Puppy Class this past Monday was great! :D However, I was really sad because since John works in the evenings now, he wasnt able to come and he wont be able to come to our last class either
:( it was weird getting Carter into the car (which he likes now) by myself and take him to class. It was good though.
There ended up being only 2 puppies in class- Carter and Tulula (a tiny little dog). So we got a lot of individual attention and were able to really practice everything with a lot of distractions around (even though there was only 1 other puppy in our class, there were other classes going on close by AND 1 other puppy is enough to keep Carter distracted. lol).
So in class we practiced a loose leash with distractions and he did REALLY well! When I walk him some mornings I forget treats because I am not fully awake yet, and I get frustrated because he isnt listening to me. BUT that's my fault because he still needs the treats while he is a puppy.
We also worked on recall while playing with the other puppy. He was not so good at this, so it's something we definitely need to work on. Clifford will be staying with us for the next two weeks, so we will have plenty of time to practice with another dog around! We are hoping with Clifford here that we can teach Carter a lot:D
I also talked to our trainer about Carter jumping on people when he sees them. I hate when he does this and we need to change it. She told me that we need to tell people ahead of time that if they approach us, they need to ignore Carter until he sits- not get him more excited and pet him while he jumps. Then every time he jumps, to ignore him again. This also includes us for when we get home from work. I LOVE when he comes running to me when I get home, but I understand the need for him to sit before he greets people. This will be hard to teach him! But definitely a goal.
Lorianne also said that we were ready for class 1 (the next level class for dogs). Carter has to be 6 months old though. We are going home soon anyway, so by the time we get back he will be old enough to take it. It's a lot more focused too, so I am sure that's why he needs to be a bit more mature. She also told us about getting dogs Canine Good Citizen Certified. He is not ready for this yet- it's 10 different things that dogs have to do or be able to do- but it's something we want to get him certified for! :D
Other than that, here a few other Carter updates:
-He has not had an accident in the house in a LONG time! I am starting to think we are passed the potty training stage- FINALLY! :D We have also started to put down some of our rugs again. lol :D YAY!
-He has started using his doggy door so much better! We leave his crate door open when he sleeps at night (he doesnt leave it, because he loves it :D) and so when he has to go to the bathroom now- he doesnt wake us up anymore! :D He just goes out his doggy door :D However, for some reason he doesnt like to come back in without our permission, so then he wakes us up. lol BUT for the first time today, he used it to go out AND come back in! AND went straight back into his crate! :D I was such a proud mommy! haha.
-Most of his itching is gone! Something bites him on his legs still- but not like before at all! It's probably something in the grass or mulch, it's really not enough to worry too much about. He does have two pretty big sores that he got from somewhere, but they seem to be healing if he will stop licking them! He may get the cone again :(
-He is getting SO big! and is still such the best cuddler ever :D We are still working on tricks, but mostly training him with distractions. He's such a smarty pants :D and I love him more each day:D
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