Drop On Recall

It is so fun to see all the pieces of our training start to come together to create something that is on the way to becoming a real obedience ring exercise. Rundle has been working on all the pieces of a drop on recall since he was a wee pup and now we are starting to combine them.  Recalls, downs and wrapping around a pole are all things that Rundle has been practicing since we brought him home. We are now starting to combine these into one fun exercises.

Rundle started learning a stationary down as a tiny puppy and once that was solid, I started adding a bit of distance. Then we added a moving down while Rundle was walking beside me or following me. Now I am asking for a down when Rundle is moving at a trot or run beside me. Basically, I want him to be able drop quickly no matter what he is doing.

What does wrapping around a pole have to do with a drop on recall?  Well, nothing really, but at the same time a lot.  Rundle learned how to wrap a pole and come back to me when he was about 10 weeks old. This behaviour has a long history of reinforcement for him and he thinks it is very fun. I can now use this fun exercise to make an otherwise boring exercise much more exciting. When you think about it, the drop on recall can be a boring exercise. Sit and wait until called, then down on cue, then complete the recall. When drilled over and over this way, it can be very boring for the dog and the handler.  But, add in something fun, like a pole, and it's a whole new game!  I can send Rundle out to wrap the pole and then on his way back, I can ask him for a down.  So this way, I can practice all the elements of the DOR, with the exception of the "wait", without turning it into a boring, formal exercise. Fun for everyone and a great way for a dog to learn. 

Now that Rundle has a bit of speed, he sometimes takes more steps than I would like before he drops. When this happens, I don't make a big deal about it, I just reset him and make it easier by going in a step or two towards him, then reward when he is successful. I also don't drop him after every wrap - sometimes I ask for a front, sometimes just a recall. I do not want him patterned to think that he wraps the pole then he drops. I always want him to be thinking and wondering what I will ask him to do next. As he gets more confident with this, I will start adding more distance until we can get to a full ring length with successful drops.  So, for as much work as we have done, we still have much more to do.

Signals

I have been working a bit with Rundle on hand signals. He was doing okay with this but then I tried to progress too fast (added to much distance before he was ready) and we started to get some creeping on the behaviours, which I do not want. So, I had to go back a couple steps and re-start the signals with Rundle right in front of me. What I want is a fast and clean response to the signals, which means a nice fold back down and a nice tuck sit, with no forward movement on either of them. Right now we are working on a down from a stand, a sit from a down, and a front from a sit.  I am happy with how the individual behaviours are going, so I will slowly start adding distance to each of them. Once I have some good distance, while still keeping my criteria of no creeping forward, then I will shorten the distance again and start to combine the signals.  It is so tempting to add more distance or start combining signals when your dog is doing well at the beginning stages, but when you go too fast and skip too many steps, it sucks to have to go back and start all over. So, the second I see any sloppiness, I need to go back a step to where Rundle was successful.

Patience seems to be the name of the game in dog training. We all want to get to the end result so quickly, but when we try to move ahead before our dog has a solid understanding of the basics of the behaviour, it often falls apart later in training or when we start trialling or adding pressure (proofing) to our training. So, it is often a battle between the thrill of seeing our dogs progress quickly and holding ourselves and our dogs to criteria that will hold up in the long run. The number one thing we need to remember is that dog training is not a race. In fact, a great deal of frustration often comes from trying to push ahead too fast.  So, if it takes me 6 months to work up to 20 feet of distance in our signals, so be it.  

