Nurhan's take:
On Monday, on Ingvild's recommendation, Kin and I found ourselves at Lager Zoo (Hestnesvn 8, 4043 Hafrsfjord - http://www.lagerzoo.no/). Not only were they helpful and knowledgeable in this shop, but they also had a 4 month old French bulldog, and a Portuguese water dog, running around the shop. Kin went off to play and it felt to me like how you would leave your kids in a kindergarten as the three of them went off to play, whilst the 'adults' did business.
I asked about puppy classes and they had very positive recommendations regarding: Malmins Hundekurs http://www.malminshundekurs.net/ Got in contact with Marit, and there was a course starting this Wednesday... so we joined that. Now the course is organised with a three hour theory session at Marit's house on the Wednesday, followed by a 1 on 1 hour with Marit, her husband, and her 3 year old lab bitch, and obviously Kin and I where they introduce the basics (which I'll recap lower down to help me remember them). And then joint classes with all participants and their puppies starting next Wednesday evening out at Foss Eikeland.So far I have been very impressed with the course, Marit, & her husband. Course costs 1900 kr, which includes course notes and a book '100% Positiv Hverdagslydighet' (100% Positive Everyday Obedience).
Yesterday was a low point for Kin and I... lots of battles, puppy biting, trying to climb on the sofa, stealing things, appearing to try to dominate much older dogs, growling, pushing boundaries... and generally being a little s...
I came up with the plan of taking him out to burn off some of this energy... that wasn't a complete success. I carried him to the local footy pitch, from here he normally follows me home again... but that's when it's light... the darkness freaked him out and he went and hid in the bottom of a hedgerow... hmmmmmm, that wasn't the plan! He relaxed when I picked him up again (who say's 'walking' with a Newfie puppy isn't good exercise!!! And then completely relaxed/went back into to terrorist mode when I brought him into the back garden.
Spoke to Ingvild on the phone, by now I was somewhat frustrated with the little chap. Ingvild pointed out that we were both having a bad day and pointed out a story when the Madster was younger, Ingvild came in from work to find that she'd been into the book shelve and taken down photo albums and eaten/ripped up lots of the photos, most of which were irreplaceable and some were of her father who passed away some years ago... this was a very low point... but then she noticed the three elephants that stood on the shelve... they were all in place, but the largest was missing it's face... She wondered how the dickens Maddie had managed to remove the face but the elephant was exactly where it should be, her tears turned to incredulous laughter... We all have better and worse times while we are trying to learn our animals and they us... The trick is not to take it personally.
Today Kin and I have had our 'one on one' session with Marit. This was noteworthy for several reasons, the main one of which was that Kin met a five month old Golden retriever puppy... the notable thing about this was, he's 'Fjodolf', named after Karma's father and he's Shannon's new puppy. Now Shannon and I were together when we got Karma, and she's the one person I can really talk to regarding Karma, as she shared much of his life with me. It was surprisingly emotional meeting her, but there was a completeness about it as she compared him to how Karma was when he was the same age...
What Kin and I learn't in ('one on one') puppy class today:
- don't bend down when calling your pup;
- when he looks up at you, complement him and give him a treat (idea is that he'll look up at you to see what's going on);
- have play toys that are used for training only;
- use meat as treats for training (i.e. left over meats, sausages,...);
- use the best treats outside, when the distractions are greater;
- use play and treats, not just treats, so the little chap doesn't know what's coming next and always has to keep an eye on you;
- hold the palm of your hand out, when your pup touches his nose to your hand then give him a treat, if he doesn't touch your hand straight away, then put your hand behind your back and try the exercise again;
- certain toys make better training aids. Let him chase a toy along the floor, make certain he catches it (or he'll get bored); then if he lets it go, run away, so he chases you and either swap the toy for a treat or let him get the toy again;
- don't take a toy away from him without offering him something else;
- and keep an eye on him as eventually he'll get tooooooooo tired to do anything... quit whilst you are 'ahead'.
Marit and Jan-Inge are also 'big' on using clickers... Now I have a problem with the clicker, I want my dog to react to me, not a clicker that I have to bring everywhere. Marit see the clicker as something to re-enforce what you are doing with the pup... But she won't force me to use one... but she did give me a clicker, "because it has her number on the back, if I should happen to want to call because I'm going to be late for the puppy class..." Why do I get the feeling that I'm being 'played' like a dog! I wonder... should I give it a try...
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