Toppy is a sweet natured, young Black Mouth Cur who is a graduate of FSK9's Puppy Preschool class. She is a timid girl who is struggling with feeling confident so far from her home. We worked on walking on a leash today but she was a little too afraid to let me put a leash on her collar and so I used a slip leash. Some of her fear is manifesting in some snappishness and so we are taking things nice and slow with Toppy. 
I hope tomorrow will be easier for her. Sometimes after a few meals and some sleep they start to unwind. My goal for tomorrow is to be able to use a collar with her and to hopefully start the basics. 
I don't keep the blog on Sunday so Monday will be the next update for Toppy. Right now she is resting quietly and I hope that some rest will help bring her out of her shell. Welcome Toppy!

Abby has made herself right at home. She is a young bird dog and she likes to tell you all about it. She is here for 10 days of off-leash obedience training. She is off to a good start with Heel/Autosit going well. She still needs reminding about the Sit but she is walking nicely next to me and stopping when I stop. She doesn't want to do Down at all but it was also cold and wet today. I wouldn't want to lay down in the muck either. 
But she is happy-go-lucky and sweet so she seems eager to please. She is not wearing her remote trainer yet but we will be introducing that in a few days as she gets better.
I hope to introduce her to Ace and Kylie and Ted tomorrow, she would like some playmates.
I am watching the dogs on the monitor right now and she is curled up and snoozing on her bed. I don't keep the blog on Sunday so look to Monday for her next update. Welcome Abby!

Well, Rascal and Maisy go home tomorrow (later today). They have both done well going from on-leash to off-leash. Rascal is a more push-button dog, which means he does not tend to argue as much as his little sister. He is a good worker and enjoys pleasing his people. He has a quiet personality and is easily over-corrected but he is a smartypants and seems to like training quite a bit. Maisy is and will always be a little spitfire who requires a firm and understanding handler. Her owner will need to remember that she can absolutely do what is asked of her. None of this is beyond her, she just sometimes needs someone to get after her a little to make her do it. She enjoys working but also enjoy putting her own spin on the commands, and so long as she is still complying I am okay with her letting her little personality shine. It is such a wonderful personality, after all!
We worked very hard on Maisy's barking issue and while she may sometimes still need reminding not to bark we have been able to walk her downtown, into shops, and past barking dogs in her neighborhood without having her get into a barking fit. 
I am proud of these little guys and I will miss their spirited little energies around the farm but they are both ready to go home and get back to their routine. Good job, Rascal and Maisy!

Well since it is 12:30am I guess this is technically day 6 but we are discussing day 5. The pups are doing fine. They are going easy on me which I appreciate because Claven is out of town and so I am flying solo with Noah, my dogs, and the boarders. I am so thankful that my boarders right now are two good natured, baby-friendly dogs who don't mind Noah's company.
Maisy had a bit of a finicky day today. She just plum did not feel like working. We took some video of her but mostly it was of her back talking and being a little princess. Eventually she would do her job but not without turning her nose up to it first. I may give her a play day tomorrow and try to take her on a walk in town instead of working her obedience really hard. I might just give her one obedience run through, if she is getting sick of the heavy work days she has been having. Sometimes burnout can happen if a dog feels like she has been overworked and we don't want that. Training should be fun!
Rascal comes out of his shell a little more every day and he had an awesome day today. Arguing doesn't seem to occur to him as much as it occurs to Maisy. It isn't that Maisy is defiant, she just has her own ideas of how she should do things. Both dogs respond well to a firm owner who is both patient and strict. Both require a sense of humor because these are two very happy and well adjusted dogs. Even though Maisy gets barky on her leash, this should not be misconstrued as aggression. It is all bluff. 
Noah's sitter is coming out tomorrow to give me time to exercise and work with Rascal and Maisy and then Noah and I are going into town to walk Maisy. If I can get a second person to come with me Rascal will get to come along for the ride but if I am going to be the only adult then Rascal will likely stay home. 
More tomorrow! 

I could not be happier with how well Rascal is doing. He had more off-leash work today and he did great. He also got to spend some one-on-one time in the house tonight and was quiet as a mouse while the baby slept. This guy is just as sweet as can be. 
Maisy had a good day today too. While she is not yet totally reliable off-leash we are making good steps in the right direction. She is just this funny little mix of independent and needy so when she feels like she is done working she just kind of says "peace out!" and wanders away or trots to her kennel. Other times a noise or something spooky or if she just wants a hug she becomes this little velcro dog who I can't seem to shake even if I wanted to (and really, who would want to shake such a sweetie). 
Maisy got her first trip to Mass. Street tonight and she did very well. She heeled all the way from south park to 8th street and back and only needed correcting for barking 3 times. Once when a college student was doing some kind of strange windmill dance on the sidewalk, once at a Yorkie who was losing her mind at the end of a 10' retractible leash (insert rant about these terrible leashes here), and once at a woman who stepped out of Sylas and Maddie's unexpectedly. Other than that she walked through the crowded streets, passed a ton of people, and even saw another dog in South Park without barking. I would give her a verbal "no" whenever her ears perked up or she strained on the leash to remind her of her job. I only wish we had passed more dogs than the two we saw. Hopefully on our next field trip we will see more. 
Both dogs are exceeding my expectations. Tomorrow I likely won't have time to get Maisy or Rascal into town but we will continue work on obedience. 

