Dog Tired!

I had quite the little scare last night. I put Marshall in his crate, spent a few minutes tidying up the house before bed. When I looked in the crate, he wasn't moving. Poking his ribs didn't move him. Tickling his toes didn't move him. Even the flash of the camera didn't phase him.

I guess he must have had a busy day.

(It's kind of hard to see a black dog on a black crate tray, but he is belly up, shoulders turning the corner and back feet tucked against the wires! Kind of like how you and I sleep and wake up complaining about back problems!)

Lazy Summer Evenings

What is a creative way to spend a hot summer evening?

Training your DFA puppy (Marshall) to catch a cookie (kibble or puppy size dog bisquit) off his nose!

Certainly not very practical for future "work" but it helps him learn to sit still, focus, and wait for a command. He's not always successful, but more and more, he has the reflexes to move his head and catch the cookie before it reaches the ground.

Settling Back In

After Marshall's "water vacation" he has been back in my home about a week. He was at Camp Julies for about two weeks, where he got to experience running in fields, and lots of exciting things; that both good and bad got him out of his routine, which meant some adjusting when he returned back into my home.

He is now staying in a very large wire crate, versus being gated in a bathroom. Truthfully the size is probably about the same, but the crate affords more restriction from adventure--unless he learns to pick the lock--you never know!

Although it wasn't fun to come home to, he had to get reacquanted with his restroom habits to match my work day. Thankfully by Wednesday (only two days being crated) I came home to a clean crate.

One funny thing to report. Marshall has two separate crates, in two separate rooms. One for night and one for day. Whether it be day or night, when we come in from outside for the last time, I can say (while still in the kitchen) "Get In" and most of the time he picks the right room and the right crate where he is schedule to stay.

One other adjustment we need to work through is his "proudful" attitude when walking and meeting other dogs. Before camp he wasn't as vocal when approaching other dogs. But I'm told that he's turned into somewhat of a teenager while he was away and is trying to make himself bigger than he is. For me, this means backing off walking Marshall and my own dog at the same time for my own convenience, and stepping up focusing on Marshall's attitude on training walks with only him.

As I stood visiting with neighbors last night while several dogs passed by and the visiting neighbors also had their dogs on a leash visiting with me, I think I can say Marshall showed some progress on calming down when asked (well...TOLD to do so), so there is hope that this "rebellious teenager" will become a well mannered "adult" ready to work.

This evening, he layed by my feet in the kitchen while I cooked...something he hasn't seen in months!

Puppy classes go on!

DFA trainee, Nelson, 7 months old, takes a break at puppy class. He's observing his co-worker canines who are studying directed jumping and go-outs.

Standing Still

I've recently been working with Marshall on a "stand stay." He has to stand still while I walk away. Today, I wanted to test him while he worked the booth at the farmers market.

I instituted the help of another puppy raiser and the children of another. I got Marshall to stand while the "helper" touched or nudged Marshall with their knees, kind of pushing on him to get him to move. He is not allowed to move until I return to him and release him.

He's still a work in progress, but he did pretty well.

I even think this training spilled over to his "pr work". I would have him standing and a person from the passing crowd would be asking about him, and it seemed Marshall would look over to me as if to ask, "can I stop standing now?" I would tell him 'ok' and he would sit to be petted, as commanded.

It's times like thesethat offer great opportunities to work in a little training for more real-life environments to which he might be exposed--lots of things to look at, but learn to focus on the job.

Stretching the mind

I sure missed Marshall while he spent time with another foster to work the BMW Charity event. He came back and I saw he was SO big! I guess you don't see them growing in front of your eyes.

I've been told we need to work on Marshall's over exhuberance with a tennis ball. I had been thinking about how I could stretch his little mind even before he spent time away. So, for a few days now, I've been introducing holding a dumbbell in his mouth...the first step to learning to retrieve. (If I can get Marshall to retrieve my shoes like my first own dog, I will be VERY happy, but he has to learn the concept first). I started with just helping him hold in while I held his mouth closed around it. Last night we tried the next baby step, actually reaching for it. It is getting it!

Julie also suggested we "search for our dinner." That has been quite a fun game. When I feed my own dog, Marshall already knows his bowl isn't going to be handed to him. He lets my other dog start eating, while I tell Marshall, "Search." His bowl has been hidden behind doors, and under things. Last night it was outside. Tonight, we just might have a larger search as we find a place, perhaps down the street?

All this is to help Marshall understand that his world is bigger than a tennis ball. Hopefully he will conquer all there is in this big wide world and that process of learning fun!

