Life with Laddie continues to be a joy. He is attentive, calm, eager to learn, sweet-natured. Not to mention, gorgeous :) He turned 4 months old yesterday and weighs 31.2 lbs.
Laddie is now officially registered as SSacres Boreland Chisum's Amazn Phoenix.
Our winter continues to be pretty frigid, staying down in the -20* to -30*C range at night, sometimes warming up to -9 during the day with a couple welcome +2* days as the sunlight starts to get warmer. We've also had some seasonal colds go through here lately, so not as much time spent training as usual [thanks, Misty, for babysitting!! :) ], but still having fun challenging Laddie's mind. Here are some of the tricks we've been upgrading or working on the past couple of weeks... (As always, once you've clicked on the link, click on the video to get full vid & sound.)
Being able to discern between objects is a very handy skill, and quite advanced for a puppy, imo. It takes quite a while to thoroughly learn (rather than guessing).
Weave (legs) No hand signals :)
Weave (arms) (NO WAY to use hand signals) 'Go to mat' (from farther away)
'Tap' (This is the movement needed to turn on a push light, which I hope to get down the road.... Laddie is avidly turning in circles and reaching underneath himself to find the treats I threw in an attempt to move him a little distance from the bowl each time he got his mark correct . Otherwise, he was right on top of the bowl all.the.time trying to tap it before I could get the cue spoken Like this... :p )
We're also working on something called 'cross paws' but I don't have a video of that yet. Laddie is becoming more and more trustworthy in the house. We've stopped having to block access to the computer wires and garbage cans. He's learning to stay back from the rugs in the bedrooms, and is chewing less often, although he still frequently picks up various items he finds on the floor, making the 'yuck' command useful. I'm sure it's just so he can get that treat he knows will come if I see something in his mouth, lol. I took Jazz and Laddie down to the barnyard for a visit the other day. This was Jazz's second day of introductions to Laddie since she was segregated with Monty while in heat.
She's not too pleased with the interloper - her nose is a bit out of joint that he's getting some of my attention, so hangs back a bit now and then and gives off some stiff body language- but is listening well to my instructions to leave him be since he's 'mine'. She's already (a few days later) warming up to him, and they'll hopefully be fast friends given some time.
When the video starts, Laddie was over near the pigs and our LGD, Beyza, and called back beautifully :) He was calm and respectful with the poultry, too. <3
Sweet Jazz was being a nice, calm example. Love having a mature dog from which the pup can glean body language. <3 I also really liked how Laddie showed calming behaviour when the black buck postured toward him (near the end of the clip). That same black buck ran over Laddie this morning as the buck was attempting to dodge Jazz while she moved him out of the barn. Laddie was not fazed; he didn't utter a sound, just got back up on his feet, shook himself off, and continued to participate with Jazz and I on our rounds, tail up. It was a cheap, quick and informative lesson for Laddie to be aware of surroundings and that these animals may move in unexpected ways.
This boy is so versatile. Can't wait to see what else we can accomplish together. <3
