More APAW pups practicing for the Olympics!
A few APAW pups practicing for the Olympics!
A healthy and hydrating frozen treat for the pups to beat the heat!
I did temperament evaluations earlier today for these adorable puppies from DoeValley Poodles - they are a fun, driven and social litter! 2 pups are available, over-sized Minis. Contact Danielle at DoeValley in Massachusetts.
This video includes snippets of 5 puppies doing different parts of a Volhard Puppy Aptitude Test (not all exercises are shown).
Some day I will write a blog with my thoughts on temperament evaluation and the benefits and pitfalls of different testing methods (more importantly, how they are performed and how they are interpreted).
The Volhard eval is one of the most recognized methods available, so it is the one I typically provide when evaluating litters for other breeders or when helping a client pick a pup for their needs. It is the evaluation I currently have performed by a third party trainer on my own litters, supplemented with additional information I glean during raising the pups.
Here is a fairly long video... introducing the available puppies from the V litter (2 of these pups), playing with them, managing some child shenanigans, and then calming the energy in the room to get the pups to settle their own energy too.
Oh by the way, I don't think I've mentioned it here on the APAW page, but I'm very pregnant, baby due early May 😁🥰
Parents of this litter are Kindle x Galaxy <3
Video snippets of the kids playing with the puppies today!
The first set of clips are Chloe and Sias playing with the V litter, currently 5 weeks old and needing a calmer atmosphere...
Followed by the U litter, now 7 weeks old and ready for the rough and tumble!
Puppies raised with young kids tend to be pretty bomb-proof and resilient 😉
I do have openings for a few more pups for companion, therapy or performance homes between the two litters, ready to go home over the next 1-3 weeks or so. Professional temperament evaluations to add to my assessments to make the best matches. Males and females, multiple colors, some are full Standards and some are part Mini. All are awesome! 🥰
Here is Saffron during a training session today. 14 weeks old and full of fun 🥰
S litter, Clue x Hope
Q Litter Training Session, 4.5 Weeks Old
Here is a quick glimpse of the Q litter's first training session this week, using kibble soaked in water until it is mush. I introduced a variety of concepts:
- taking food from a hand
- following a food lure
- turning in both directions, sit, down and shake
- stepping on a wobbly surface
- following a toy (most haven't developed that interest yet, but will any day)
- remaining calm when held and squeezed (bear hug)
- going through a tight space (tunnel-esque)
As typical in a home with young children, there is a lot of background noise and excitement; at times it's distracting for puppies, but through their time here they get used to it and learn to handle it with confidence.
Here is a quick glimpse of the R litter's first training session this week, using kibble soaked in water until it is mush. I introduced a variety of concepts:
- taking food from a hand
- following a food lure
- turning in both directions, sit, down and shake
- stepping on a wobbly surface
- following a toy (most haven't developed that interest yet, but will any day)
- remaining calm when held and squeezed (bear hug)
- the R's were too big but the Q's got to experience going through a tight space (tunnel-esque) - I'll use a bigger set-up next session
As typical in a home with young children, there is a lot of background noise and excitement; at times it's distracting for puppies, but through their time here they get used to it and learn to handle it with confidence.
Q litter, 4 weeks 1 day old, first time playing outside! (Locket x Ideal)
L Litter - Learning to Lure (7 weeks 4 days)
Today was first vaccination day, to give pups a few days to adjust prior to moving home... so instead of encouraging as much bouncing and tugging as usual we focused on an important calmer skill - how to follow a food lure!
It was raining out so instead of working pups individually outside and starting a whole bunch of behaviors like sit, down, shake, etc today's session was inside... and there was NO WAY the others would have been quiet while they took turns getting treats, so we did some gross motor skills as a group.
The food is their kibble mixed with raw turkey and soaked in water until the crunch was gone. Super yummy and smelly, very quick to eat, and mushes onto my fingers so that even if someone eats the last morsel from my fingers I can still reward any other pups who were trying at the same time because they can lick the residue from my fingers.
At first I'm just giving them treats for putting their nose by my hand, so they come to expect that the treat in my hand is available for them to take. Then I start moving it in different ways... forward, around in circles, high to lift feet on a raised surface, low to put feet back on the ground... The same method of luring with food can be used to continue teaching all sorts of skills they'll be learning in their new homes for many years to come.
