
Happytime

Week 36
February 1, 2021

Week 36
February 1, 2021

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Daisy's Thoughts
This was a big week for Daisy. I had to take her back to the Vet to have her checked (poop issues). This is pretty normal for a growing pup but it appears she does have a delicate system. The Vet anticipates this is something she will outgrow in time.
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I took Daisy to the groomer this week to get her 3" hair cut down. She was looking more like a floor mop than a beautiful puppy! When I dropped her off, Daisy went right in to greet the groomers and appeared ready to get the mop cut off. Over the past several months, I used my dog grooming scissors and trimmed around her face so Daisy could see! During this time I just let Daisy's coat grow. I'm hoping that the client's family will take over the grooming task once Daisy settles in at her new home.
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Daisy's training continued this week as we move to more real-life situations. She has been working on opening and closing doors, which is coming along nicely. Her work on "Steady" (helping the client stand up) improved immensely this week. Daisy has completely grasped starting in the horizontal position in front of me when I'm sitting.
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One of the most difficult tasks I'm trying to teach is the protective mode. This is where Daisy will move in front of her client and sit. The final part was to teach Daisy it's OK to bark, but only one time. This is the challenge. One bark, without negative reaction on my part. So, I think we have a solution. Daisy is starting to sense people or animals that are not quite right. When she does, Daisy gives a low-volume growl. We respond with, "It's OK", which generally calms her down. Because of Daisy's natural behavior, I've revised the training to include and slight growl. Daisy's training continues!
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Speaking of training, it's important to base expectations on a dogs age. Daisy is 10 months old, just a baby. It's part of my job to "read" Daisy and how she is doing in the training. If she is done, she's done. I do plan training sessions in short repetative chunks. Sometimes I need to remind myself, "Daisy is just a baby!"
45 weeks old
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Daisy continues her foundation skills:
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Sit
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Down
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Wait
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Heel
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Look at me
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Doorbell
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Shake
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Leave it
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Nice walk
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Off
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Come
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Kennel
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Stay
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Backup
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Open & Close Door
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Confidence
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Home
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Off leash
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NOW!
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Ramp walking
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Distractions
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Walker
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Bring it
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Give it
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Elevator
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Airplane
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Take-off and landing
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University campus
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New house
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Hotel
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City transportation sniff
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City transportation ride
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Advanced Walker training
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Door open
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Door close
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Traffic light button push
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Confidence
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Opening doors
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Closing doors
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Carrying items
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Crossing Highway 1
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Working with distractions
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Door opening with button
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Crosswalk button in SLO
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In store carry items
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Sequence of tasks
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Holding automatic doors
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Restroom 4-step task
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Happytime
Daisy's Digs
A Puppies' Point of View
By Daisy D.
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Each time I sleep in my room (Human Ray calls it a kennel), I open my eyes to see human Stacy or human Ray unlatching my door. Remember, if it's too early I just pretend to sleep. But most days I want to play on my back, especially with human Stacy. I do this game each day, sometimes more than just in the morning!
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When I was just a little puppy, I would run up to human Stacy and tell her I want to play, but she knew what I meant. She would always say, "Happytime", and I knew I was in for some fun! Human Stacy would turn me over on my back and scratch my belly. It felt good! Because I was so young, I didn't really stay with her that long because I always had lots to do.
Now that I'm getting older I stay a lot longer in Happytime. Because I'm a big girl, human Stacy doesn't need to turn me over on my back, I just flip myself! And because I'm a big girl now, I take my time letting the human stretch me, rub me and talk to me about, well, me! And sometimes when human Stacy was finished she would try to turn me back on my paws. When I didn't want to turn over, I just pushed my body the other way so I stayed on my back. When this happened, she would rub me some more!
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This week something changed! While I was doing Happytime, human Ray said that Karina is really going to enjoy this. I sais, "Bark, what?" Human Ray told me that Karina likes to sit on the floor and this will be so fun for us. I agree! At first, I thought human Stacy and human Ray were the only ones who knew Happytime. But Karina knows it too! I can't wait!
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But human Ray tells me I have to wait just a bit longer. I think he was being serious. It's OK, I'll see Karina soon!
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Sometimes it's fun being a big girl puppy!
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Daisy