A New Direction

It has been way too long to recap the past many months, so things will reveal themselves as they come up.  Ving went into formal training in July.  We hadn't reached 0 issues, but he was ready for the next step of his training.  Then, 2 weeks ago, Ving was the Demo dog at the Guide Dogs for the Blind graduation.  He was in Phase 7, the last phase before final testing.  Alas, today, I got the call that Ving had been Career Changed for distractability.  Reading the report, he was a lot of dog (which we knew, but hoped he would still fit the guide dog mold).   He also did not take to the kennel environment with the enthusiasm I thought he would.  We are hoping for Community Placement for the big guy.  Anyway, not exactly a great start to the week!

Ving prior to boarding the Puppy Truck in July

The New Kid on the Block

Sometimes puppy raisers do things that are a little crazy.  A little impulsive.  A little je ne sais crois.  Thanks to the blogging world, I found out that a puppy from a litter that tends to be energetic, ridiculously smart, and a bit opportunistic, was bouncing around with raisers, as he is a lot of dog.  After the ease of Esme (and Pilgrim), I could hardly ignore my desire to finish this boy.  Fortunately for me, he really had no where else to go, so Ving has joined our family.

Rudy, Esme, L'il M, Dillon, Ving

It took a day or two for the chaos to settle down a bit (I've had 3 GDB puppies this week!).  Once we developed some understandings, and a loose routine, Ving has been awesome!  He's very sweet.  He LOVES to be on the go.  He has great positional obedience and his relieving behavior seems good, so far. He keeps me constantly on my toes, and mentally engaged as one lapse in focus can result in really impulsive, bad behavior (so sorry about your nose, Mr Stick Horse).  I love that I can use kibble to reward his good behaviors constantly!  I think Ving has the potential to become a reliable dog with consistency and vigilance.

Ving turned 7-months-old on Saturday.  Since he has 8 months before recall, here are 8 things that I hope to work on before then.

1. Recall- currently it is horrible off-leash.   
2. End the reflexive keep-away game.  
3. Settle in the house without a tie-down.
4. Don't pick up things that aren't dog toys in house.
5. Respond to his name.  I have a horrid cold right now, so maybe this is temporary, as my voice sounds so different from how he usually hears his name.
6. Take food more gently.  To add to the fact that he gets excited about kibble, he has a canine with the tip broken off which makes his tooth really sharp!
7. Quiet behavior when he wants to do something else.  He has gotten better in the crate during the day, and is great all-night, but early mornings while I am relieving him and Esme are tough (when it's not his turn!)
8. Four feet on the floor.  He's a kangaroo hopper if you hold his collar when he's excited to get somewhere.

I am looking forward to the next 8 months with this crazy guy.  He is a great match for me personally, although I think L'il M might be a little disappointed when Esme leaves and she can't participate as much (Esme has been so cooperative with her!).  I am also grateful for Esme helping with his exercise program!