Day Three: Let's Pretend it is Day Six!
Troy slept pretty well last night. The only moving around he did was to try to get comfortable. Once again, I was up just before 3:00. I tossed and turned until just before 5:00, and then I gave up, got up, showered and got ready for the day. Troy was very patient and waited quietly while I got ready. We went out at about 6:00, and then I groomed him and had some coffee. He just got some water, and then we went to breakfast for those with two legs. He did a lot better about resting quietly while I ate...no yoga or twitching.
The dogs are currently on a once-a-day feeding schedule, but I am going to transition him to twice a day soon, because that is what we do at home. I also think it is overall a good thing, because it will give us twice as many chances to work on basic manners while we are here. Troy sits and waits very nicely for his food. Good good boy.
Anyways, after breakfast, we did basic obedience again. It was nothing too demanding. Just the basics for now. He did very well. He sometimes tries to get sloppy about his positioning, but he is easy to get back into position.
After obedience and a short conversation about the plans for the day, we headed into town. Our first route was a very quiet one. We worked in downtown Palm Springs. It took a little bit to get little man moving, but once he got going, he got a pretty nice groove going. It was unfair but realistic that we ran into two other dogs within our first half a block together. He handled himself pretty well. He distracted a little bit, but I was able to get him moving again. I don't think he would have distracted if he was really in the groove at that point, but we were still trying to figure out who's feet should be where at what point.
He stopped a little prematurely for most of the down curbs on the route, but I would rather a little extra caution with such things than him blowing them all. He made one right side clearance error, but he did it beautifully on the rework. I didn't need to correct him, as Bob said that for him, the fact that he made the mistake was correction enough...especially so early on.
Boy has a lot of initiative, and he anticipates what I am going to ask of him. These are both great things if properly managed. I was very pleased with our first trip. He wanted to make a couple of turns to head back towards our van, but I was able to get him going where I wanted him to go.
We then came back to campus, and we did another obedience session. We had the dogs closer together, and Bob walked around behind them while they were in a stay. Troy held his stay and didn't direct focus to Bob much if at all.
It started pouring rain shortly after we got back to campus, so at lunch, it was determined that we would go do mall work instead of doing another route downtown out on the streets. This was asking a lot of the dogs, but they rose to the occasion. Troy zipped and zoomed through other pedestrians, and he knows how to find elevators! What a clever chap! He found two of them for me. He dodged a couple of strollers, and he really really wanted me to take the escalator. We didn't do that today, as Bob wants us to know each other a little better before we go down that road.
I was so impressed by this kid. He has a great pull, and he is so smart! He ignored several people who tried to talk to him...including people making kissing noises at him. Yay Troy!
I don't really know how to explain it. He loves his work. He is great at it, and I can tell he is excited to do it, but I get the feeling that when I praise him, even though he loves the praise, he seems to be saying "Well, duh, of course I did my job!" Other than one minor clearance error on his left side, he was spot on at the mall. He is just so matter-of-fact about his work, and I love his energy.
When we got back to campus, we had some down time. I caught up with folks and did some work. At 4:00, little dude got his dinner, and then we had more down time...and then I got my dinner.
This evening has been spent getting caught up with folks and spending time with the other student. I am now exhausted, but here are some quick bullet points.
1. Troy likes to sleep on his back and snore like a dragon.
2. His birthday is 12/21/12, he is 21 inches at the shoulder, and he is 65 LBS
3. There were four puppies in the litter...two boys and two girls. Both girls didn't make it, and his brother was held back for breeding stock.
4. He lets out a huge snort when he is on his tie down and I pick up his leash to come get him.
5. We are still at the point in our training where we can't work our dogs without Bob. I am okay with this, but I can't wait for the time that we can work instead of heeling.
6. Bob encourages us to take our canes with us when heeling our dogs, which is realistic and awesome. I love that it isn't the whole you will never need a cane again thing.