Spring Training

Finally it is starting to look like spring around here. That means that we can actually do some training outside where there is more room and more distractions for Rundle to learn to work around. Rundle is a dog that is very aware of his environment and so even the backyard can present enough distraction to add challenges (in a good way) to our training. Learning to focus and work amidst distractions is an important part of the training process, and so even in the yard with familiar distractions, it will help Rundle learn to ignore the outside environment while he is training. Or at least that is the plan :)

Rundle's heeling is coming along nicely. I mentioned before that we were doing a heeling class through the Fenzi Academy and it really helped me set my goals for Rundle's heeling. The class was very intense and worked entirely on the precision behind heeling. This meant that for 6 weeks we worked on where heel position is. By the end of the 6 weeks, we were just starting to add movement to our heel position and Rundle and I had not completed all the skills set out at the beginning of the class.  I think that only one or two people actually got thorough all the skills, that is how tough the class was.  I think it was worth it though and Rundle seems to have a solid understanding of where heel position is and how to stay there. Now we just need to put in the hours and hours of practice that it will take to get that nice heel position all the time. Building duration for heeling will be a gradual process as I don't want to lose the precision. 

We are doing lots of other fun training too. I am starting to add the real scent articles into the discrimination game, so instead of just indicating the correct article, I am going to be asking Rundle to retrieve the correct article. He is retrieving all three types of articles well so now it's time to start combining that with the discrimination. We are also starting to work on go outs, doing more work with the broad jump, and adding more distance and movement to our downs. So, it's a good thing we can train outside as we will need more room to do all of these. 

Since I have no picture of Rundle working, I will post a video. This is Rundle working on "wait". The wait command is different from the stay in that I want Rundle to be ready for action. So with this cue he should be watching me and waiting intensely for the next cue, which is usually an action cue (come, utitlity signals, or release to agility equipment). I don't want any movement until I give another cue, as that gets you into all kinds of trouble. You will hear in the video some noise from next door where the neighbours were getting new siding put on their house. Rundle really wanted to go see what was going on (ie bark at the workers) but was a good boy and focused on the task we were working on. I need to work much harder in these situations by keeping the sessions short and interesting (using a tug toy instead of just food) to make sure he is successful around these kinds of distractions. 

Happy Birthday

Today Rundle turns 1 year old.

It's hard to believe that Rundle is growing up so quickly. He is maturing in some ways but still so very puppyish in other ways. He is a completely delightful dog and keeps us laughing every day. Rundle loves to cuddle and will snuggle right into your shoulder and sometimes I literally have to pry him off of me.  He loves to play and I have more than my share of bruises from Rundle trying to play tug with my sleeve.  Rundle loves everyone he meets and cannot contain his excitement when he gets to visit people he knows. He is such a fun puppy to live with and to train. I am so very greatful to his breeder for trusting me enough with this sweet boy to send him across the country.  We love this boy more than words can say. 

Happy Birthday, Rundle!!!

Where We Are Going and How We Are Getting There

It is no secret that one day I hope to have Rundle ready to compete at the Utility level in obedience.  It will still be a long time before we step into the obedience ring, even at the Novice level.  Some people have a specific goal in mind of when they want to take their dog in the ring, but I do not. Right now, I figure somewhere around when Rundle is 3 years old or so, but that will all depend on how he matures and how our training progresses. I do know that I will not take him into the ring until he is ready and that I want him to be fluent in all the exercises through the Utility level before we debut in Novice.

We have so much work to do but when I look at how much progress Rundle has made in the last 8.5 months since I brought him home, it really is amazing. He now has bits and pieces to make up all the exercises in all the obedience levels. Of course, we still need to learn much more and then put all those bits and pieces together and work on actual ring prep, but if we keep working steadily, we will get there.

For all the obedience levels, heeling is very important. In my mind it is also the most difficult exercise to teach and have your dog maintain enthusiasm for.  Right now, Rundle is learning about heeling - mainly, where exactly heel position is and how he can get there and stay there.

Novice level:
Rundle has the basics of fronts and finishes and stays (sit, down and stand) as well as the recall. I need to introduce the exam for the "stand for exam", but Rundle needs to be more solid on his stays before we add the excitement of someone trying to touch him. We have not combined any of these basics and I won't until each component is strong by itself.

