WOW!! Closing a cupboard door, and confidence building

5 months 1 week 4 days old

My Knightley, starting to look more grown up. These
adventures really help me realise he is definitely growing up
mentally. I am lucky I have such a quick smart dog.

Wow, like seriously..... wow. I am in shock. Knightley is one seriously smart puppy. I wish I had recorded the training session that we just had because it was very serious testament to how far Knightley has come. We were working on paw targeting, and as I mentioned in my last post, a checklist for the new Training Levels have recently become available which has shown any gaps I may have as for a long time I was training from the free levels online, not the books. The behaviour I had to catch up on was to get Knightley to close a cupboard door with his paw. Pretty advanced really, and I hadn't even transitioned him from paw targeting my hand, or a lid on the floor, to a vertical surface. So last night I did a short session, recapping what I did with him about a month ago - and he got that very quickly.

Update 5 April 2012: Just wanted to say that While I trained Knightley to close cupboards and doors with his paw first, I then trained him to close them with his nose. The nose close is actually more useful because it doesn't have the potential to mark furniture, but both are good to have the dog know. If a public door is not moving because it is particularly heavy, a paw swipe may get it moving, and then it can be closed by nose the rest of the way. I am not sure which way around it was better to have trained it, but I was happy with training it this way. I just had to do LOTS of nose targeting and no rewarding for closing with paw for the nose to stick as a cue after I had taught paw first. Now if nose isn't working after several goes he will automatically swap to giving it a single whack with his paw to get it moving, and I am happy with that. Nose targeting technique is quite similar. Send me a msg on my Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/DownunderAssistanceDog if you want more details on training a nose cupboard/door/drawer close.

I'm just going to quickly go through the training prerequisites if you want to go ahead and train the cupboard close as it assumes that your dog can paw target an object. Something like a yogurt or tupperware lid is perfect, if it's clear that is better still, but make sure the lid is tall enough from the ground so that you can fit a treat under it. To start give your dog several treats, either clicking a clicker first or saying 'yes!', so that he knows when you click (you can even use the click of a ball point pen), or say 'yes' that he will get a treat. 


You then show him a treat, and very obviously put it under the lid on the floor. Make sure your dog can't flip over the lid, you may have to hold it down. He'll try to lick it, bite it, but most of all, he will try to paw it. The *instant*! he paws it, or his paw even moves towards it, click/say yes, lift up the lid so he can get the treat from under the lid and then give him a second treat from your hand. Some dogs will get the idea very quickly, even if new to this type of training. Sometime it will take some persistence. After a while, stop lifting up the lid for the treat, and simply hand him the treat from your hand only. Then remove the treat from under the lid entirely. 


Once he is pawing well, hitting the lid every time and knows exactly what you want you can add the cue! I use the word 'paw!'. As his paw connects with the lid say 'paw' and click/say yes. You have to say it quite a few times for it to stick. Eventually he will wait to hear paw before he does it. Then you can start putting your hand underneath the lid, still very close to the floor, but slowly higher and higher. You can use this method to teach 'shake' and 'hi-five' very effectively. Then replace the yogurt lid with a large sticker. Then start reducing the size of the sticker slowly until he will simply target your hand - and it is all done! That should all take maybe 5-6 sessions for a fairly smart dog, although it will vary widely with attention span, prior training etc. Always end your sessions on a high and keep them short.

So, this is how I trained Knightley to close my kitchen cupboard door. First I got a big white sticker, stuck it to my palm, and had him paw target that. Then I put the palm with the sticker next to my leg and asked him to paw that. He seemed to think I was asking for a touch or something, or maybe he just wanted to eat it (he tries to eat most things in the world afterall!).... because I got some paws, but some 'eat the sticker'. So that didn't work quite right. So I did some sticker zen. I know I've talked about zen a lot, but I may not have been absolutely explicit as to what it means. Zen basically means 'calm down, centre yourself, leave it'. My cue for zen is 'leave it', for instance I will put a large treat in front of him - say, a nice warm sausage - and tell him 'leave it', and he will back up slightly, sit, and look right at me. No fuss, no upset...  just a calm dog accepting what I wish, with heaps of self control, which is why it is called zen. Anyway, so he had tried to eat the sticker, so I told him to leave it, and every time I flapped the sticker in front of his face, whilst telling him leave it, and he successfully did it, I gave him lots of treats. Once I had established it was not for his mouth/nose etc, we went back to paw targeting. This time we were good. He was pawing my hand rather painfully, well done! good pup! (lol)

So, then I took it another step forward and put the sticker on my leg, but left my hand next to it. Not very different, and after a few hiccups, he was targeting my leg. Very slowly I started pulling my hand away, and didn't pause with cues and treats, until he was confidently tearing my leg to pieces with his nasty little nails, lol! We stopped there that night. All that took maybe 5 minutes, and was a very successful recap.

