First Snow!

Two days ago Trent got to experience his very first snow. News channels described it as a "sneaker snow storm" - no one had been expecting it at all, and I'm glad my puppy got to experience the good ol' white stuff.

He just couldn't get enough of it. I don't think he noticed it when it first came down. We were going on our afternoon walk when the snow started coming down fast, and Trent just shrugged it off. When we let him out in the backyard, however, and there was a good layer of snow on the ground, Trent went, to say the least, crazy. He zoomed and zipped around and flung himself onto the snow like you wouldn't believe. He jumped up and down and all over the place and was full of absolutely contagious excitement. I had fun running and chasing him and chucking snowballs his way (snowballs, which, he ate quite eagerly).

I also took the chance to grab my camera. Though I didn't get any videos (I blame the memory card), I was able to wrap my camera up in a Ziploc bag and get a few good pictures. He moved so fast, even though my camera was on hi-speed burst mode, more than 2/3 of the 200-300 pictures were blurs. Luckily, the other 1/3 came out well and I even got a few good action shots.

There was still some snow the next morning, and Trent had fun catching more snowballs and inhaling the snow, and even got to play with a couple of his doggy friends who live in the neighborhood. Together, they just had a blast, and it was only when my feet were almost frozen off that I had to drag both of us inside. The snow's pretty much all gone, now, but I'm going to keep my fingers crossed for a bit more of it either in January or February. With the crazy Oregon weather, you just never know!

Improving Trent's Recall - Part 1

Trent turned 10 months old on the 20th of December, and while he is excelling at many basic commands and general behavior and manners, his recall now leaves something to be desired. This is partly my fault, as I have not worked on his recall as much as I should have. The longest leash we have is a standard 6 ft. leash, and while he always comes when called inside the house, it's outside with distractions where we're struggling. This also may be due to the fact that he's becoming a bit of a teenager himself, and starting to get his own ideas. Luckily, it's only the recall that's deteriorating, and while he quickly and eagerly obeys all other commands, I'm still going to have to squeeze in more training sessions and being firmer with reinforcing commands. Good thing he's so eager to learn and please (or is it eager to receive his treats?).


Several knowledgeable dog owners have given me a great deal of excellent advice regarding strengthening his recall, and I'm hoping to put it to use while I'm on my 2 week holiday break.

First, I headed online to purchase a 30 ft. lead, which will be used to give Trent running space outside on the fields, and still allow me to reinforce the command I give, if he doesn't come when called.

I also did some digging through the freezer and found a package of meatballs which I'll be using as Trent's "extra special recall reward". He seems to love the taste and the smell of the meatballs, and hopefully if I only give them to him as a reward for coming to me, it'll up their value as training treats.

My next step was to choose a new word to replace the command I once used, "come", as it was suggested to me that I have "burned" the word - meaning essentially that now the word "come" means to Trent "run away from Mommy!" or "time to play hard to get!". I've decided to start teaching "hier" (a German command) as the new word for coming up and sitting down in front of me.

I'll start by practicing in the house and our backyard, which shouldn't be a problem, and then with our 6 ft. leash. With the 6 ft. leash, Trent won't have much freedom or running room, so I'll be backing up quickly and as he starts running towards me, I'll give the command "hier" and reward him when I've halted and he's sitting in front of me. We'll try doing this in more and more distracting environments, and perhaps even eventually take him to practice outside the dog park. Once the 30 ft. leash I'll be ordering arrives, we'll start using it out on the empty soccer fields where Trent likes to run and play ball.

Should be a fun thing to do for the Holidays!

Doing Good :)

Well, I did finally get around to posting after a couple weeks of lazing around. I know, I know, I should be the poster person for the forgetful. But hey, better late than never, right?

The biggest event in the past few weeks is Trent's graduation from his Novice Obedience class last Thursday :) He did well, and the training instructor commented on his nice "down", long stays, "finish/heel", and off leash heeling. His "stand, stay" was also excellent. He was more focused than I expected, and I was really pleased with his off leash heeling, especially with other dogs and people around. He did sniff the ground a bit, but we're definitely getting here... at least he didn't run off!

Obedience school is closed for the holiday season, but once the weather's better, we plan to start an Advanced Obedience + Agility class, and before that, have Trent evaluated for a CGC. We spoke to his training instructor, who's also a CGC evaluator, about it and she told us to go for it. I have to admit, I'm worried that Trent and I aren't going to pass the first time, because of how excitable he is, but the trainer apparently thinks it'll be a breeze for Trent, so let's hope I don't mess things up!