Open Level:
Rundle is working hard on a formal retrieve.  So far we have split the components and have a hold, a carry, a pick up and the beginnings of a turn. Once each piece is solid, we will combine them into one full retrieve.
We have the beginnings of the drop on recall which are a fast response to the down cue and a down at a short distance.
Rundle has the basics of jumping.  We will introduce the broad jump this week.

Utility Level:

Rundle has the beginning of the retreiving he will need for the seek back. 

Rundle is loving the scent articles and we will continue to make them more challenging and then add in a retrieve once he is solid on that.

Signals - Rundle knows the position changes but we need distance and hand signals only. 

Moving Stand - we are making good progress on the moving stand. The exam by the judge will take a lot of prep - jumping on the judge is not scored well ;)

Directed Jumping - Rundle has the basics of a go out, both to a nose and foot target. We also have been working on the directed jumping and that is going well, although Rundle does have a side that is much stronger.

So, that is our progress up until now. Bits of this and bits of that. Someday all the bits should come together into the various exercises. Until then, we will keep working and having fun.

Moving Stand

I have started to teach Rundle a moving stand. His stands on command are fairly solid so now we are starting to add in some movement. Right now I am rewarding Rundle for still feet once I ask him to stand. Once he is stopping quickly with no foot movement I will start to add in some distance. Eventually, I should be able to cue the stand/halt and he will stay in place no matter where I move. 

The problem we are having right now with this exercise is that Rundle has been strongly rewarded for his fronts. So often, he tries to sit in front instead of halting. To stop this I am careful to stand at a slight angle in front of him.  I will also start tossing the cookie to him instead of handing it to him so that he doesn't think the position I want is always close in front of me. Once

We put everything together, he will be in heel position, not in front of me so it shouldn't be too much of an issue later on. 

More Scent Work

Rundle is still working on his scent articles and he is really loving this game. I have now started to make things harder for him by hiding the scented article and letting him find it. I also have added some distractions into his training. Here is a video from a couple days ago. Rundle is finding his article hidden among his toys. I started easy with just one scented article then added a couple more unscented articles to work around. His accuracy is nearly 100% right now so it is time to make it even more challenging :)

Just Photos

Continuing with my 52 Weeks project.

Rundle loves his toys but would rather run around with them than bring them back to me.  That is one of the things we are working on :)

5/52  Got It!!

It has been bitterly cold here this week so Rundle has been stuck in the house quite a bit.  He mostly just runs out for a pee and to chase the birds away and then it is back in to the warm house.

6/52  Wishful Thinking

Agility Update

I have mostly been posting about Rundle's progress in obedience but we are still working on some agility stuff as well.  Rundle thinks agility is a lot of fun and he is doing well with all the skills we have been working on.  Rundle is still learning all the foundation skills and has seen very little in the way of actual agility equipment.

There is so much for him to learn before we get to the "big dog" stuff. Rundle is learning to take a straight line of jumps without me cueing each individual jump.  He is learning the 180 jump pattern and can now do this with a fair distance between the jumps. Rundle also knows how to take the backside of the jump on cue.  We are working on running across planks on the ground and Rundle thinks this is very exciting. He has pretty good coordination for his age and can stay on the plank even running at full speed (I'm sure this will give me a heart attack when we move to full sized equipment). We have worked a bit on rear crosses but I need to do more of this outside of class so that he really understands.

The only full sized piece of equipment Rundle has been learning is the teeter. We started doing teeter bang games (Rundle jumping on the end of the teeter to make it "bang").  Now Rundle has started running up the teeter to the end with the teeter propped up so it can't fall. Rundle gets fed standing on the end up in the air and then I lift him off. He has no problem with this at all. Last week he mis-stepped and fell/jumped off and turned and got right back on again. So he is not at all worried about the teeter so far. Soon we will start moving the teeter up and down a bit and have Rundle "surf" on the end of the board.  He still has a long way to go before he is doing the teeter all on his own, which is fine with me as I am in no rush with him. He will probably be in the foundation class long after the puppies who started the same time as him move on to the more advanced classes. Rundle, being a large breed puppy, will not be able to physically (or mentally) move to more challenging training or full equipment until his growth plates are all closed, which will not be for quite a while still. So, there is no need to rush anything - we have lots of time to work on all the basic agility skills we will need.