Then this evening we did our very awesomely cool session. I had new treats, we had got some fresh 'all natural' pre-prepared dog food in chicken, rice and veggies to use as training treats because they came in little nuggets, and this was the first time I had tried it, and they were a HIT. I started with him targeting the sticker on my hand, then my leg, and then I stuck it on the bottom of the couch... low enough so his paw could get to it. This was the really big moment, the massive huge mental leap. What leap, says Knightley, whapping the couch with his paw!!! And again, and again, and again! Wowsers! I was sitting there grinning like an idiot!

Learning to close the cupboard door. That's my amazing
puppy!

So, keeping in mind the behaviour is to actually close a cupboard door, we then moved into the kitchen, where I briefly retaught what we had just done (dogs need to relearn new behaviours when they move rooms/places). He confidently pawed my leg on cue, so I stood closer and closer to the cupboard and then put a fresh sticker right on the cupboard at about the same height. He didn't see it at first, so as I cued paw, I tried pointing at it, and he tried to paw my pointing hand... sigh.... but I persisted... patting the sticker, showing it to him, and then cuing 'paw!' again. Finally there is a half hearted wave of his foreleg, and I treated him like he did the most wonderful thing in the world. I gave him tiny treats for any wave, big treats for contact with the door of the cupboard, then eventually only treats for contact. I was actually handing him the treats at first, but found that tossing the treats aside gave him a few steps to centre himself on the sticker/door and put some force behind the whack.

After that change he started doing some really good whacks, and I was thrilled. I then wondered whether he could actually close it, although the doors do need a reasonable push to close. So I open it a touch, and we start trying. Tiny treats for soft touches, big treats for solid hits. Eventually only c/t for solid hits, which frustrated him for a while and he started his annoyed barking. Then he realised when I had stopped giving him treats if he didn't hit it and started putting his effort into actually pawing it solidly. Suddenly, *bang!*, the cupboard door closed, and Knightley jumped a little - I think I did too.... and I absolutely stuffed that dog full of treats, told him he was the very best puppy in the world, and he started wagging madly!!! We worked at it more until he managed to close it another three times, then stopped on a high. I was completely thrilled and completely blown away. Moving from a horizontal paw target to a vertical is meant to be a big leap... let alone manipulating that object!!! It showed me once and for all what Knightley is capable of. I am still almost in shock. He isn't meant to learn that fast!!                                                                                                                                                          

Getting a wash with some nice new 2in1
very natural shampoo after his swim. He
still doesn't like it very much but he is
tolerating it. I should really put my skills
to actually making him actively like it.
Now THAT would be a challenge!

Anyway, onto other topics. Earlier that day I went over to my parents place with the specific mission to get him over his reluctance for getting into the pool. His first trip over there he had been so eager to get in he had conquered any misgivings and jumped in, but the second trip over there he only jumped in once as he was just not happy with launching himself. Once he was in he always really enjoyed himself, but he didn't like having to jump. So I fed him a very small breakfast and saved the rest up in order to lure him into the pool.

At first I just fed him for leaning over, using the marker word "yes!" instead of clicking, trying to help him feel that leaning towards the water wasn't something to be afraid of. There are some steps that he hadn't realised were there previously, so I started to lure him with food and his Wubba (which he adores) at the steps, giving him treats whenever he leaned over again. I also took off his life jacket so he would feel freer to move and less encumbered. He was obviously pretty hungry because he was leaning further and further out until eventually, suddenly, a foot went over the edge and there was one on the first step. I shovelled buckets of food into his mouth then used his Wubba to lure him off the step. He grabbed hold of the Wubba, had a bit of a tour of the pool, then eventually climbed out at the steps.