We did some extra work with heeling and paying attention around other dogs tonight. One of our neighbors were walking their dog, and Trent all but hauled me over to say "hi". Luckily, the dog was one of those calm, placid dogs (who, actually, didn't care for other dogs in general), and we tried heeling next to them. I probably looked a bit silly, talking in my "happy voice" and getting Trent to focus his attention on me rather than the dog, but a few minutes later we were doing great. He was heeling along, almost completely ignoring the dog next to us, and didn't pull once. I think we're getting better at this.


Goals
- long stand, stay
- more working under distractions
- continue with our training so he doesn't forget everything this winter
- lots more off leash heeling
- practice out of sight extended stays

I also ought to buy Trent a "big boy" collar soon. My 80 lb puppy is outgrowing his nylon one!

Obedience Classes

Every Thursday we take Trent to Salem (1 1/4 - 1 1/2 hour drive depending on traffic) for obedience classes with his breeder (breeder's daughter, more specifically). We graduated from puppy classes there and yesterday was our 7th week of novice obedience class.

On a scale of 1-10, I'd say Trent and I were at an 8 or 8.5. We could have done better, and I was lucky that Trent made up for my faults by being such a quick learner.

At the beginning of class, he got to say "hi" to two gorgeous black sable German shepherds in the class, and I think he had it quite bad for one of them. He also sniffed noses with his littermates Ulla and Sally.

During class, we practiced "heel" with the leashes looped around our shoulders - which means no touching the leash in preparation for off leash heels. Trent did excellent, whether we were doing about turns, changing paces, walking in tight circles, or walking across the room through a huge crowd of other people and their dogs. He sat down and stayed the moment he was told to, despite being a few inches away from two or three other dogs. At one point, he did try to go over to the rest of the human family, who were sitting off to the side watching, but I got his attention back quickly. His automatic sits are near perfect, and without any tension on the leash, too.

His "down" from six feet away is perfect, and in class we learned a sit from a down when I am 6 feet away. It took one or two times, but he caught on quickly, though once he did a "crooked/lazy" sit and I had to start over and ask him again. His "finish/heel" is getting much better (going from a sitting position in front of me to a sitting position to my left in a starting heel position on command). I stopped using the food lures and just slightly guided him with the leash, and he did great.

We then learned the "stand, stay", which is something that would be really helpful when I'm giving him a bath/trying to dry him or when I'm trying to get him into a stack. I was surprised by how well he did - only tried to sink back into a "sit" once, but when I put him back into a "stand", and told him to "stay", he kept that position and enjoyed the treats and praise I gave him. Only a few moments into learning the command, he did a 30-45 second "stand, stay" without any treats.

But, it was his "stay" that made me the most proud. We put the dogs in a circle around the room and put them in a "sit, stay", walked two circles around the room, past them once and ignoring them, and then did the same with a "down, stay", and Trent didn't budge. He is very used to following after me and is a bit of a velcro dog, so I was sure this would be especially hard for him. Out of sight stays are one thing, but seeing me walk by other dogs and completely ignoring him is another. His 5-10 minute "sit, stay" and "down, stay" with many distractions such as food bowls, squeaky toys, and people is amazing. He really understands the concept of "stay" as well as the fact that "sit" means "sit", not "go down anytime you feel like it, and maybe scratch your ear while you're at it". Granted, Trent did get up when the dog next to him broke his stay and went over to sniff him, but I really couldn't blame Trent for that. His self control hasn't gotten that far yet - but we're working on it!

I made sure to give him a big, meaty bone as a reward :)

Goals for the Week
- 2-3 minute "stand, stay"
- improve on "finish/heel"
- 10 minute in and out of sight "down, stay" and "sit, stay" + many distractions
- "sit" from "down" 6 feet away
- "down" at increasing distances
- continue heeling with more changes of pace and tight circles
- continue off leash heeling
- continue to work on recall
- continue to work on impulse control

Puppy Pictures

Pictures of Trent as an itty bitty puppy. He was 15 lbs when we brought him home, and at 3 months old, barely 20 lbs, I believe. And now he is 8 months old and must be somewhere around 70 lbs!

These pictures are from 3 months old to when he was 2 months old and first came home. Where does the time go?!