Obedience Classes

I have been taking online obedience classes through the Fenzi Dog Sport Academy for a year now.  I audited a couple classes and also have had working spots with Rundle in Puppy Foundation and Obedience Skillbuilding classes.  I just signed up for another working spot in the "Precision Heeling" class.  Denise Fenzi's dogs have amazing heeling so I am excited to get feedback from her as I start Rundle in his heeling foundation work.  The timing for this class is perfect as Rundle has a decent attention span now when it comes to working and he has the focus and coordination now to begin learning the complex skills that go into creating a beautiful, accurate competition heel.  This will probably be my last working level spot for a while as my budget will not allow me to keep taking classes at the gold level.  I will still take auditing classes though, as there is lots to learn from watching others and reading all the great lecture material and the price level of those is reasonable.

I have also been taking a real life obedience class with Rundle.  It is a Drive, Attention and Motivation (DAM) class taught by my friend Amanda.  It is an awesome class!  Probably the best obedience type class that I have ever taken.  What is so great about it is that it is not just an hour of obedience skills and drills - that can be boring for handlers and dogs alike.  Rather, it is a class geared towards creating dogs who think obedience is a fun game.  We play with our dogs as well as work on attention.  We play fun recall games and teach our dogs silly tricks.  We also work on foundation obedience skills.  This class fits in perfectly with what I have been doing in my online class work and gives Rundle a chance to practice what he has been learning in a much more distracting environment than our livingroom or back yard.  He gets very excited when other dogs are moving and playing, so this class is great for him to learn he still has to focus on me no matter what the dog next to him is doing.  So, lots of fun and work for both of us.


Now, continuing with my 52 Weeks project, here are the photos from the last couple weeks:

3/52  Being Still

4/52  Seize The Day

52 Weeks For Dogs

I mentioned in an earlier post that I am doing a Flickr photo project with Rundle.  It is called "52 Weeks For Dogs", and as the title suggests, you post one picture a week for the entire year.  This is my 4th year doing this project and although sometimes it is hard to stay motivated, at the end of the year it is worth it to look back at the finished project.  Because of this project, I have got shots of my dogs that otherwise I never would have.

I really want to spend this year capturing the Rundle's personality as he matures.

Week 1

Rundle loves jumping and bouncing and I captured this shot of him jumping in snow.  He was chasing snowballs that I was throwing.

1/52 Leaping Into The New Year

Week 2

Rundle will stare at a ball (or any toy) and then suddenly jump on it.  This is his pre-jump, getting ready to pounce look.

2/52 Stare Down

Some January Training

I put together this quick video of some of the obedience exercises Rundle has been working on.  I am trying to work on accuracy and quick responses as well as trying to maintain and encourage enthusiasm.  I didn't post any of the "enthusiasm" parts of the sessions but it mostly involves some quick play using the games Rundle finds the most fun.

We still have so much to work on but so far I am happy with how Rundle is progressing.  He has his own style of doing things and so far doesn't think obedience is routine or boring.

 

Dog In A Box

A few days ago I shared this video with a friend who is training a new puppy. It is a silly exercise  where you see how small of a box you can get your dog to stand in. It is based purely on shaping - no luring, no helping - just letting the dog figure out what it is you want. The only thing you need to play this game is a dog that understands the concept of shaping.  Although it is a bit silly, this is, like any clicker shaping game is a great, no pressure way of teaching your dog to think and figure out problems. I say "no pressure" because it is just a trick so if you mess it up it's no big deal.  Exercises like this are great to teach your puppy to deal with frustration and to think through problems. This particular exercise also has a bonus of teaching body awareness.