That was pretty much how the session went, with me trying to make him feel more confident about getting in the pool, giving him treats for getting his feet on the steps, sometimes treats for getting in too if his head was far enough out of the water. After a few dips in I put his life jacket back on to save him some energy and because I noticed his strokes weren't as smooth and calm without it. Eventually he started to tire, but I was very very pleased with his progress... he even jumped in once after a big palm leaf. I'll keep working on it the same way, and will put a cue to it when it's a solid behaviour. There is a deeper step on the other side of the pool, so my aim will be to have him getting in there eventually - and then back to just jumping in.

I gave him a wash with my new lovely 2in1 pet shampoo, which is very natural, biodegradable, a natural fleaicide and very very good for sensitive dogs. Not to mention perfect for easy washing after a swim. Then that night we had the amazing success with the cupboard door.

As the days go by I am more and more sure about my choice. His focus is well ahead of other puppies his age... I just need to work on it outside the house, because his brains fly out his ears when we go outside.... What a day though. One to remember.

Dogsicles, hot weather, another pool swim and teenage tantrums

5 months 1 week old

So it has been pretty hot here the last several days, continuing around 35c (95f), which isn't all that pleasant. It means having to be careful with your dogs, as dogs deal with heat less well than us humans. I've been giving Knightley regular 'dogsicles' to keep up his liquid supply, and keep him a little cooler.

To make dogsicles all you need is some chicken stock (best is to just boil a chicken carcass, then you get heaps, cost was 70 cents AU), a few kibble, maybe 8-10 per dogsicle, then I added a frozen pumpkin cube to each dogsicle, which I use when Knightley's movements are a bit runny. I then filled the small cups I was using as my containers up with stock. I let it sit for a bit, then added a couple of small chunks of banana to each cup, then into the freezer. The kibble swells up hugely and floats to the top, the banana kind of sits in the middle, and the pumpkin makes a layer on the bottom. Knightley is loving them... I get him to go into his crate, then put him in a wait, put the dogsicle on the floor of the crate, then close the crate door, and only then is he allowed to eat his lovely dogsicle. It keeps him busy and well hydrated, and is a good healthy treat for a hot summers day.

What are you doing point that thing at me?? I'm trying to relax
here you know!

Because of my migraine I wasn't well enough for our normal family New Years Day BBQ, but did manage it the following day, and once again Knightley got to swim - although he was a bit more hesitant about jumping in this time! It was one of the hot days, and it was pretty amazing seeing how tired he was, reluctant to move from lying around on the cool tiles... until he got in the water and suddenly he was all ready to go. Just those couple of degrees cooler makes all the difference for dogs and us humans.

Still dry, looking at us in the pool, but really reluctant to
jump in this time... I wasn't sure why, may have to train
a cue to jump into something for next time. He really
wanted to swim, but didn't want to take the plunge.

Here in Aus, at least in the more southern parts (not the tropics, where you do tend to find it), air conditioning is not all that common -

Having a good game of tug with my brother. Finally now
his adult teeth are in (except for the teeth that come in when
 he is 1) he can play tug again without bleeding on all his
toys!

Happy at last, having a good old chew, nice and wet, keeping
a watch on us all.

people occasionally have one room in the house air conditioned, but very very rarely the whole house. Both dogs and humans have to cope... but generally we only have one week, maybe two up around the 35-39c (95-102f) range, and these are the weeks where both dogs and humans risk heat stress/stroke (I've had heat stroke twice). Most of the time however, it isn't all that bad. Nevertheless, it does make me think about what I would do for Knightley if we do become an Assistance dog team. Of course I just couldn't take him out on days *that* hot, but even for the low 30s it is quite dangerous for a dog that needs to walk around and can't just lie down and pant. Anyway, for the last two days when Knightley hasn't had access to a pool, I had had a tub for him to splash around in, and have also been spraying his belly and armpits (or 'forelegpits'??) with a little handspray of water to keep him cooler. Keeping him hydrated is also incredibly
important because a dog can't stay properly cool without a well lubricated mouth (ie lots of icky drool/saliva) coupled with the ability to pant.

