Our Little Handful

Rain showers with occasional thunderstorms moved through the Oregon area Friday and Saturday.  The wet weather created a few unplanned wading pools/puddles. Since our canine trio was already wet from "outside potty", we might as well take them for a walk or swim.  The big dogs, Monte and Norman, raced through the standing water while Hobey observed from a safe distance until he couldn't control himself any longer and unexpectedly found himself shoulder deep.

After fifteen minutes of splashing, our canine companions were waterlogged and we attempted to dry them out with a walk to the park.  This included walking up and down the metal steps in the stadium.  Not even twelve weeks old, Hobey tired and I ended up carrying the soaked puppy halfway home, quite the handful.

Saturday morning was spent at The Dog Den for an hour of puppy playgroup, where we supervised and corrected Hobey's small dominance issue. His play style requires constant supervision, quite the handful.  This was immediately followed by a forty-five minute training session. This week we worked on FOLLOW and COME.  Thankfully the staff provided material from the class we missed last week so we could keep up with our homework. 

After his busy morning and afternoon romp, Hobey met up with a few of his favorite people, his breeders and their neighbors at the grand opening of The Ironstone Nest.  It was easy to tell that he remembered everyone from his earliest days in Sun Prairie; we couldn't tell who was happier.  He is quite a handful.

The first weeks of a puppy's life are critical to having a well-balanced adult dog.  If their love is any indication of the care that he received, Hobey shouldn't have any problems.

In fact, we took a brief break from the party and as we started back, a police car pulled away and initiated the siren right behind us - very loud and startled us both.  We usually like this to happen in a controlled situation where we start off from a distance and move closer.  Hobey handled this without a second look.

People were impressed with Hobey's training and demeanor.  However, at this point the focus is on creating trust, bonding, imprinting behaviors, and most importantly building his confidence.  SIT, DOWN and STAY can and will be mastered further down the road.  Now, we encourage greeting humans/canines and exploring, but later when serious training begins we will want him focused and compliant.