The premise of this exercise is to get your dog to stand in progressively smaller and smaller boxes. Since Rundle had never been asked to stand in a box before, the first box was the most difficult for him. You can see him trying to figure out what I wanted and he offered all sorts of behaviors to try to find the "correct" behavior that would earn him a click. Of course I didn't expect him to catch on right away, so I first rewarded for interacting with the box, then touching it with his paw, then for one paw in, etc., until all his feet were in the box. The smallest box was also difficult - not because he didn't know what to do, but because he needed to figure out how to fit all four feet in such a tiny place.  Of course this wasn't done all in one session, or even all in one day.  Short sessions are the best for this type of "thinking" style of training.

Nine Months

It is hard to believe that Rundle will be turning 9 months old tomorrow.  He is now officially a teenage puppy - that sometimes awkward stage between young puppy and adult dog.  I occasionally get hints of adolescent attitude (which means that I need to work harder) but I also get a glimpse into the dog that he will become.  This is the transition age that is sometimes challenging, sometimes sad but mostly exciting.  It is sometimes challenging because sometimes young dogs "forget" things they knew just a few months earlier.  It is sometimes sad because those cute, fun puppy days are now behind us.  But it is also exciting because that wee little pup is now growing up and hopefully we will have many exciting adventures together.

Rundle - 9 Month Stack

Rundle and I are still working on lots of foundation obedience exercises.  Fronts, finishes, finding heel position, dumbbell holds, position changes and targeting.  This is all stuff we have been working on since Rundle was a little pup but now I am making it more challenging for him with distractions and other added difficulty in the criteria I expect.  We also still make sure we play everyday both during and outside of training.  Rundle loves playing with me, with or without a toy and I will really need that later in our training when I need to keep Rundle interested and excited to work with me when the training cookies go away.

Something new that we have been working on is scent article discrimination.  We have started our training with metal articles using canning lids and have been working on this for about a month or so.  Since Rundle is still learning a formal retrieve, he indicates the correct article (the one I have touched) to me with a nose touch (which he learned when he was a little guy).  Eventually, he will learn on wooden and leather articles as well as the metal.  Once he has a decent dumbbell retrieve, I will put it all together.  Here is a little video of Rundle working on his articles:

Another new thing that we will be doing is a photography project.  This will be my 4th year doing the Flickr "52 Weeks For Dogs" project.  So, I will need to plan, shoot and submit one photo a week to the project group.  I expect to be challenged with this in 2014 as Rundle does not pose for the camera so I guess I will be doing a lot more action shots next year :)

We should have a busy year coming up.  Between training, playing and photography, Rundle should be kept busy and hopefully out of mischief.

Seven Months - Obedience Work

I was hoping to make a video of some of the things we have been working on, but I just haven't got around to it.  Hopefully, I will get some time this week to put some effort into it, but until then I want to do an update of how Rundle is progressing in his obedience work.   We are still working hard to set a good foundation for the future, so that means lots of focus work and lots of control work.  It is also important for me to have a dog that is enthusiastic about training so I keep session fun and try not to make them to repetitious.

Some of the things that Rundle is getting really good at are food bowl control, focusing on me when there are minor distractions such as food on the floor, finding heel position (get in), pivoting, moving downs and he has a very cute jump stand.  His stays are getting good now and I can even leave him out of sight for a short time and he will hold a sit-stay.

For all the things that Rundle is getting good at, there are many more things that are still a work in progress.  That's the fun thing about obedience - one behaviour builds off of another so there are always things to be working on and improving on.  That is why the foundation stuff is so important - everything else Rundle will learn will be based on the stuff I am teaching him right now.  We are now working on dumbbell holds, finding front position, leave it and targeting.  I am also ready to start some scent discrimination games with him - I just need to go out and get the materials needed to get started.

