Been awhile since I found time to blog. Things have been chirping right along with me busy judging and showing and the never ending fall yard work.
Switch continues to grow and his personality become stronger daily. One thing that worries me is his extreme independence. More and more often, we head inside (the other dogs and me) and Switch is no where to be seen. I confess to becoming a little freaked at night when this happens. He is obsessed with rabbit poo and his obsession takes him to the far edges of the yard where the rabbits congregate and feed. This morning, I found him down near the gate happily munching away. More recall work is obviously necessary. Strange that my last two puppies, Boost and Switch, would be so independent and confident that they don't hang on my every word or coat tail.
Today, I began a more formal "agility" type of training with Boost and Switch. The fall has finally brought cooler temperatures so that we can train without wilting. After the motivational struggles with Stuff, I did not want to start the youngsters in extreme heat. Switch played on the inclined ramp board. Just marking 4 feet on. Right now, just keeping all 4 feet in line is awkward for him as he is in the gawky stage. Before I can start the running, he needs to know that all 4 feet should be in contact with the board. I could place two ramps side by side and make it wider, but I think he will be okay if I spend a day or so on 4 feet. I also jumped him at 12 and 16 inches. Five minutes of jumping the one jump with a clicker. I'll video that the next time we do jumping. He also jumped through the tire 3 or 4 times. His biggest issue is noise so I saved morning kibble for working on the bang of the teeter. He wanted to run when the board bounced back. Darted with his eyes. Then, some puppy training kicked in and he attacked the end of the teeter. I moved down and started banging it and pushing it up and down. He went nuts and killed it for a few minutes. Then, a good game of tug. That was enough for today.Tomorrow, I will work the flat board and the teeter again. Going to add a tunnel and turns around the jump standard too. Need to work on food to toy to food transition.
Photos tomorrow of almost 5 month old Switch.
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