Trent Speaks - Raincoat, Raincoat, Go Away

Hey everyone, Trent here! Momma's too lazy to get her butt out of bed and keep everyone updated on my life, so I'm taking over [for now].

Today was an extremely boring day. It was pouring the whole time, and yesterday, too, so we didn't get to go to the park or play with any of my doggy friends. And did I mention how much I hate rain and all forms of water? Well, I hate it. A lot. Especially when it's in the bath tub and paired with shampoo, but also when it's pouring from the sky and ruins a perfectly good weekend.

However, when I expressed my concerns to my mommy, she got this evil glint in her eye and recently, I have found quite a few bookmarks on her laptop titled "Doggy Coats & Jackets". Apparently the solution to my misery is by dressing me up like some frou frou toy and parading me down the street! Because I understand that humans are a very primitive species and astonishingly unintelligent creatures, I made my opinion clear by trying to chew on her laptop and howling and barking. All that got me were the stern words "No playdates tonight, then". The frustration is killing me.

Without me to raise and handle her, I don't know what condition my mommy would be in.

Here's the horrid thing.



Mom wants to go with red. I wants to go nekkid. Hmph. But nooo, the primitive humans with their opposable thumbs always have it their way.

And to convince me about the greatness of raincoats, Mommy even said "but you're best friend Jack wears one!". Yeah, well, Mom, if Jack jumped off the bridge into a bathtub, that doesn't mean I'm going to follow after him.

Training Accomplishments and Goals

This is mostly a list to help me, so I remember what to practice with Trent and what to work for each day. We go to novice obedience classes once a week, and get homework from the trainer, but I like sneaking in some of my own things occassionally, especially if Trent already knows the stuff.

Commands/Behaviors Already Known
(rated on a scale of 0-5, with 5 being solid, reliable grasp of the command/behavior)
Sit - 5
Down - 5
Stay (5-8 minutes + many distractions + me out of sight) - 5
Heel - 4.8
Let's Go (cue during walks for him to stop sniffing/lying down and continue the walk) - 4.5
Leave It - 4.5
Drop It - 4
Automatic Sit - 5
Sit - hand signal - 5
Down - hand signal - 5
Come here - 4.5 (depends on situation and environment)
Speak - 2 (forgot this after teaching "Quiet", then pretty much forgot both...)
Kisses - 5
Off - 5
Crate (go to crate) - 5
Study/Bedroom/Stairs (go to study room/bedroom/up the stairs) - 4
Go Potty - 5
Proper Behavior At Home - 4.99 (getting there!)
Socialization/Friendliness - 100000000 (if there's such thing as too friendly...)

Need to Work On This Week
10 minute "sit, stay" with many distractions + me out of sight
10 minute "down, stay" with many distractions + me out of sight
Reliable recall in more distracting situations
Controlling His Excitement (esp. around kids and other dogs)
"Quiet" on command
Heel/Finish - Standard



Long Term Goals/Plans
Continuing to have such a happy, well socialized, friendly, sweet, intelligent, confident, well adjusted dog! :)
CGC (?)
Dabbing in some agility
STOP TRYING TO PLAY WITH THE CAT!!

I would make a list of EVERYTHING we have to work on in general, but I think I'd wear out my keyboard if I tried...

Starting a Blog!

My overall view of blogs is as follows: they are like diets - something I've started more often than once, gave up on completely, only to eventually grit my teeth and try again. Hopefully I can stick with this one, but that's what we all say about diets, too...

My name is Grace and I'm the lucky mommy of Trent, my young, 8 month old German shepherd puppy - aka a 70 lb black and tan tank of fuzzy craziness. He's smarter than is good for him, has quite the personality, and is the love of my life. He's no Schutzhund prospect, no show quality dog, but he's the puppy who's made me discover more about myself and what it means to be a dog's companion in a few short months than I could have ever learned in a hundred years. He's the puppy who I'll always continue learning from and raise for me innumerable questions about the true, underestimated intelligence of dogs. And he's the puppy who will continue to be one of the most important parts of my life, for the rest of my life.

(He's also the puppy who shredded my $120 Spanish textbook)

On this blog, I'll be writing about our accomplishments, our goals, our stories, and just being able to share our lives together. If I'm feeling especially mean, I might even post about the secret life of the resident kitty kat, Bree.

Hope you follow us and watch both of us grow and change, and through these blog posts, come to enjoy my Trent as much as I do.