So here it is ...Brambles very own training log! Bramble now 11 weeks old, born 10 December 2015, and with us for almost 3 weeks. Most of what we are doing is basic housetraining, crate training etc..well watching her like a hawk because madam...just...goes...not quite as straightforward as Benson who was a dream to house-train, took him a week and he was sorted. Brambles...hmmm...do bitches just take longer? Or as Benson was older (10 weeks when we got him) things in that department were naturally easier. She is now crate trained and happy to sleep downstairs in their during the day. She sleeps well over night, from about 11.30 through to 6.30am without a peep. She does have a playpen, however she needs a smaller space for house training so we are not using the playpen much yet, that was an investment to give our other two labs a break if they needed it. So she spends up to 1.5 hours to 2 hours at a time, this is simply for housetraining purposes right now. Training wise she has learnt a sit, and will also stay in position (all with the clicker) we are working more on a sit stay right now and the recall will come a bit later. Working on targeting, and we are not far from a good handtouch. We have also started to work on off lead, so rewarding her with a bit of kibble for being in the right position beside us. This is a game she loves! After about 3 or 4 pieces of kibble she gets a toy instead, and runs around madly with the toy in her mouth, her happy game, then brings the toy to me and she gets another bit of kibble. Later will add the "walk" cue. Bramble took her first "proper" outside walks today, she was very good. She met a few other dogs and a HORSE..which she found fascinating. Took a few photos and video so will upload those later. All in all she is a pleasure.. very bright and attentive. Although she is very bold, she is quite sensitive too, and you have to be careful of your tone of voice, or even manner as she does tend to react to this we've noticed, she is certainly not as "bullet proof" emotionally as Benson was a pup.
Sound as if she's doing really well and she's very much a baby still. On the house training front I think you're just noticing the difference between Bramble and Benson as Benson was an older pup when he arrived so house training seemed quicker. She sounds delightful - bold and beautiful with a touch of sensitivity as well. Looking forward to the photos and video
Yes, she is going to have quite a "whippy" tail when she is older. Benson at the same age already had an otter tail developing nicely
Well done Bramble doing so well for a little girl I don't know about the tail I'm more obsessed with the size of those paws x
The second clip on the same walk..you can see how attentive Bramble is. You have to excuse OH though..he really is trying very hard, and doing a great job with Bramble
Is Marcus in charge of Bramble's training, then? I think they're both doing very well! If only that puppy stage of you being the best thing in the world lasted forever!
So Bramble is now at puppy classes, 10am on a Sunday at Widgets, we can use the fields for Benson and Casper too, which is perfect. Bramble at now 12 weeks, was definitely the most boisterous pup there, as you would expect. We haven't met the labradoodle so the next class might be a bit more interesting! The pups were all young, a nine week old stunning border collie, who was already amazingly clicker trained and a slightly nervous 14 week old french bulldog thingy, who was very sweet. The class was very well structured, with a focus on the pups being calm, and processing the strange smells and noises without being intimidated. Everything based on the pups taking time, and being rewarded for check ins. Introduction to loose lead walking, just pottering in a corner and again rewarding for checkins...no pulling! An interesting observation regarding puppy classes that Anna made, albeit anecdotal, was that 9 out of 10 dogs that come to her for behavioural assessments, had either been to ill-organised puppy classes, or no classes at all. Another point pertinent to labradors was "Why do you think some dogs are nervous of black labradors?" Two of shot up our hands and we both thought it was because it was hard to read the dogs being black..but actually it was more likely due to the nature of labrador pups/youngsters...being bouncy and over friendly this giving the dog a bad experience when younger..I guess when looking at the labrador, and colour ratios, most are still black. I have heard on more than one occasion comments along the lines of...oh my dog doesn't like labradors, and at the time I struggled to understand why. Just thought that was interesting. Back to Bramble, have nearly cracked toilet training, it has helped that her tummy has now settled. We have to closely monitor play with Benson as this does get her wildly excited and prone to the odd accident if not careful. She is sleeping very well in the crate downstairs. She does feel a bit insecure in her playpen, so we are just using the crate for now. We can leave her alone for up to 1 hour and 15 mins. This is important to us as she needs to be comfortable on her own for 3 hours a day by the time she is 17 weeks old. Bramble is far more sensitive than Benson, so we are taking this very slowly, literally 5 mins at a time, and when she is very relaxed and due a long doze. Bramble is very responsive to tone of voice, and even facial expression. She loves praise! A happy tone gets her bounding back towards you for a full on cuddle which is lovely! A frown will literally stop her in her tracks...very different from her wonderful but thicker skinned chocolate brother! We are working on walking to heel without the lead, getting use to her new puppia harness (thanks for the tip Snowbunny!) mat training, really MUST work on my clicker timing! Sit...with a release cue, down, sit -up..yes this sounds like "sidup" already. Introducing a little bit of fun recall now. She naturally loves to retrieve..anything and will carry it around for ages! Bits of grass, leaves, twigs, you name it. Also gently letting her absorb different sounds, cars etc. We are doing this slowly with lots of praise, as she is a little more nervous than Benson at the same age. Based on this we are limiting her exposure to other dogs, unless they are ones we know, and the pups at puppy class. I don't want to "mother" her, she is a laddette after all and a strapping 11.2 kgs! I just detect she is not so keen to meet other dogs at this stage, not sure on this if I am doing the right thing or not, something to discuss this Sunday at puppy class.
Hehe, she is so lovely. I know if I only had one dog, I'd be getting puppy broody reading her journal. It's such an exciting time, with them being such little sponges.
