Knightley: 1 year, 3 months, 1 week and 6 days oldApollo: 9 weeks and 2 days old Apollo on the right. This was taken yesterday after three pupshad already left to their new homes.Well, the day is just about here, that Knightley gets a new little brother. I'm very excited, despite the fact I have a triple bacterial infection, sigh! But tomorrow hubby and I drive up to Sydney to pick up our ball of fluff and sharp little puppy teeth. I could have pneumonia and I'd still be going!I'm going to give him a ... read more »
9 months 2 weeks 3 days oldSo over the last couple of days since the weekend I've been continuing to refresh Level 1 of Sue Ailsby's Training Levels. I am trying to get Knightley's new down (cue is flat!)more solid, so that it will last a lifetime and always be solid and prompt no matter where I ask for it. His previous down I trained with quite a bit of luring, which is why I think it got slower and more reluctant when he was a bit stressed. This time I am trying to train it with mostly shaping and capt... read more »
So, I continue not to be well at all and we are doing minimal training unfortunately. When things get back on track I think I'm going to go right back to Level 1 and refresh all our skills from the beginning. Some parts of Level 2 especially are getting a little rusty from lack of use because we have been focusing so hard - pretty much only on retrieve stuff and other bits of Level 3 (all from Sue Ailsby's Training Levels... following the "Training Levels" tab up the top of this page if you are intereste... read more »
8 months 1 day oldToday, well ahead of schedule, Knightley did his first real 'work' for me!! After the previous two days of amazing success with our retrieve sessions, today we had two more training sessions, again concentrating on retrieve. The first one was working on bring items much further away back to me nicely - in the end we managed about three metres (10 feet), which I was thrilled at. The second session I concentrated on getting him to hold and do short retrieves on as many different items as ... read more »
7 months 3 days oldThis is a post to say I haven't died! Not sure how long it will be....Since the show we have had days and days of rain, to the point yesterday the nearby storm water drains were flooding their banks and going over the footbridges. It was an impressive amount of water!Poor Knightley hasn't really been for any walks since the show, so he has had a lot of time to digest the experience! Every time he comes back inside he needs toweling off, even if I put his rain jacket on him. I hope he d... read more »
Knightley a couple of weeks ago with his Freedom Harnesson. I chose the Freedom Harness because it is said to be thebest for not obstructing the natural gait of a dogs shoulder.Many other no pull harnesses sit right over the dogs shoulderjoint. The Freedom Harness has been a great tool for teachingloose leash walking and has made out walks much morepleasant. I just think I need a halter to train some public mannersbut I don't want Knightley wearing it for long, no matter whichI choose.I've been thinking ... read more »
5 months 4 weeks 2 days oldI've been writing this for a number of days now, but the last three days have been busy!!! So, finally, here is my entry - with only an hour or so to go until Knightley 'turns' 6 months old!So in order to pass Level 2, one of the few remaining things we need to get good is a down stay at a distance of 6m (20 feet) for 1 minute, whilst doing things, talking etc. 6m is by far the longest distance we have done stays, so I have been taking it slowly so far so that we only have succ... read more »
5 months 3 weeks 6 days oldWell I'm still not well, but I am feeling a little better I think. I think I have been pushing myself a bit overall, and last Thursday/Friday was just the final straw, trying to balance everything. The pile has finally come falling down. Unfortunately the timing is pretty bad! I have very definite commitments at the Arts Centre I volunteer at this week, and they aren't something that can be put off. Nevermind, I will just try to minimise the hours and rest as much as I can.The ... read more »
Zen5 months 2 weeks 6 days oldWell, we are getting kind of close to finishing Level 2 of Sue Ailsby's Training Levels. We have a little more work to do, but compared to the HUGE amount of training contained in Level 2, we are close. The photos in this post come from over the last three months of training since Knightley was a little baby pup. Here's where Knightley and I stand.Zen = complete, can leave treats alone on the floor in front of him for 1 minute. FocusFocus (eye contact) = complete except f... read more »
5 months 2 weeks 5 days oldI am beginning to see the truth in what Sue Ailsby says, in that zen is the foundation for all training. Zen, when used in this context, basically means doggy self control - especially on cue. Like when you don't want your dog to follow you through a door even though he really wants to go, or you are eating food on your lap that he wants to steal, you can use your zen cue (mine is leave it) and he should retreat from whatever he wanted to go through or after. Saying leave it in... read more »