Anyway, so he perked up nicely during his swim, and had several good long tours of the pool. He's a great swimmer, good long strokes, nice and calm... although he does tend to forget where the steps to get out are and get a little worried when he can't get out.

His in crate behaviour is going really well these days, absolutely no barking, occasionally a touch of whining... but nothing like it was before. But - he still barks quite a bit in other situations. I asked for advice about his barking and getting overexcited while I was trying to teach him retrieve as part of Sue Ailsby's Training Levels, and someone else labelled it as a tantrum. I think that is pretty much right. He just can't control his displeasure and whenever something happens that he doesn't like he resorts to barking:

• food not coming fast enough = bark, 
• he can't understand what I want him to do = bark,
• I'm eating something and I tell him "leave it" which in that situation basically means 'back off, this is mine' = barkbarkbark, 
• he sees another dog and I won't let him go over and say hi = bark..... 

and so on. He voices his protest. I hope further work on distance, stays, zen and watch will help him develop his patience, because that is what is needed. It is actually quite perfect that I am up to where I am in the Training Levels, because it is starting to focus on behaviours where the dog has to start doing things for longer in order to get their reward. In otherwords - cultivate patience.

I also like Karen Overall's Relaxation Protocol for cultivating patience, and Knightley and I are still working on Day 1 (of 15 days)- we're not rushing it. It involves basically just sitting for certainly periods of time, sometimes walking away from him, sometimes counting aloud, sometimes softly clapping aloud, sometimes just sitting for a good 20 seconds or so. That is day 1. Knightley is ok at it, he just tends to slide into a down when he gets bored. So once he has stopped doing that, we shall proceed. It definitely does relax him though, which is the object.

A very very happy dog.

Thankfully my migraine is receeding, so Knightley and I are slowly getting back to our normal training schedule. I'll see what damage a few days absence has done!

A story in photos: a lake romp

5 months 5 days old

So my migraine continues, although it isn't as bad as it was, whilst the weather here is very hot: 35c (95f). I had to skip a New Years Day BBQ and swim over at my parents place, but managed it today with the help of some rather strong painkillers. Knightley also got to swim, although he has lost his nerve for jumping in the pool - he only did it once! So I may have to come up with a strategy for getting him to jump in again, instead of having to lift him in. Once he was in he was very happy, so it's just the take off.

Anyway, I am lying here in bed on my laptop, overheating and feeling pretty bleugh. Just had a cool shower, and just having a shower always exhausts me, but I needed to cool down because I hate the heat more and it tends to make my migraines worse.

Instead of a long wordy blog, I'm going to do a photo blog of our lake adventures - the lazy way out! This is pretty much exactly as it happened, down to the bird bones Knightley found and proceeded to devour. Even though his puppy teeth are out, his adult teeth are still growing in just a bit more, and he still has the urge to chew everything in sight, sigh.

Remember you can click on any of the blog images for larger versions.

Oh wow, what kind of awesome place is this mummy, I can eat all sorts of
disgusting things here then go for a swim and see what I can find there!!
Ohh, bird bones!

Oooh it's so wet and so fun and what, are those DUCKS over there?!?! But
they should be in my mouth!! Wow this is such an exciting place,
maybe I should get out and shake all over mummy then look very cute
so that she'll still love me. I get a kick out of little tricks like that!

I know you're quite wet now mummy, but seriously, you have to love this
face I made especially for you....!! OK enough faces, time to FLY!!!

If I flap my ears fast enough I'll take off right??? Right mummy???
Why are you just laughing at me?!?! I am being serious here! There is
very serious puppy investigation going on! Hmm. I think I might be stuck
 in here, that bank is STEEP.

OK time to try jumping out and maybe will eat duck poo on the shore,
get a run up first and..... WHEEE!!! How clever am I?

Well, there was actually no duck poo up there, so
I think I'll just sit here for a bit and watch the world
go by. I know, I know, I'm a beautiful, gorgeous,
stunning, cute Golden Retriever! Just about everyone
I meet tells me that! If I didn't have such a huge teenage
puppy ego I would get sick of hearing it!

Oh boy, why does mummy always point that weird black thing at me? This time
she keeps on saying that "watch" word again and again and making clicking
noises but I'm not getting any foodies! And the fun has stopped too! Meanie
mummy rinsed me off and then we had some tug with a towel and now she
is being very boring and keeps holding her head, sighing and muttering something
 like "the things I do for you, puppy". Dumb mummy, I do so much for her.... it's
always sit, sit, sit all day!

