4-Runner and put Gladys' in its usual spot in the center of the back seat facing forward. Trigger was very quiet during our 10 minute ride and when we arrived, he was essentially catatonic and drooling slightly. When I opened the crate door it took him a little while to "come to" and emerge. He did walk very well on the leash, but when we reapproached the car he was visibly frightened. Randy and I have been watching Cesar Millan's, "The Dog Whisperer" on Naional Geographic Channel per the advice of our breeder, Michelle. Cesar deals with a lot of frightened dogs and his advice is to wait it out quietly with the dog until he relaxes. Only when the dog relaxes, does he advise you to share affection with it. He feels that when people baby the dog when it is fearful, that they are helping create and worsen the phobia. So I sat on the ground and paid attention to Gladys and gave her treats. Gradually Trigger came closer and offered tiny little nose touches for a bit of food. We spent time outside the car, then sitting in the car then having him sit in the crate in the front seat with the engine running, all the while rewarding him for his calm and nonfearful behavior. Trigger was so much happier on the ride home. He wasn't able to take treats while the car was moving but he was able to lie down in a relaxed position and was stayed responsive and tuned in to me.
This afternoon we will take another short car ride and then I will take Trigger into a store to meet some more people. For now, we'll all sit outside in the sun to enjoy raw, frozen beef knuckles together.
I am once again grateful to Gladys for her unflappable appetite, calm energy, and well-timed gentle snoring.

Training Notes/Week 3

Trigger has been with us now for 3 weeks. He is 73 days of age, which is 10 1/2 weeks old.
Current weight is about 15 1/2 pounds. His vet says he has a strong heart, full set of baby teeth and two descended testicles.
He is not a yapper. He is showing excellent self-control by sitting and waiting for a release at doorways. The release is verbal and I am being very careful that he's not releasing on body language cues. I'm staying very aware of not giving verbal cues more than one time and I can almost hear the voice of my trainer, Sandy Rogers, warning about that "slippery slope"!
Sit-Tug-Sit is going well. I'm adding the Tug cue now and I am not really sure if he's made the connection yet. He knows his sit and down cues. We'll start working on getting more speed with his response soon.
He is getting better at getting up from a down to assume a sit upon request. When Trigger returns from a recall or comes to me for a treat, he sits in front of me. Instead of just giving the treat and then reaching for the collar, I am now reaching for his collar area first and giving him some light scruffin' before delivering the treat. I remember John Rogerson's lecture when he said to, "get the tail wagging before you give the treat". That lesson was a bit tough to carry out with my other dog Gladys, as she has only about an inch of stubby screw tail to flail about.
Gladys continues to administer her lessons. She is the BOSS LADY and stays completely in control with him. She loves to play,"Taunt & Flaunt" with her little chew sticks and heartily administers noisy corrections as she deems necessary. Trigger occasionally screams when she admonishes him, but bounces right back into the game for more. I'm not really sure which one is the herding dog when I watch them play. Perhaps the Boston Terrier was actually bred to herd very small animals like mice?
Gladys has been such an incredible role model for Trigger. She is not a yapper either so he is not learning any bad barking habits from her. Tonight we were all outside playing when Randy started running his jig saw about 20 feet away. Gladys didn't blink and so Trigger kept playing too. He checks in with me and with Gladys when there is something new going on, and Gladys has been great at showing him how to play it cool.

Goals for Week 4:
Accelerate recall work.
Continue to work all of the other above training goals as well.
More socialization and car rides.

Continue to work on house-training, frequent relaxed dremmels and grooming, quiet time, cuddles as well as more active tug and wrestle games.

This will bring us right up to puppy kindergarten time. My goals for that are further socialization and Trigger being able to play and then show self-control in an environment filled with distractions.

Educating Trigger

A dramatic increase in Trigger's concentration was noted today when sauteed beef heart was offered in lieu of kibble. Sits, downs and hand targets were offered accurately in response to appropriate cues. For the first time, Trigger also repositioned himself to a sit from a down upon request.
His ability to sit before I open his crate door or the back door continues to improve also. His house manners are very good and we will continue to crate or pen him when we are not able to supervise him.

