Happy New Year!

Morgan had a mildly boring day today. I had lessons in town and so she spent a bit more time in her kennel than she normally would have. But we made good progress on Down (she seems to have a good understanding of what this word means but has no staying power and pops right up as soon as she lays down).

She is doing well with Recall and with her Implied Stay. She still whines and complains whenever she is asked to do something she doesn't want to do.

Tomorrow we will be back to work as usual and she will get her normal work load and we will teach her about Placemat.

There will NOT be a blog post tomorrow, because it is New Years Day.

Morgan is such a cutie pie. She is no longer a puppy so it is a bit easier to keep entertained than some of my younger charges. She has decided that the coolest toy I have is a red Kong and she carries it around lowing like a baby  cow. She is a pretty happy girl. 
Morgan is here for  the 7 day on-leash package. This means she will go home with reliability in many commands while she is wearing a leash and we will also be working on some other smaller behaviors that her owners would like cleaned up. 
Today we started Heel/Autosit. This means that she will walk next to her handler's left side, not in front, and will Sit upon the handler stopping. She has grasped an understanding of what we are asking her but that doesn't mean she likes it. She will often voice her opinion by complaining before she sits down. She has a much harder time with Autosit if another dog is playing near her. 
We also started the Come command today as well as the Implied Stay but she doesn't really understand the implied stay very well. "Come" is a word she understands but doesn't often heed very well. 
Tomorrow we will work on Down and on the Implied Stay some more. For now she is sucking on her Kong while we watch a movie. She has been a pleasant house guest so far

Well our friend, Levi, goes home tomorrow. He has done very nicely here and has a solid foundation in his new obedient lifestyle. His owners have the job of keeping up with his commands and also having high expectations of him.

Today we took his go-home video which went fine except he really did not want to lay down in the frost we had form today. Had I been thinking I would have gotten some video on those days we enjoyed 50 degree weather when his obedience was a bit more impressive. But we get to see some pouting and back talking in his video which can be helpful for owners to see.

I hope the weather doesn't throw too many roadblocks up for Levi's people who are traveling a shorts ways to pick him up. Levi has enjoyed his time here and made some buddies but I think he prefers being in a smaller pack where there isn't so much competition for attention.

I will miss this goofball and his sweet face. We have enjoyed watching him lope around the farm this week.

We are getting the polishing done for Levi. His obedience is going fine. Still some things to smooth out but he knows the words and he knows what to do. His recall is great though if he was playing or bouncing and having fun he still isn't 100% precise on stoping right where he is supposed to and has a hard time not bounding off again to go play once he knows he got it right. He really is a happy guy.
After a week of strict exercise routine he has calmed down a bit. He will always be a high energy breed and being high caliber it would be impossible to exercise him to his fullest without employing him in some 9-to-5 job but the solid hour and a half total of exercise a day of focused running, jogging and walking has made a marked difference. Another thing I have noticed with his increased exercise his appetite has increased healthily and he is eating more regularly now than he was at the beginning of the board and train.
He is still toiling with placemat and I have decided to use his blanket instead of his bed. His bed is a bit puffy and I think he gets overhot. On his blanket he is more content to lay there and be still though if he gets bored he will start rolling and flopping and entertaining himself.
One thing he has become a champ at is off leash leisure walks. He is never on leash anymore when he is outside unless he is sprinting next to the bike. He enjoys a good romp around the farm but knows to stay close and to come back and "check on us" periodically. He also understands the farm boundaries, that he is never to cross the fence line or enter the woods and he does not break those rules. 
Levi is a dog who really tries to do the right thing but sometimes does not understand the question. This can be frustrating to him and sometimes frightening if he doesn't understand why he is in trouble. But once the command is understood he is usually pleased to comply, even if other dogs are not working around him or a kitty decides to rub up against him at that moment. 
Tomorrow we are taking his go-home video and his glamour shot for the website. The purpose of the go-home video is clear with this boy because he will be so happy and excited to see his people that the video is necessary to show what the commands look like for him and also to reassure his people that he does understand the commands, just in case he gets a bit ornery at home.
He has been very quiet so far tonight and I am about to give him his last chance to go potty before tucking him into bed.

Well Levi had a great morning today with a nice long walk in the frost this morning and a good workout where his only mistake was some slightly sloppy heel work.