Mummy messed up my coat all weird and funny so it would dry faster! Grr!
But you can see how it doesn't look much at all like a puppy coat anymore,
not a speck of fluff to be seen... I'm becoming all man baby! Well... a dog
man... wouldn't want to be a human man like daddy! He always seems to be
getting bossed around by mummy again and again... much like me actually...
sigh, the lot of a puppy!

There were people in weird floaty things I stared at for a while that mummy
 told me were kayaks and rowing boats, whatever that means. Mummy also said
the name of the lake was Lake Ginninderra, and I may be smart but she did
have to spell it for me here. I just sort of woof randomly to spell most words actually.

Zzzzzzzz. Later that evening. A very very very tired puppy.

Knightley had been quite calm and simply enjoying himself until two women walking by asked to pat him, and proceeded to hype him up incredibly, leaving with the mild comment "he's quite excitable isn't he?" Sigh. I had kept him on his long line for our time there.... our recall isn't good enough with that many distractions, although we got good opportunity to practice whilst there.... and pre-stupid-women he had kept the line loose and just wondered around me, keeping calm but very happy. After the women revved Knightley up ("OOOeeeee you're so CUTE!!! OOHHH we just need to PAT you, you adorable thing!! Oh you're SOOO cute jumping up on us!! HAHAHA ooohhhh such a cutie!!!!! Do you sit puppy???? Sit Sit sit SIT sit SIT SIT SITSITSIT!!! Oh he sits!!! HOW CUTE!!!!") he just went into crazy zoomie mode, pulling for all he was worth, and I think that sealed the fate on my threatening migraine, along with me pushing myself too hard, too much heat and sun, and a bad sleep the night before. I *should* have taken him away from those two when I saw what they were doing to his mental balance, but I was just so tired out by that stage.

Anyway, Knightley had a really great time. The annoying thing is there are nice little beaches around the lake, yet dogs are not allowed within 50 metres of them. So I had to try finding places Knightley could get to the water, whilst carrying all sorts of stuff, and with my crutches........what a pain, both literally and metaphorically!

I had a look at dog friendly beaches and nearby accommodation on the NSW (New South Wales, Australia's most populous state) South Coast. Whenever we go down to the coast, that is the region to which we go generally, as it is the closest. A weekend down there with Knightley sounds great, although we may want to wait until the summer school holidays are over and the coast empties a bit! I'd just love to see what he makes of waves.

Another 35c (95f) degree day tomorrow, and it is taking its time cooling down tonight. Poor Knightley isn't liking the heat much, but he's surviving. It is so important that we look to our dogs during particularly hot days, dogs just don't manage heat as well as we do. Anyway, sleep calls me. So much for photos only, I can't help myself!

Happy 5 month birthday Knightley! A review of our time together

5 months old

So, Knightley is 5 months old today. Time has gone so very quickly!! He has gone from a tiny fluffy thing to a quite large boisterous but promising teenager.

The first photo is of Knightley the first time we ever saw him. We had a very long drive up to where his breeder lives, about 7 hours from us, and did the trip over a weekend. We were there to temperament test the puppies of his litter, a big litter of 11, 8 of which were male - and I wanted a male for the extra size and strength. There was one other promising male, but he struggled quite a lot when picked up, whereas Knightley was curious and affectionate - although he didn't actually settle down either! It is only now he is able to jump onto the couch that he is discovering the snuggle! In all other aspects Knightley's temperament test went excellently (see my blog post from then titled I HAVE A PUPPY!!!!!!!). My husband and I were absolutely thrilled as we had been through the disappointment of a failed temperament testing on a small litter nearly four weeks earlier. The puppies in that litter were absolutely unsuitable as assistance/service dog candidates and it had been upsetting (read post Temperament testing over, a bit sad). However, we were overjoyed with Knightley and returned to Canberra in high spirits and in a frenzy to prepare for our furry whirlwind.