Reminders for me:
• Give commands only once.
• Sit means stay. Don't add additional cues to a sit or down to keep him in position.
• Keep training sessions short! Count out 10 treats maximum and when the treats are gone, the training is done.

More things to train:
(from Susan Garrett's books)
• Gimme Dat Collar
• 1-2-3 Game
• Hide & Seek
• Sit-Tug-Sit
• Smack Da Baby
• Tug-Drop The Toy Game
• Restrained Recalls

Today I signed Trigger up for Puppy Kindergarten. He will be just 12 weeks old when we start class. Tomorrow we go to the vet's for his well puppy check and vaccinations.
It's interesting to observe some of the differences between the two dog's strategies when they are being chased around the back yard. Gladys makes a big circle and will occasionally switch directions and run the same circle the opposite way. Trigger's more creative and throws in all kinds of direction and route changes. He also sees how to take short-cuts and heads her off at the pass. Sometimes he picks up both of their toys and runs around the yard with them.
But the best part of all this frenetic activity, is the peaceful snoring sounds I hear coming from the both them right now. Good Night!

2 Weeks + 20 lbs. Kibble = 2 lbs. Dog Meat

We've had Trigger just over 2 weeks and have seen a lot of changes in the little man. He's gained 2 pounds which is roughly 16% of his body weight. When you think about it in human terms, that would be over 20 pounds for most of us!
He's getting much more coordinated and fast. When he runs through the back yard being chased by Gladys, his evasive maneuvers are becoming much more sophisticated, and often involve running along the fence behind ladders and wood leaning against them. Just this morning he was able to climb onto the couch in the den all by himself. This is where we hang out with the dogs, and the couch has been a refuge for Gladys until now. I imagine later today she will be taunting him with a bully stick from the perceived safety of the couch, only to make the horrifying discovery that he can climb up and continue the battle.
Training Progress:
House-training:
Uses litter box at night and while we are at work. No recent accidents (has only had 3 piddle accidents). Potties in the back yard in the dirt planting areas only and never on the lawn. (requires ongoing supervision to enforce this habit) Gets down to business much more quickly since I've been following Ian Dunbar's advice of one piece of dried liver when he pees and 3 pieces of dried liver and a party when he poops!
Crate-training:
Settles down nicely in his crate for naps during the day. Sometimes a very brief soft whine but generally hunkers down quickly with his stuffed kong. His breeder, Michelle Weese, has my eternal gratitude for crate-training him!
Self-control:
Trigger will sit before we open the crate door or the back door. I'm working on getting some duration while we open the door. I'm settling for 1 or 2 seconds right now and will continue to build on that.
Trigger also sits before he gets a treat when we are romping around outside. I like that because it is wet and muddy and that reminds me to be consistent in not letting him jump up. When he comes on a recall he naturally sits about 6 feet away. I use the treat to bring him 1 or 2 feet away and sitting before letting him have it.
Lately he's starting to snatch a few verboten paper items. Since we are supervising him closely we tell him no and put them back where they were. Thus far he hasn't returned to those items for round two, but I'm sure that is just a matter of time. We will continue to redirect him to appropriate chew toys and see if that is enough to keep his little teeth appropriately occupied.
*NEWS FLASH!!
For the first time, I have both of the dogs lying down and sleeping quietly together on the same chair with me.
There is light at the end of the tunnel.

**ADDITIONAL NEWS FLASH!!
This will probably only excite fellow clicker trainers, but today Trigger started offering previously known behaviors to get me to click and treat him! We are finally on our way to exploring what he can learn with our help.
On another note, Gladys offered a very cute new behavior today. While Trigger was demonstrating his down, she reached over and rapped him on the snout with her tiny paw. I immediately reinforced that and now she taps the tip of his muzzle to get a treat.
**Update of above: I've decided that Gladys' little routine of thwacking Trigger's nose isn't such a good thing to encourage. He's not as oblivious as he initially was to it, and it now causes him to jump up and start wrestling with her again. I think I will ignore her swatting him and we'll see how long it takes for that behavior to extinguish itself.