Last weekend, I took Jazz out to Petco for the first time in about 2 month.  I found out what a bad idea it is to assume your 10 month old puppy can remember how to walk on a leash after 2 months of ‘free time’.  I was sick most of December and January has been filled with travel and preparation for puppies.  Mocha and Jazz have been just hanging out, sleeping, eating, playing, and getting the occasional bath.  After that trip to a public venue and a crazy dog at the end of my leash, I vowed to get both teenage girls back in training.

Over the last week Jazz and I have worked at least once a day on her heeling.  Her progress has been wonderful.  She is an eager worker and doesn’t take corrections personally.  Her temperament is a nice match for my dominant personality.  My body posture alone can shut a soft dog down.

Jazz sitting in Heel, getting ready to move. Nice attention / eye contact.

Today we did off leash heeling.  She did really well.  I learned that my camera shutter ‘click’ worked well as a clicker!!  Taking photos while I try to get a puppy heeling off leash was a touch tricky, but it did show me my weak areas that need work!  She tends to forge ahead when heeling , so eye contact is very important.

Jazz in a moving Heel. NIce attention / eye contact, good position by my leg. And the smile says she is enjoying herself, equally important!

I also have been taking Mocha out and working stays.  We did Sit, Stand, and Down stays.  Mocha is also a really bright dog.  Quick, eager, and pushy enough to not be intimidated by much.  She has a silly streak and is a touch lazy!  The lazy might be an issue in obedience, so we work a lot of Stand and Sit stays to make sure she understands she can’t just Down and take a nap while training.

Mocha doing a lovely off leash Down Stay.

Mocha is do for a groom. I have got to get the fuzz off her face and feet soon!

Maybe if we can find a few extra hours in the day, I can start up my video training blog again.  For now, I’ll try to post progress reports and attempt to video anything really important.

~Becky