This next photo is of bringing Knightley home 5 days later. Thankfully we only had to travel about 3 hours to pick him up, and 3 back. The photo is of him asleep in the little crate we used for the first several weeks of his time with us. He had already traveled for three hours that morning, so was pretty much exhausted and barring a couple of toilet breaks, slept the whole way home. It was the lull before the storm! Those first couple of weeks were intense!! Taking him out every 45 minutes during the day, every 2 hours at night, feeding 4 times a day and trying to keep him from taking the house to bits and from taking the flesh on our hands to bits!! But oh my was he gorgeous. Looking back, it did pass too fast. (Read Knightley is home).


This was our first trip outside the home, he'd been with us three days at this point of time. What a tiny gorgeous fuzzball he was - now he has lost 99% of that fuzz - all that remains is a touch on is ears. Back then he was like a luxurious rug or something lol! We took him to the vet that first weekend too, and he was a good little puppy, and admired very very much. We have got used to having our 'rockstar' puppy - I suppose most attractive Golden Retriever puppies get the same treatment.... people just can't stay away from him. I expect it will start to lessen soon as he is looking less and less puppy-ish now.

This shows a very big jump in time to a week ago or so. He's promising to be quite a big dog - he was a slightly above average puppy when we got him, and a bit overly plump. I have tried to make sure he has stayed lean during his fast growing period in order to ensure good joint growth. This is extra important for Golden Retrievers.who do get quite a bit of hip dysplasia (read previous post My last dog and preventative healthcare for the coming one). Late de-sexing will also help with his joint development.


This next photo shows Knightley in a rather proud sit making good eye contact. His training has come a huge way in the slightly over three months we've had him in our lives (brought him home on the 22nd of September when he was 8 weeks old). At first I was quite worried at his lack of interest in food, but as he settles down into life and *things* become less exciting, food becomes more exciting. I am sure once he gets de-sexed - which won't happen until he is 18 months old or so - that will if anything complete the cure, if we are still having any issues. I give a lot of credit to how far Knightley has come in these three months to Sue Ailsby and her Training Levels (follow the so named link in the bar below the title banner). Also some credit must go to the clicker training community in general.  I love how clicker work teaches your dog to really *think* and I love that moment when the dog just gets it! We were doing something new today where Knightley has to make eye contact no matter which way I turn, as part of his "watch me" command, and he was as pleased as punch when he figured it out. I love the fact that you don't just push your dog into a sit, but leave it to him to work it out! There are just so many more possibilities with clicker training.

These were some of Knightley's most recent adventures on Christmas day (see A great Christmas Day for Knightley, barking beginning to stop!) and I was thrilled by how confident my boy was. He is not a dog who worries about anything, or cowers away in a corner! He's always out there in the thick of things, charging ahead to meet the new people. I have seen him scared maybe twice in his three months with us - once when a big very noisy group of children all ran up to him, half on bikes, some on go-carts. He even hid behind me for a second! But once I asked them to speak more quietly and stop running, he recovered quickly and I have tried to ensure since then that his children encounters are all positive - and he does loooove the kids! The other time was fairly soon after he had got his last shots and we were starting to go for lots of walks. We met two rather large pointer type dogs who were rather exuberant and happy to just bowl into poor Knightley. That was the first time I saw his hackles come up, his tail was clamped between his legs and once again he turned to me for protection. But that's it, other than that, no more scared. Whenever he sees something he's hesitant about on his walks (rare, but has happened a couple of times), I get him to paw or nose touch the object after a few treats to get him closer, and then he always completely ignores it. I do hope he stays like this.

So, that was the beginning of our time together, and this is now. What a whirlwind. I can't wait to see what happens next. Each day brings further changes and I love seeing him mature. We've picked a truly lovely dog here.

A lake swim, a hissing swan and more training!

4 months 4 weeks 1 day old


So today Knightley, hubby and I had a trip down to Lake Burley Griffin, named after the American architect who came up with the basic design for Canberra. We had a nice walk with Knightley and he got lots of attention (awww look at the cute puppy!!), including being an international tourist attraction and getting on video camera! (we were in the tourist centre of Canberra, right near the Parliament House)

A photo looking down on Lake Burley Griffin. There is a lot of good walking
around the lake - you can see the path alongside the lake, which we also
followed for a short while. The park beside the lake is very pretty, and stays
green even throughout summer.