7. Did I mention that Troy snorts, because he snores and snorts.
8. He was snoring under my desk, and it is enclosed down there. He snored so loudly that it really echoed, and it was so loud that he jolted awake.
9. He really likes to hold my feet down with his head/paw/side. I am tough to keep in line!
That's all. I must sleep.
The dogs are currently on a once-a-day feeding schedule, but I am going to transition him to twice a day soon, because that is what we do at home. I also think it is overall a good thing, because it will give us twice as many chances to work on basic manners while we are here. Troy sits and waits very nicely for his food. Good good boy.
Anyways, after breakfast, we did basic obedience again. It was nothing too demanding. Just the basics for now. He did very well. He sometimes tries to get sloppy about his positioning, but he is easy to get back into position.
After obedience and a short conversation about the plans for the day, we headed into town. Our first route was a very quiet one. We worked in downtown Palm Springs. It took a little bit to get little man moving, but once he got going, he got a pretty nice groove going. It was unfair but realistic that we ran into two other dogs within our first half a block together. He handled himself pretty well. He distracted a little bit, but I was able to get him moving again. I don't think he would have distracted if he was really in the groove at that point, but we were still trying to figure out who's feet should be where at what point.
He stopped a little prematurely for most of the down curbs on the route, but I would rather a little extra caution with such things than him blowing them all. He made one right side clearance error, but he did it beautifully on the rework. I didn't need to correct him, as Bob said that for him, the fact that he made the mistake was correction enough...especially so early on.
Boy has a lot of initiative, and he anticipates what I am going to ask of him. These are both great things if properly managed. I was very pleased with our first trip. He wanted to make a couple of turns to head back towards our van, but I was able to get him going where I wanted him to go.
We then came back to campus, and we did another obedience session. We had the dogs closer together, and Bob walked around behind them while they were in a stay. Troy held his stay and didn't direct focus to Bob much if at all.
It started pouring rain shortly after we got back to campus, so at lunch, it was determined that we would go do mall work instead of doing another route downtown out on the streets. This was asking a lot of the dogs, but they rose to the occasion. Troy zipped and zoomed through other pedestrians, and he knows how to find elevators! What a clever chap! He found two of them for me. He dodged a couple of strollers, and he really really wanted me to take the escalator. We didn't do that today, as Bob wants us to know each other a little better before we go down that road.
I was so impressed by this kid. He has a great pull, and he is so smart! He ignored several people who tried to talk to him...including people making kissing noises at him. Yay Troy!
I don't really know how to explain it. He loves his work. He is great at it, and I can tell he is excited to do it, but I get the feeling that when I praise him, even though he loves the praise, he seems to be saying "Well, duh, of course I did my job!" Other than one minor clearance error on his left side, he was spot on at the mall. He is just so matter-of-fact about his work, and I love his energy.
When we got back to campus, we had some down time. I caught up with folks and did some work. At 4:00, little dude got his dinner, and then we had more down time...and then I got my dinner.
This evening has been spent getting caught up with folks and spending time with the other student. I am now exhausted, but here are some quick bullet points.
1. Troy likes to sleep on his back and snore like a dragon.
2. His birthday is 12/21/12, he is 21 inches at the shoulder, and he is 65 LBS
3. There were four puppies in the litter...two boys and two girls. Both girls didn't make it, and his brother was held back for breeding stock.
4. He lets out a huge snort when he is on his tie down and I pick up his leash to come get him.
5. We are still at the point in our training where we can't work our dogs without Bob. I am okay with this, but I can't wait for the time that we can work instead of heeling.
6. Bob encourages us to take our canes with us when heeling our dogs, which is realistic and awesome. I love that it isn't the whole you will never need a cane again thing.
7. Did I mention that Troy snorts, because he snores and snorts.
8. He was snoring under my desk, and it is enclosed down there. He snored so loudly that it really echoed, and it was so loud that he jolted awake.
9. He really likes to hold my feet down with his head/paw/side. I am tough to keep in line!
That's all. I must sleep.