Marshall rang the bell

When I first brought Marshall home, I had hung an ornament made of multiple bells on the back door. I had quickly trained my older dog to "ring the bell" by hitting it with his nose to signify "outside." I never really had a chance to purposefully train Marshall on the bell.

My dog, still being a bit bigger than Marshall is always the first to reach the bell. I say "outside" and he hits the bell.

I thought Marshall had hit the bell the other night, but it was hard to tell, with two rambunctious dogs at the door.

Just now, as I was doing dishes, Marshall was standing by the door, looking at me, and hit the bell with his nose. I asked Marshall, "did you just tell me something?" and he hit the bell again. I reaffirmed his action by saying "outside" and he hit it again. Followed by a party of lots of praise, and of course a little trip outside.

He seems to have learned just by watching all these months--how cool is that!

Sable pups get mobile!

Fundraiser at Ace Hardware!

Marshall at the Movies

Well....more of a drive in.

On Friday night, a local church was offering a movie on their grounds. Young families, kids running, dancing, loud music, balls and frisbees flying. Kids running through the crowd past Marshall's face...snacks and popcorn treats on the blanket beside him, just within reach, which resulted in only a few of those puppy stretches that is really pushing the boundaries of a true plotz, but a little "ah ah" redirected his attention to treats of his own for a good response.

Marshall was alert and watched the balls flying, started to get up a few times to chase them, but was quickly redirected to sit or plotz. Just a few corrections to sit to allow some kids to pet him, I explained that he needed to learn how to sit still for his job.

With all those wonderful distractions, Marshall pretty much layed at my feet through all the comotion. Having gotten there a little too early, we took a few little walks around to let him stretch his legs.

And I actually got to watch the entire movie!

Marshall plays Little League

Tonight Marshall charmed the crowds at the Heritage Park little leage diamonds. The only seats left were right behind home plate. An interesting place to be with a little dog who loves to chase balls!

He was all eyes and ears, but held his plotz with just a few corrections and even just sniffed at the peanut shell debri on the ground.

We walked around to different fields with various levels of play. He wasn't too sure as we passed some of the batting cages, but quickly regained his confidence.

He walked calmly by my side...better on the left than on the right.

He even held a plotz as some kids were practicing beside the sidewalk and three balls rolled right beside us.

O Pups Go Visiting

The new Pupstart Center is nearing completion! Today as our wonderful contractors were packing up and preparing to leave, we brought the "O" puppies in for a brief visit. The terms sharp teeth & fast feet sum up this experience pretty well. These little terrors are now 6 1/2 weeks old, and definitely getting harder to herd....I mean 'manage!' But they're still seriously cute, and we are enjoying their babyhood immensely. Decisions are almost finalized about which pups will be going to which jobs, but there's still about a week left to make final evaluations. All of us at DFA are tremendously grateful that Leadership Greenville Class 35 has provided this wonderful facility for puppies and classes. We appreciate their efforts so very much--the Pupstart Center is already making a world of difference to the entire DFA program! (Hey you there...you puppy by my foot....Thou shalt not bite the videographer!)

Marshall Update

This weekend was a little difficult because of a chemo treatment for me, but I wanted to report on some interesting behaviors from Marshall.

We were able to meet another puppy raiser at the park early Saturday morning to get some training in. But after that, Marshall hung in there with me for lots of naps on both Saturday and Sunday. I had him on a leash with place nearby the couch and he was very content.

But the interesting thing was this morning. He did something that has been described by some of the other puppy raisers...He wouldn't let up until I got out of bed to go to work!

As I've reported before, Marshall is very attuned to his schedule. Our typical work day is to get up at 6a, eat and play then back in the crate while I get ready for work. Today, we got up at 6a, but I needed more time in bed. I gave him a chew. Usually he goes back in his crate to enjoy it, but this morning, he went in the same room as my other dog, all was well.

When it came time for me to get up, he was done with his chew, but he kept pulling on my hands and barking until I got up. I know it's not good for the "teeth" restriction, but he was persistent. I got up, put him in his crate and he settled right down....job well done, little guy!

More Azaela Festival

Here is Mills (left) with Warren and Marshall (right) with Patrice...and Sherry also manning the booth.

Azalea Festival

Here are some pictures from Saturday's Azalea Festival. Thanks to Lucy, Naomi, Mills and Marshall for taking time out of their busy schedules to entertain the city of Pickens with their brother and pal, McIver.

Check out the new puppy vests. McIver is beginning to feel more like a service dog.

Sharon tempts Naomi with a treat.

McIver patiently waiting for visitors.