We continued to walk around to a part of the lake that had a sort of shingle beach, next to a short pier. We'd just seen a Newfoundland and a Chowchow (both shaved for the summer! they looked so strange!) go swimming in the same spot, so we put Knightley's long line on him and threw some sticks in for him - he needed to cool down a bit anyway. Of course he didn't have his life jacket on, but didn't really need it this time as he didn't have to plunge in and could just walk. He struck out strongly from the shore, and brought in the sticks every time - although not always to us!! I was very pleased with his swimming, he definitely is a water dog in the making. I would love to take him down to the nearby coast (about 2.5 hours drive from here) to see what he would make of the surf!

Not my photo I am sad to say. Illustrating the firey temperament
of the black swans. When that big guy starting hissing at
Knightley and my big puppy boy couldn't help himself and
started barking back I thought it was time to beat a hasty retreat.
As we walked away another 6 or so other swans came up to
join the nasty tempered one.

Anyway, eventually our activity and levity attracted the attention of some rather large black swans (only found in Australia) and one came along to check Knightley out. I reeled him in as the swan came closer, and Knightley started barking at it from on the beach. The swan didn't like that and started hissing a warning. Frankly I wouldn't have liked the swan to have a go at Knightley - those things are BIG and I'm sure they can do a lot of damage. I certainly couldn't see any cygnets around, but the swan was certainly acting protective and I wasn't going to stick around as it was attracting the attention of the other swans in the area.

So we went off and played 'throw the chunk of wood for my retrieving obsessed puppy' and did some recall practice between the hubby and I inside a rather cute pavilion on the park grounds. It was pretty hard to get him to pay attention to us as he was just too interested in the world around him. However, we were good little dog trainers, and made the distance shorter until he was successful at that, and then with every successful recall between us (what Sue Ailsby calls the 'Come Game' in her Training Levels), we increased the distance slightly. We were mostly doing it to dry the pup off!

So it was a good outing for Knightley. My husband and I are both on holiday from our respective jobs at the moment, so we have a bit more time to get Knightley out places. It's a little freaky to think that in a years time he may be getting close to being able to do his 'job'. I was rather worried at the beginning, when he wasn't showing food drive or desire to be 'in the game', that we had chosen a smart puppy full of drive, but one that would be very hard to focus. My worries have been proven completely off base, he is really maturing of late, and his duration, patience and focus skills are really really improving. Not to mention he's like a different dog with food drive, partly due to my hard work. I truly think, discounting any major personality changes, that he has a very good chance of 'making it' as an assistance dog.

We've been doing some more retrieve training, basically just focusing on getting him to hold objects for longer, and to be a bit more calm about it! For some reason it really really hypes him up. Anyone out there got some ideas for calming down a dog in early stages of retrieve training?!?! I have thought of doing it after Karen Overall's RP sessions with Knightley, which certainly do calm him down.

Other than the retrieve stuff, I am following the new Training Levels books through as they come without skipping ahead, which means I am about of half way through level 2. I am quite uneven though, some Level 2 skills Knightley and I can do nearly all the steps involved..... but then others we pretty much have to start at the beginning. Only when it's video-able (not that I necessarily would) would I say that Knightley and I had passed Level 2. It shouldn't take very long though, he is learning very fast! The temptation is to push him frankly, although if anything I should slow down and take the time to enjoy our ride together because this special growing up time is only going to happen once.                                                                                                            

A great Christmas Day for Knightley, barking beginning to stop!

4 months 4 weeks old

Well, I have to say I am glad that the Christmas season is over for this year. It has been a pretty busy lead up, going places, doing things, with barely time to catch breath. I have only been just treading water health/exhaustion wise. I even found myself falling asleep at my desk at my volunteer job (which I will soon be paid for) last week. Not good!

Another thing that is going on, is my brother, who I have lived with for quite a few years, and who was living with me when my husband moved in, is buying his own house and will be moving out mid-ish January. A fair chunk of the furniture in the house is his, so we are having to do all those rather time consuming (and money consuming!) buying type things to get ready for him moving out.

Knightley in his life jacket. I got the size up from what he
currently needs, and he only just fits into it, but it should
fit him for a good while. It was a hot day and he was happy
to lie on these tiles.... that is, until people started getting
in the pool.............

