Thanks to all who went to Breezy Hill on Saturday and the bike run on Sunday. Those were both really important trips and I'm anxious to read about how the puppies did in your online reports. Please record any bolting, barking, excessive sniffing, or other rude behavior. If your puppy exhibited any of these behaviors, please get with Lee or visit Sweet Meadow Farm at 111 Coolidge street, Sherborn. You can drive up, park, walk around, meet chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, horses, mini horses, burros, etc. who are happy to meet your dog and leave (during business hours).
Please remember~we do NOT use the commands "with me" or "wrong". We do use Let's Go and NO.
Currently, the WPRs are using Let's go, Sit, Down and Watch me as well as No, Better go now, OK and Kennel. You may notice that SAY HELLO is conspicuously absent from the list. I've had a conference with my trainers and on the whole, the dogs are getting rewarded for bad behavior whenever they're told to SAY HELLO. Most of them are not able to hold their butts on the ground and/or unable to stop licking hands/feet/faces and/or keep their feet on the ground to say hello. The people who are saying hello are unable to stop petting the dog when they don't sit, lick them or jump on them, so the dogs are being reinforced every time they say hello to a stranger. This is counter productive to what we're trying to do~teach attention and obedience in any situation. So for now, puppies under 1 year will not be using this command. If someone asks to pet your pup and you would like them to(school, event, etc) feel free to just say yes. No command to the dog, and keep it a short three count. Correct any licking of hands or feet or face/jumping on people/sniffing crotches/rubbing of the GL that people misinterpret as affection. If you're out working your dog somewhere, feel free to say, "sorry, he's in training". Most people will respect that, try to ignore the rest.
This week we have a new puppy coming in, a yellow lab named Princess and she's going to Heather. As is the normal routine, she will stay at the prison for 2 weeks and be able to go out on the third week. Congratulations Heather!
NEW WPRs~please try to attend puppy K on Saturdays at 10am at Happy Tails. www.happytailsddc.com
I am finding that alot of our dogs are either uncomfortable near the water or just plain dislike it. Please try to bring your dog somewhere (not the ocean, the waves are sometimes disturbing) where they can swim. All state parks are dog friendly. When you do take your puppy to the lake (evening or very early morning before it gets hot please) bring a toy that floats~tennis ball is good~and throw it down the beach (GET IT) so that the dog doesn't have to swim for it, just crash around in the water a bit. If the dog seems to be having fun (look at the body language, where are your dog's ears/tail?) then throw it in a bit farther until they have to swim just a bit, then continue with the shallow water throws. If you do it in this manner, the dog won't distrust you or freeze up. Remember, if they don't get it, you will have to, so plan and dress accordingly. :) Remember: long line on the dog at all times, and don't play until your dog is exhausted~they're not endurance swimmers. To help facilitate learning around water, are having a pool party on Aug. 6 at Dawn's from 2-6pm and a Friday night class at the State Park boat ramp. These trips are in lieu of Saturday morning classes.