I'm noticing 3 ways in which this performance-focused litter is responding differently to this lesson than our service dog-focused litters when first learning:
1) These guys figured it out instantly that the treats come from my hand, and how to grab the treats well... the calmer service dog litters tend to take a little longer to figure out how to take the treats, and are more likely to accidently spit food out and then learn to sniff around on the floor to find the dropped treats. They figure it out quickly, this litter just never had trouble in the first place <3
2) These pups are really good about keeping their feet off of me even during the moments I stand up t
L Litter Practicing Tugging (7 weeks 1 day)
Here we are working on building tug drive as a pack. Unfortunately the camera fell over and the first 3 wildest minutes had to be removed, but they've still got energy :)
Rudy x Denali Performance Litter (7 weeks 1 day)
L Litter Obstacle Course (6 weeks, 2 days)
Yesterday puppies experienced an obstacle course as a group! The goal of this exercise was to expose them to various feelings and movements under their feet to continuing building their confidence for new stimuli. There was no right or wrong way for them to interact with the objects, just to be near/touch/sniff/bite/paw/etc.
Open-ended exercises like this work well as a group because each puppy adds more stimulation and movement to the obstacles for all the other puppies to experience, and their enthusiasm is contagious to the others - it's especially helpful when there is a somewhat more shy puppy and the 'pressure' is off for them to specifically participate to a full extent, while still giving them a large amount of exposure (we don't have any shy ones in this litter though ;))
When we want to achieve specific goals then it is better to handle each pup individually without the jostling and distraction of everyone else.
L Litter - First Wing Retrieves (6 weeks)
Yesterday the L litter turned 6 weeks old, and we introduced them to retrieving pheasant wings!
Typically half or more of each of our litters will go on to become service dogs and need to ignore birds and other prey, so we don't do early introductions. Later when we do introduce the scent/sight of various prey we are specifically making it 'boring' and teaching that it is way more rewarding to focus on people instead and to get treats/petting. (We do retrieves of many objects, just attempt to deactivate a serious interest in prey animals).
But the L litter was planned, bred, and is being raised to be performance dogs - not service dogs - and with that comes some changes in what experiences we choose to give them. None of these pups is lined-up for a specific hunting home, but any of the homes may try it out in the future so the early exposure will help that come naturally later - and more importantly, *controlled* prey interest and drive won't pose a challenge to these homes and are desired characteristics for most performance dogs.
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What do we mean by 'performance'? We mean active sports such as agility, dock diving, flyball, hunting, and particularly the higher levels for 'calmer sports' such as rally and competitive obedience, scentwork, freestyle (dancing), tricks/stunts, etc.
The characteristics of a good performance dog include strong drives (food, tug, retrieve - can include high prey drive but usually that is desired to be lower than the others), highly biddable/motivated, good confidence, and ideally not reactive to anything (ignore other dogs, bikers, loud sounds, etc).
These characteristics also are sought for careers like search and rescue, narcotics detection, etc.
These are the kinds of temperament traits that mature into a nightmare of a dog when the dog isn't raised with significant training, exercise and redirection... Not suitable for most novice handlers or for homes looking for a 'nice companion', or for people in need of a calm service do
L Litter playing with new tunnel (4 weeks, 6 days)
Here's a long video from today - checking out the new tunnel and various play, especially with the empty water bottle :D
Pups have new collars that are a bit easier to distinguish.
L litter expanded play yard! 4 weeks, 4 days
Here they are, all exploring and enjoying the new set-up! Everyone happily climbed the wobble board and inflated balance disc many times, went under and had a boost to Chloe's lap on the pedestal, and watched Chloe bounce on the peanut. No hesitation or fear from anyone towards anything, lots of interest in trying it all out even without any encouragement.
As they get a little older we'll do mini training sessions using various equipment, but for now they are learning by trial and error how to navigate and maintain their footing and balance.
Puppy play #2 from yesterday, just after their swim lesson.
Puppy video #3 from yesterday - a little while after their swim lesson. They were starting to play roughly and I'm still trying to get that on camera, but they always notice when I pick the camera up 😆
Yesterday we added a pedestal to the play area, and puppies enjoyed walking around, under and putting their front paws on it. When the sun came out, they piled underneath for a nap.
Chloe also enjoyed having a 'safe' spot to climb to, but quickly decided she wanted puppies up their with her. Yellow boy was primary volunteer, as usual <3
L litter, Rudy x Denali, 4 weeks 2 days