He got his bike ride this afternoon thanks to my husband, who was kind enough to make sure that Levi didn't have to spend the entire afternoon in his kennel. I was booked back to back with lessons and so Levi did not get his afternoon workout. I made it up to him by giving him some extra house time and some snuggles tonight and some extra play time out of his kennel.

Tomorrow it is more practice practice practice. I have a light day, lesson-wise and so it will be all about him and getting his obedience polished and perfect.

Levi is doing really well. He is now 100% off leash and while he still needs some polishing and work he no longer requires a physical restraint to be kept under control. He is really enjoying the structure of his days and the canine company. His days now consist of at least one 30 minute bike ride during which he is kept at a smooth canter. He runs very well and gets "in the zone" after just a few seconds of what I call "excited flailing" next to the bike where he takes these joyful, giant leaps forward. He also gets at least one 20 minute walk (off leash) which mostly consists of him chasing Ace enthusiastically around the meadow. He really looks like he belongs in an old painting when he points in the tall grass. Classic gun dog.
His obedience is coming along. He argues here and there and sometimes gets overwhelmed and confused and we need to take a step back. He has a 3 second delay from his hears to his brain. I give him 4 seconds from hearing a command to comply with it. This patience has paid off because he does so much better if he just gets a chance to mull it over.
I am happy with his progress and will continue asking more and more of him as the week goes on. Good boy, Levi!

Well little Annie goes home tomorrow and she has really blossomed into this wonderful young lady. She still has all of her Annie quirks. Sometimes she really thinks about not coming when called and needs a little reminder from her collar. But, she also has a solid foundation in obedience now and knows what to do when you tell her something. She is more confident now, though she does love a good cuddle still.
Today was actually kind of hot and cold for her obedience. She decided to be a little bit of a snot and wasn't quite listening this morning. She would lay down when asked to sit and would only come with reminders. This afternoon she was very snuggly and squishy and tried to get out of working. But, by the end of the day we got some good obedience in and she was feeling better. I chalk it up to homesickness. Sometimes dogs just don't really feel like working, much like people. 
She will be so happy to see her family tomorrow, I hope her big brother, Gunnar gets to come to the go-home lesson, even if that makes her a little too excited at first. I will miss this sweet heart. She reminds me of my little girl, Nikki, when she was young. Full of mischief and shenanigans but also very sweet. 
You really can't go wrong with a Golden.

Mr. Levi is now on the shock collar and doing fine. He enjoys playing and romping in the yard with the other dog and his Come command is pretty good. He sometimes "gets lost" on the way and goes to the wrong person but he tries hard. His obedience is fine. He is right on track and we have plenty of time to sort out his little sillinesses, like when he sometimes sits so quickly that he falls right over, or when he panics about laying down on the cold ground and so decides to bounce instead.

Annie sure has blossomed over the past two days. She is now reliable off leash with most of her commands. Her Come command is wonderful and her Heel is spot on and quite adorable because she trots next to you looking up for her praise. 
Her Down at the left side is good. She likes to lay on your feet which I have been tolerating a little bit because Down was such a struggle for her. She is still having a very hard time with Down from the front because she wants very badly to be at your feet, so she often doesn't lay down where she is supposed to be but instead wiggles and baby crawls to your feet. It is very difficult to keep a straight face when she does this but I do and I take her back to where she is supposed to lay down and ask her to try again.
She spent 2.5 hours on her Placemat today with only one mistake when all the other dogs ran to the door to greet someone coming home. The rest of the time she was happy to stay put. She still needs to be guided onto her mat but soon she will be walking on by herself. 
Tomorrow the pups get the morning off but it is back to work in the afternoon and we will work hard on her Implied Stay with the Down and on her laying down where she is supposed to, not on your feet.
No blog post on Sundays so come back to read on Monday.

Lost our internet there for a bit so I am keepin this short just in case. Levi is doing great. Heel/Autosit is in the bag now and Implied stay is going well. He mostly seems anxious about being left alone (though I am only trying to get about 4' from him at this point). We have started Down but we've only gotten as far as him dramatically flopping over with no dignity whatsoever.

He had his first run next to the bike today and enjoyed it quite a bit. This boy can RUN.

Tomorrow more work on the basics before we intro the Dogtra.