Monday, July 2, 2012

Updates!

Wow, I have fallen soo behind on my blog! 

A quick update on what we have been doing:
Partner is getting big!
At his vet appointment on Friday he weighed 30lbs! He has officially had all of his shots!
On Saturday we attended the Jelly Belly Fun Day hosted by the Solano County puppy raisers! Partner did amazingly well considering he was the youngest puppy there! (Pups under 20 weeks needed CFR approval- Partner is 16 weeks but we were able to get approved just before the outing).
Partner at Jelly Belly
I am really impressed with this puppy! So far, he seems to have the ability to relax on outings while still being able to get up and go when its time. 

He has already been to the movies, monster mini golf, regular mini golf, and bowling (Along with less stressful outings such as the grocery store etc.) I usually try to wait when it comes to such exciting socializations but Partner has handled everything that comes at him in stride so far! He hasn't appeared at all stressed out by what we are doing. I always make sure that we will be able to leave an outing if it becomes too much for him but so far I haven't had to.

I have heard that Goldens are often the opposite of labs- They start off super easy and can develop issues later on. I am trying to expose Partner to as much as possible in a positive way in the hopes that these issues don't come up later on. I guess only time will tell if this is the right approach or not.

The one thing we are really working on right now is separation. Partner does not like to be left alone for very long! He is fine on a tie-down, in a crate or in an X-Pen while you are in his line of sight but the moment you leave the little brat comes out! He starts barking and crying and he has a long attention span!
It is so hard to put him in a cage and then listen to him cry forever! 
Oh well. Just one of the many things puppy raisers have to do in order to raise a well behaved doggy!

Now for a Carrie update...
Carrie is officially in phase 1 of her training! 
They learn a ton in phase one!
She is learning:
Clicker training
Formal obedience
Body handling acceptance
How to wear a harness
How to use a treadmill
How to focus around distractions
Pattern training
How to stop at curbs
Food refusal
How to back up
How to load in and out of the van for socialization

Wow! She must be a busy girl! I know that she is having the time of her life right now! 
Carrie has always loved to learn and I felt a little bad because, as puppy raisers we aren't supposed to teach any tricks. Carrie had to watch the Diabetic Alert Dogs learning new and exciting things and you could just see her thinking that she wanted to learn too. Now she gets to and I'm so happy for her! Hopefully she is behaving!

I also got an update from Emily telling me that she knows someone who saw her a while ago! They said that she had a roommate (Something I was thrilled to hear because I know they don't all get one) and that she looked super happy!

Group's puppies:
Brayden is in phase 8
Bev is in phase 8
Ventana is in phase 4
Ruby is in phase 4

4 comments:

  1. WOW, Partner is so big. I thought Merlot was big at 35#s at 18 weeks, but his 2 week younger friend Partner might overtake him soon!!! Good work about getting him out early. Clara started off confident and now is really fearful and we are working on all those things.

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  2. Great job, Carrie!

    Partner is the cutest thing!!! I think that it is great that you are getting him out and exposing him early. Dante started out super confidant about everything, and now there are certain things (walking at night, sudden noises, etc.)that we are working through.

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  3. Thanks guys! I sure hope that I am doing the right thing by getting him out early!

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  4. Yeah Carrie! I am now just reading some blog posts (I have been off the computer for awhile) and was so happy to hear the Carrie is going up!

    And Partner is SOOO incredibly cute! I love his ears. I think (not that I would really know) that getting him out early really helps. Thats what I would do.

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