What I haven't been doing as far as obedience work goes, is heeling.  Some people teach their very young puppies to heel but I do not.  I teach finding heel position and maybe we will do a step or two holding that position, but that is it for puppy heel work.  The main component of having a nice heeling dog is focus and attention.  Until I can get Rundle to have nearly 100% focus and attention on me in all sorts of environments, I am not going to start teaching a formal heel.  I do not want to create bad heeling habits by having Rundle distracted and looking around during heeling.  So strong focus work comes first.  I also do not think it is physically appropriate to ask a puppy to be in the heel position (straight body, head up).  It is a physically demanding position and I do not want to put undue strain on such a large breed puppy.  Heeling is hard work, both physically and mentally so I have no problems waiting to teach a formal heel to Rundle.  I have a picture of the perfect heeling dog in my mind and there are so many pieces to put together to get there - I just don't want to rush it.

As for everyday obedience (which is so much different that formal obedience), Rundle is getting very good at walking nice on a leash (unless there is a dog coming towards us),  he is getting much better at meeting strangers (ie not jumping on them) but he still enthusiastically jumps on people he knows (sigh), and his general manners around the house are starting to really come together (waiting at the door, go lay down when told, getting feet wiped, etc).

I have no fun pictures to post so I will post Rundle 7 month stack photo.  I like to do a stacked photo every month just to see how he is growing and changing.  There are so many things I am liking structurally about this puppy and  I am looking forward to see how he matures.

First Snow

This past week Rundle experienced his first snowfall.  To say he was excited about it is an understatement.  All he wanted to do was stay outside and play and run.  He thought the snow was the best thing in the world.


Rundle had fun running.....

....And jumping...

....And Playing....

....And Chasing....

.... And The Occasional Actually Standing Still.

Nosework Seminar

Yesterday, Rundle had the opportunity to get a working spot in a local Nosework seminar. Nosework has been in the U.S. for a few years now but it is a brand new sport to Canada, with the Sporting Detection Dogs Association (www.sportingdetectiondogs.ca) just starting up this past year.  In a Nosework test, dogs must find the target odours (wintergreen, pine and thyme) that are hidden in various spots (in boxes and/or interior rooms and/or vehicles, depending on the level you are testing at).  It is much like how drug detection dogs learn to find various substances only our dogs learn to find substances (odours) that are not illegal. Dogs of all breeds (mixed or not), sizes and ages can learn this game.

We had a lot of fun at the seminar and Rundle had a blast searching the boxes and getting cookies for finding the box with the target scent (we used wintergreen). This is a sport that I am interested in continuing with. Once Rundle knows what he is supposed to be searching for, it will not take much room or time to practice, and it is perfect for those bad weather days when it is tough to get outside.  It is so great to see dogs using their noses - it is such a natural thing for them so I am sure it is very rewarding for them to get to be allowed to use their natural abilities.  

Here are a couple videos that my awesome friends took for me (I didn't know anyone was video taping). 

The first video is when we started using the boxes. There is the wintergreen scent in the box along with some food. When the dog finds the box with the scent, we put more food in the box to make it very rewarding. (Thanks Amanda for the video).

 

The next video is after we have done a few sessions with the boxes. There is no longer food in the boxes but we still reward heavily as soon as our dog's head goes into the box with the scent. We really want to make that connection with the smell and good things (food) happening. You can see Rundle is very excited to get to the boxes! (Thanks Jolene for the video).

Rundle Beginning Nosework

Now I just need to find some good boxes to hide scent in and we can get started training at home. It is great timing too as suddenly our nice autumn weather has turned to cold and snow.  