The kids did fine today. They have fallen into the swing of things nicely and have learned the boundaries of the farm. They are now enjoying potty walks and play time without leashes as they now know not to go into the woods or near the horse fences. They also come back when called very reliably. Especially Miss Maisy who loves to sprint towards me like a little black comet with teeth bared in the sweetest submissive smile. Unfortunately this exuberance does lead to a tendency to bounce up on me when she gets to my legs, a habit we are working on curbing.
I hope to take them into town either today or tomorrow (whenever I can find a helper to hold the other leash) and get going on getting Maisy to bark her fool head of and thus teacher not to. 
Rascal had a completely off-leash work out today and did really well. Maisy is not yet completely off the leash yet but she is working on it. Rascal, being the rock star that he is, acted like he had never needed the leash in the first place and was grateful I had finally realized this. Sorry, Rascal! I did not mean to insult you. But I am not above putting the leash back on if he decides to be a stinker in the coming days.
For day 2 I am more than pleased with where these guys are. Right now we are all watching a movie together (except for Maisy who is harassing an unimpressed cat named Kimono).

Rascal and Maisy are here for 7 days to further their training. They are both young Miniature Australian Shepherds with sweet natures and both have been quick learners. They have been learning a lot in their weekly lessons and now they are here to finish up and get to Off-Leash. We also need to work on Little Miss Maisy's tendency to bark. 
They arrived yesterday and got settled in. Rascal was a little bit timid and stressed when he got here but this afternoon, after going through his commands, he played a big game of chase with Ace and Maisy and now he is much calmer. Having a couple buddies here has been very good for him. Maisy makes herself at home anywhere and so she has been strutting around the farm like she owns the place. Unfortunately she has not barked much yet which is a big part of why she is here. I plan to take her into town a few times this week to practice walking around people without losing her mind barking at them. 
This barking thing is very typical of her breed. Australian Shepherds move animals with their barks. It is their original function. We can curb this tendency but it will always be her first instinct. 
Tomorrow we are working more on their obedience, cleaning up Down for Rascal and reinforcing Heel and Come for Maisy among other things. We are making the most of this good weather by spending a lot of time outside playing and hiking.

Oscar goes home tomorrow and he is in all ways ready. His obedience is stellar for only having learned it 10 days ago and though he still makes little mistakes here and there it is now easy to tell him when and where he has gone wrong.
Today we mostly just hung out. Harley, his roommate went home today and so we didn't want Oscar to get lonely. We had some short fun workouts and then played for a while and he spent a few hours on his placemat hanging out while I did some computer work. 
Tomorrow I am determined to get this kid into town for some practice on Mass. Things kept coming up which made it impossible last week and since he goes home tomorrow evening I will try my hardest to get in this fun and important field trip. 
I have enjoyed working with Oscar and will miss him but I know he will love being back home and will love making his owner happy.

Harley the Wigglebutt goes home tomorrow. He has made so much progress this week and while he is still Harley and he still can be a bit of a doof he now has the tools to be calm and polite in the house and responsive and respectful outdoors. I will show his owner how to read him and know when he is confused. He is a sensitive boy and if he is over corrected he can become pouty. 
Boxers think, learn, and process differently than other breeds. This was my first board and train with one and I have thoroughly enjoyed watching this guy puzzle out the commands. He is very sharp and fast to learn and FUNNY. I think more than anything this week has taught him that it is fun to listen. I hope his days of rewarding himself for bad behavior are over and that he will learn to look to his person for praise. 
I loved my week with this sweet guy who gives the best hugs but one thing is for sure. He is a house dog. He will be so happy to be back home with his creature comforts and no longer sleeping in the training room where his roommate sometimes steals his blanket (I always take it back for him). He loves being inside with the people, that's for sure. I know Harley will make his mom proud! 

Well, sweet Oscar is all done tomorrow. Today we took his go-home video and his yearbook photo. Since his video is all ready we are dedicating tomorrow to having fun, getting in a good hike, and making sure we go home good and tired (and probably a little dirty). 
I am very proud of how well Oscar has done. He is a special boy who was a joy to work with because of his sharpness and his sense of humor. I hope his owner is happy with the progress he has made. I gave him the foundation of obedience training he needed and when he goes home I will give his owner the tools for keeping the training up. Oscar wants to please and the mistakes he still makes are due to the classic Labrador exuberance and puppyhood. But he now understands what "no" means. Instead of continuing what he thinks is a game he understands that he has made a mistake when he hears this word3`4E1. He really is not defiant by nature. There was simply a breakdown of communication.
The task now set to his owner is to have high expectations of him. He can do it. He just needs someone who is willing to not accept less than what was asked of him. If he has a good leader, he is a delightful dog. Good job, Oscar!