Here's what we went over on Friday night~there are some sigificant changes so please read:

FACT: Dogs who cannot settle in a crate are much more difficult to place. SO:

All dogs will be crated overnight for the entire time that they are in your care. Even if they are ABLE to stay out of the crate, please crate them at night. This makes things so much easier for the dog and client when they leave you! When everything in thier life changes, they still have one place that they know is safe~their crate.

All dogs will have alone time daily~age will determine length of time. Alone time is just that~put the dog into the crate and leave the house~even if it's only for a short time. This is the only opportunity for them to be truly alone~the prison always has people moving about. Clients usually have a quiet lifestyle and dogs need to be able to adjust to that. If you have a dog who's having a difficult time with alone time I have many, many strategies to cope, please speak with me so I can help you.

GL will be used with permission from the trainer only. If you are asked to use the GL your dog is ready for it, so please use it all the time.

Dogs over one year are now required to attend one class or field trip per month, beginning immediately. I am feeling extremely out of touch with my older dogs and am unable to answer questions from the NEADS staff about them.

Rawhide chews are no longer acceptable for NEADS dogs. Am alternative might be the himilayan dog chews, available at Vet Med in Franklin.

Please make sure your dogs medical cards, your ID cards, and your online reporting are all up to date. Please carry the cards with you at all times when out with your dog.

Please remember to change your tone of voice when asking your dog to execute a command. SEE ATTACHED "Cue definitions" document. I hear nooooooo in a very happy singsong voice and think~"What must the dog think of that? He/She sounds so happy!"

How and when to transition from puppy to adolescent to adult dog training;

Under 5 months~puppy training~lots of food, high voice for almost every command, lots of work on attention in public, simple field trips, redirecting not correcting. Constant evaluating the dog for remaining in the program.

Over 5 months~less food, correction for refusing a command that the dog knows, continuing work on attention in public, more challenging field trips, continuing evaluation for the dog remaining in the program.

Over 12 months~field trips should be finishing up, dog should rarely have to be corrected for impulsive behaviors, work should begin on wearing the GL out in public. Depending on the dog, food can still be used to gain attention or as a reward for exceptional behavior, but should not be needed in most typical outings (stores, office, schools, etc.) for basic obedience. Think of an adult dog as your reward for putting up with adolescence. ;)

Testing on June 15 or 16 for dogs who have not passed CGC (over 6 months) and TDI (over 1 year).

Dog will likely be in training longer than your original commitment~labs should be returning to NEADS at about 18 months, other breeds 20-24 months. This is not written in stone, and some dogs do return earlier.

Training Notes

Hope is still working on TUG and FETCH, but his tug looks better than I've seen it thus far.   

Princess is working on perfecting her 1 year tasks, still looking good as a social dog. 

We have had to make a number of changes over the last few weeks because our handlers are moving. 

Rosella has been excused for failure to recover from ferful stimulus.  Joe will be keeping her.  I hate to lose him, but Rosella belongs with him. 

Princess is doing well, no changes for her.  She is due for her "are you ready?" eval next month.

Graham is being moved to BCC today.  He is pre-matched to a client on Canadian crutches. 

Hope's new handler is Chris.  He is doing a great job of working in TUG and NUDGE. 

Training time has changed to 12:30-2pm.  New handlers will be joining us this week!  I am looking forward to meeting them. 

Congratulations to all of the handlers, WPRs and puppies for passing the Therpay Dogs International test last weekend!  Hope, Graham and Princess all did well at kite day.  No problem with the kites, the kids, the sirens, bikes, motorcycles, pinwheels, strollers, wheelchairs, pet dogs, or working in the extreme wind. 

Hope is working on tugging the door open and fridge~the last few commands that he needs to learn.  His fetch is great!

Rosella is off to NEADS for her "are you ready?" eval, as well as a consult with the orthopedic surgeon to make sure she's fit for duty!  She has all of her commands, but still gets excited to see her favorite people. 

Graham is waiting for his eval now~all commands and proficient. 

Princess had her hips x-rayed last Thursday.  No problem with the new baby chicks at Lee's house.  :)  

Notes

Welcome Princess!  She's moved from MCIN and we're very happy to have her here. 

Hope is doing well, working on fetching novel objects and tightening up position.  I notice the changes each time I take him out~he's beginning to be "poodle effortless" on the leash, but still silly about greetings.  He did extremely well at the school with the kids today~mock TDI testing. 

Rosella is going to be going to Princeton on April 30 for an "are you ready" week of evaluation.  She's ready to go.

Graham is still a bit silly with people on the floor...we found this out after WPR tried to sit with him on the floor...then the READ programs with the kids...he's got a bit of "ants in the pants", but Paul's working on it. Everything else is nice, he's looking good. 

Hope is working on the retrieve (without pouncing on things) and the HOLD.  He will on occasion fail to retrieve if he misses it the first time.  He's also learnng TUG to open doors.  He looks great, obedience and attention are excellent and he clearly loves working with Adam.
 
Rosella was working with a different handler this week.  Paul excels at teaching his dogs to TUG, something that Rosella was weak with.  WPR notes that she is off this weekend, needs more correction and attention is lacking.  I am chaulking it up to the nice weather, her age, and changing handlers.  She is back with Chris again, so I expect improvement next weekend. 

Graham did well with Chris this week, performes al ltasks well, no problems.  Still silly with WPR when he enters the training facility, or somewhere in public, needs attention commands and corrections to settle. Graham participated in a READ program last Saturday, and did well with the kids. 

Maxwell 1209 has been failed for guarding high value food items.

This happened twice in one week.  Both the handler and the raiser had not seen any behaviors like this previously. I had noted that he was a confident puppy and a little strong willed, but no aggression was previously noted except in his play with the other dogs~he's a rough player. His reaction the second time (in one week) was severe, he barked and came forward at a person entering the room while he had a bone. Since then, WPR has noted that he is guarding/attempting to hide with high value food items.

I am working on finding the proper placement for Maxwell.

Training notes, 031612

Graham and Rosella's handers have swapped dogs for the week...they're each a little more difficult for new/other handlers to work with, so this experiment should be interesting~hoping for an easier dog in the end, one who will be better at working for anyone who holds the leash. 

Maxwell is to be neutered on Friday. 

Hope is fetching with accuracy, but also quite a bit of vigor.  Will help tone it down after he gets the retrieve without the chewing.  His tug is also getting better, but is not great yet.

Nice job on the bowling trip, no issues.