Downs Continued

We have had some progress in our downs at a distance. We have moved away from working on the stairs back to working on the flat.  I am now leaving Rundle in a stand stay, walking away and then asking for a down.  He is now downing on cue with little forward motion. Right now I am giving him a "learning phase" grace of a maximum of 2 steps forward. If he moves more than that, I reset and ask for the down again. Eventually I will want no forward movement at all after I give the cue, so I will shape our way towards that goal.
Since our goal in this exercise is for Rundle to be able to drop anywhere on cue, even if he is moving, I want him to learn how to drop out of motion. I am teaching this separate from the drop from a stand at a distance because he needs to understand the two concepts individually before I combine them. So, I am having Rundle drop while walking beside me to teach him that he can drop quickly on my cue while he is moving. I am posting a video that includes the first two sessions working on this. So far so good.  I will gradually keep moving when he drops and expect him to stay in the down position but I expect that will take several sessions of reinforcement to learn.

Teaching Downs

I started teaching Rundle to lay down on cue when he was about 10 weeks old.  Now, he will lay down quickly when I give the cue and he is even getting some good durations on his downs.

When teaching a puppy to lay down it is easiest to have them right next to you or in front of you so you can lure or capture the down and then reward right away. This starts the foundation for a solid down on cue.  Eventually, you will want your puppy to respond immediately to the down cue, no matter where they are.  This is where my problem has come in. Rundle has generalized the down position to mean lay down right in front of me, so no matter where he is when I give him the down cue, he will always come right up to my feet before laying down. I want him to be able to lay down no matter how far away from me he is when I give the cue.  I have been working on this with him for a couple weeks and have made a wee bit of progress but not much. So, I have started working this exercise with Rundle at the top of the stairs and with me a few steps down. When I give the down cue, Rundle must lay down without moving toward me (coming down the steps). This gives him the opportunity to think through the challenge as he has the choice to come down the stairs toward me or lay down at the top. I will gradually move further and further down the stairs until he is laying down quickly no matter how far away I am.  Once we have some distance that way I will go back to asking for down at a distance without being on the stairs.

6 Months

It's hard to believe that Rundle is already six months old.  He is fun, cuddly, sweet and smart all rolled up into 55 pounds of playful and cute puppy-ness.

Rundle 6 months - Growing Up Nicely

For Rundle's 6 month birthday he got to take a trip to the mountains for the very first time.  We did a quick day trip to the BC Rockies to enjoy the mountain air and sights.  Rundle was very excited to go for a hike on the trails and to smell lots of new smells.  I think he enjoyed his day as he slept for the entire 2 hour drive home.

Freckly-Faced Cuteness

We are still working on our on-line performance puppy class, which is going well.  We are also still going to puppy agility classes.  Rundle loves puppy agility!  He gets to do fun things like run as fast as he can through the tunnels, play tug, chase me, and he is learning what a jump is.  He is not actually jumping, of course, but he is learning value for going through the standards and over a jump bump.  He is also doing some plank work, which he thinks is a blast.  He is the youngest puppy in the class, so we modify lots of the exercises for him, as he will not be jumping or doing any contact work for quite a while still.  Right now, the most important things he is learning from puppy agility, is that playing with me is fun and how to focus and work with lots of distractions going on around him.

I have also started doing some tracking with Rundle.  I don't know how far we will go with tracking as I only have a tiny bit of experience with it and it is something that takes a lot of time and dedication if you really want to be successful.  It is something that is good for young dogs to do, as it is low impact, uses the dog's natural abilities and is a good way to tire out a young, active pup without putting a lot of stress on their joints.  For now it is fun and Rundle thinks that following the "cookie trail" to find even more cookies is the best thing ever!

Although it seems like we are doing a lot of training, unless we are in class, we really only do a few minutes of formal training here and there throughout the day.  Most of our training is done as a part of our everyday activities - we play lots, go for walks or out to just socialize.  Here is a little video of Rundle and I playing tug in the back yard.  I am very happy that he still likes to play tug and that he will use playing and tug as a reward when we are training.

It is fun to see Rundle learn and change as he grows up, but it is also a bit sad that his baby puppy days are now behind us.