Not much new news- still progressing well in all his training. Will post some pics this weekend when his buddy Xander visits!
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
June 7, 2011
7 months and 1 week old.
I'm hoping to get some new training videos soon. Ruff has been tracking 3 times now, and he's officially started learning the obedience routines. We're working on the heel, and we're going to start on the hold and bark soon. He continues to be absolutely incredible and I can't wait to see him trial.
He's also beginning to transition from puppy to adult in terms of mentality. We babysat for a friend's new 12 week old puppy this weekend, and he showed some adult behaviors as far as correcting the puppy for trying to take toys/bones out of his mouth, crowd him at the water bowl, and so forth. It was cute, if not a little sad... our big boy is growing up. I don't have a recent weight on him, but after trying to heft him into the bathtub today, I'm betting we're nearing 70lbs. He certainly looks like a grownup, until he starts bunny-hopping across the yard.
I did a slideshow movie of his growth-comparison photos. I wish I was better at editing, but it's okay.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
May 18, 2011
62lbs at 6.5 months (plus a few days).
Ruff has officially started work on the bite sleeve and has been doing excellent. He had his first day of tracking and did very well with that too. Right now Juergen is handling him for tracking, since we're both beginners and tracking is difficult to teach correctly. Right now, he's only doing very short, straight tracks, 50 footsteps or less. By the time he reaches Schh3, he'll be doing 800 foot tracks that cross each other, and passively indicate 3 lost articles along the way. We have homework to start with some basic heelwork, but his formal obedience doesn't start for a few more weeks.
In the meantime, we're gearing up for Canada! We've started putting together their first aid kit, Shakespeare has his life jacket already but I still need to order Ruff's. I think the boys are going to love it!
And one more video: Day 2 of the bite sleeve!
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
May 10, 2011
I finally got a video of Ruff at Schutzhund. :-)
His trainer says he's ready to start tracking, so we'll be going out Sunday morning for that. And in a couple weeks, he gets to start transitioning to the puppy bite sleeve, and also start formal obedience work. By the first week of June, he should be doing a normal training routine with the other dogs, not just the puppy work he's been doing so far. I'm so proud of him! He looks amazing out there, he's come such a long way in just a few months from the puppy who wouldn't even play tug of war with the trainers on his first day. I think he's going to be an awesome dog, and I fully expect to get him all the way to Schh3.
He's doing great all around... we go on hikes and play dates with Lupa every week, and he's getting almost impossible to tire out. He's still between 55 and 60lbs. I need to get him to the vet for a weight check soon. He started getting knuckle bones to chew on when we're busy, and he can strip them down to almost nothing, although he still leaves the thickest, hardest parts of the bone behind. He's slowly starting to fill out and look more like a real dog and less like a mismatched goofy puppy with a bobblehead. :-)
Friday, April 8, 2011
April 8, 2011
Happy Birthday Ruff!
He's officially 6 months old today. :-)
He has most of his adult teeth in, and the rest are well on the way.
His training is going well. He's off this weekend, the trainers are at a trial in Kentucky. We're going to try to go Wednesday night instead.
His hair is changing- the coarser hair has taken over pretty much everywhere, and he's starting to develop a ruff around his neck.
He's getting really courageous at the park, he runs and wrestles more every day.
Overall he's a big, beautiful, wonderful boy. :-) Happy birthday Ruff!
Thursday, March 31, 2011
March 31, 2011
22 weeks old tomorrow... we'll get a current weight on him soon.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
March 30, 2011
Ruff's sheep herding instinct test was both successful and adorable! He went absolutely CRAZY over the sheep, and immediately started chasing them in circles, turning them, barking, and just being adorably crazy. The trainer said he'd do very well with herding if we wanted to pursue it. I may look into it later this summer, but for now I prefer Schutzhund. He had his second day, and he did much better with prey drive. He chased, tugged, barked, and was suitably driven to chase his toy around. Our next assignment is to transition him from his stuffed animals to an actual Schutzhund training tug. To teach the bite work, they start the dog on a little stuffed tube toy on a rope, that's covered in the same material as the outside of the bite sleeve. From there, they transition to a pillow, to teach them to grab it with a full mouth. Then they go to a wedge, to help them make sure they're biting all the way to the back of their teeth. Then they go to a soft "puppy" sleeve, then the full reinforced sleeve. We've been working him with pieces of burlap to help him learn the feel of the material, so the next step is the tug. I need to ask about the tracking training, but we don't start the formal obedience until he's older. The big part of getting a puppy into this sport is teaching them to be driven and excited while they're working. It has to be a fun game for them, with lots of satisfaction and rewards. If they don't really want to do it, they won't do well.
His next training is on Sunday- 58 degrees and sunshine, best weather we'll have had for this so far!
We haven't gotten a weight lately- probably upwards of 55lbs. New photos soon.
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