And meet Rudy - the 10-week-old King Cavalier Spaniel and his owner Vanda!

The first puppy lesson is always fun for me as I FINALLY get the officially meet 'the newest puppy'. I really like being able to train students from puppy to adult. And puppies that have been PATT Puppy Aptitude and Temperament Test by me, will, for life, remember my voice and smell. 

And having new puppy students here in Utah? That is an additional benefit as I get to quickly imprint my voice and smell on their new puppies.   So, I take a few moments to handle that new puppy, get it comfortable being handled by me while I do some fast puppy temperament assessments. Helps me greatly as a trainer to have a young dog comfortable with me and for me to know what is that puppy's temperament.

My Mannerly Puppy Graduate students are invited to take my FOUNDATION Course, formal obedience training of on to off-leash in 12 weeks.  If they pass the Mannerly Puppy EXAM via a posted video, they receive a $200 discount of the FOUNDATION Course. Can they pass the EXAM? They certainly can if they follow my instructions and coaching.

Anyway, had a blast today with Vanda and her Rudy.  Here's some highlights.

'The Walk'

The Informal Recall

The "Sit"

Then, it was a blast educating Vanda on the need for a 'Mulch Mountain'. Puppies are notorious for wanting to dig and it's a frustrating challenge to NOT teach them to dig. There is a better way to handle it which is to create a specific place for them TO DIG TO THEIR HEARTS CONTENT.  Have a non-toxic tree or non-toxic plants shredded in a specific location where you're willing to just let it be for a while. I call these piles of shredded material, "Mulch Mountain" and it's where you take a puppy to let it dig to its hearts content. Even better, the ground underneath is protected and as Mulch Mountain decomposes you have better soil.  

The point is Rudy had a total BLAST on my Mulch Mountain today. It was so much fun watching him dig and climb and explore.  

Then, it was time for Rudy to meet my old pro, Master Sugar Bear, AKA Lee's UD VER JUH GN WCX GO RE GCGA. Sugar has been training puppies since he was a puppy and my first Board'nTrain was a 3.5 lb Toy Poodle named Shadow. Sugar was nearly a year old and a solid BIG Lab of 85 +, but he worked with me to train Shadow. That was the first puppy Sugar trained so he's well versed in wee tiny dogs so meeting Rudy was old hat to him.

Shadow was VERY small yet worked alongside large dogs.

Rudy learning to track with Sugar!

Sugar's days are numbered as he has a heart condition, so he's basically retired from most of my obedience classes and my Pack Runs. BUT, he can still train puppies to be respectful of a mature dog and that's what he did with Rudy today.  Had to chuckle as at one point, Rudy just got overloaded, he went and found a quiet space and just sat there. We just walked away from him as he's on a check cord so he's safe.

We got to the other side of the driveway, and I had Vanda do an Informal Recall. The secret with doing Informal Recalls is to squat down and encourage the puppy to come to you by making your body smaller and more approachable. What did Rudy do?

He came, likkity split!

"Touch" "Sit" "Good puppy!" 

Then, it was time to head for the training area inside as it was COLD today.

"Let's Go"

Once inside, it was time for Quiet Time.  Vanda had brought a bed for Rudy, alas it was to big for this wee wittle dog.  

Too big for such a tiny dog.

Puppies, and especially very small puppies/dogs, need to feel secure so having Quiet Time done with a mat or bed UNDER a chair helps a young dog to feel secure.  Took just a few seconds to reposition things a smidge...

Interesting fact is that when a dog does relax and go to sleep doing Quiet Time, they will always position themselves so there is steady upward leash pressure. Margot Woods, inventor of this exercise, said in the 45+ years she did this exercise, the dogs ALWAYS relaxed only with upward leash pressure. So, we are training the young dog to trust they CAN relax, we won't let anyone, or anything come into the Safety Zone (approximately 6- 9' invisible border around you and the dog), and the dog will relax with upward leash pressure. We structure doing Quiet Time with the dog VERY close to us so they learn they can relax, trust their owner, and be comfortable by remaining close to owner. THIS early training BECOMES VERY IMPORTANT when the FOUNDATION Course begins.

And although we had planned on doing more, how was Rudy after his 1st Puppy Lesson?

T.O.A.S.T

The end of Rudy's 1st puppy lesson-:)