Sophia is here for the week and she is as cute as a bug!
She is getting to know the crew here. She was a little nervous when she first got to the house so I kept the other dogs crated while she explored her temporary digs. When she start to show a little more confidence, I let Sinbad out of his kennel. Sinbad is very gentle and doesn't overwhelm other dogs at all. They were perfect together and got along right from the start.
Healey is more reserved around other dogs but she actually initiated play with Sophia by doing a play bow (where the dog's front end is low to the ground and stretched out and their rear end is still up in the air). At Sophia's age, it's still ok for her to put her paws on older dogs but she is at the point where they will start to tell her that is impolite behavior. But what we are really working hard on is keeping her feet off of people. She's learning to automatically sit for just about everything; pets, food, walks, play, going outside, etc. It's her way of saying "Please." She's doing really well. She's still jumping during times that she is really excited, like if I've been away for a short while. But if she makes a mistake, we use that as a teaching opportunity. In the next day or two I think she will be ready for me to add a lot more movement to my actions (simulating a child moving fast).
We're also working on her house training. Right now, I take her out when she first wakes up, if she's just eaten, if she has been playing and running a lot, or if it's been a couple of hours since she's been out. She also lets me know it's time to go out when she comes up to me and stares at me. At times I also notice if she is sniffing around a lot, it's time for her to go outside. We've been going out on leash to toilet in the grass. She's doing really well. She is relieving herself within 30 seconds after we go out. She gets lots of praise when she does this and then I let her off leash to play in the yard. If she doesn't toilet, I bring her back in the house and put her in a kennel for about 10 minutes. This is not punishment and I still make the kennel a pleasant place for her by putting toys and treats in the kennel but it is used to confine her so she doesn't have an accident in the house. After 10 minutes, I take her out again. The two times that I have done this she relieves herself as soon as we get outside on the second visit. Good girl Sophia! I am also starting to jingle bells at the door just before we go out. Tomorrow I will teach her to ring the bells and get her to start associating that with going outside to toilet. We will also be branching out tomorrow to get her use to toileting around the neighborhood.
But don't think that it's all been hard work. We've also been playing a lot which is a very important part of training. I can use a wide variety of things to reward Sophia for good behavior and one of her favorites is to be rewarded with play. She loves tugging with this toy.
Sophia loves playing ball and this is a great way to get some of her energy out. She is a girl on the move and she needs fun activities to keep her on the straight and narrow.
And, of course, playing with her friends. She and Sinbad love to play ball together.
Looking forward to another day where we will expand on our lessons and move a little farther along on coming when called. Sophia is out cold at my feet as I type getting rested up for our new adventures tomorrow.
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