Anyway, despite the big lead up to Christmas and my brother moving out, it was a good Christmas Day, and what's more, Knightley had a GREAT time. I think I mentioned in my last blog that we were going to give him a try swimming in my parents pool on Christmas Day as it was meant to be a hot day. Well, it was a hot day: 31 degrees Celsius I think (or was that Christmas Eve? hmmm I forget...), so I took along Knightley's new life jacket which I bought to give him a good start in his swimming 'career'. I had been careful to give him a good introduction to water, as you would know if you read my blog often. Firstly it was that big blue tub, then the orange paddling pool in our backyard which he plays in often. Then I let him wade around in the water drains right near here when they were full and clean after rains, and that comes up to his stomach or so.... and then he got to go into our nearby lake once, but only his legs since I didn't have anything to dry him with me. So I had made it fun, played with him often in the paddling pool, and bought a Kong Wubba (meant for pools, rivers, lakes, beaches etc) which he liked retrieving from the little pool. I had got him used to the life jacket previously, so I knew he would be fine with it.

Knightley did a bit of this before he jumped in, and after he
got out every time, he peered at us / his Wubba before
making the big leap into the water. Dear clever fearless
puppy.

So my dad and brother got in the pool first, and Knightley was already standing right on the edge, but I couldn't believe he would jump in. I was getting ready to get in the pool myself and ***SPLASH!!!*** He launched himself directly off the side of the pool right into the water!!!! I couldn't believe it, and scrambled into the pool as quickly as I could! Amazing dog. He sure likes the water!!! We steered him towards the steps to show him the way out (the first thing you should ever do with a dog in an unfamiliar pool), but he was swimming strongly, and cleanly, not panicking - although apparently having the life jacket helps a lot with that. Dogs swim in such a way that their front half is well out of the water, but their back
section is well below water, basically on an angle.

Knightley taking the plunge. What an awesome photo,
thanks to my Mum. The only one not swimming, thanks
to her aversion to water that isn't of tropical temperature.

When dogs are starting to learn how to swim they can feel like they are sinking and panic, which makes them thrash around a bit, which means they don't swim cleanly and don't really get anywhere, which makes them more panicked. A life jacket makes their first swimming experiences positive ones, which basically sets them up for life! I'd like to take him swimming again soon, either to the pool or a lake or river. It is important to cement these experiences. As the swimming went on, Knightley seemed to get more hesitant to get in the water, and spent more time just running around the outside of the pool - which he still seemed to enjoy.... but I don't want him to get a superstition about jumping in! So that's another big reason why I need to get him swimming again soon.

Grabbing his Wubba and getting out of the pool for a good
shake and a run around. For extra bonus points he might
even shake on his grand-dog-mother (my mum).

I was quite pleased however, by the fact he was able to focus on the Wubba whilst still being fascinated by the water. What he does isn't exactly a retrieve, but he LOVES having things in his mouth. I think it may be a small part due to his teething, but it definitely mostly his retriever breeding. He just adores carrying things. Sometimes on our walks he'll pick up a stick or a piece of bark and carry it for a full 5 minutes or so, quite happily. Now, if I could just harness that calm holding capacity!!! He gets so excited during his current retrieve training..... I tell you what though, Knightley is a Golden Retriever through and through. Loves loves loves water, those paws are absolute flippers.... and absolutely adores carrying objects - ANYTHING! - for long distances. Not so sure about having a soft mouth!!! (Goldens are meant to have a gentle mouth so as to not destroy and mangle the birds they retrieve whilst their owners are shooting).

A happily swimming dog.

Anyway, the result of his swimming adventures was a nicely tired Knightley and a very very proud dog mummy (me!). The poor pup got a good wash down to get the salt and chlorine off him, as Goldens are very prone to hotspots, and he didn't like the wash very much. However, he's nice and clean now and was rather due for one anyway.

He spent a good chunk of the rest of the afternoon and evening off and on in his portable fabric crate, and was actually very well behaved. I was very happy with him. We took him out regularly, and he went for a short walk after we ate Christmas Dinner, but mostly he was content to sleep the day away.  I think the swim rather tired him out!! Not surprising really. Not only is it great exercise for dogs, and growing puppies especially (no harm to their joints), but new experiences are exhausting also.

Finally getting too tired to jump in and out. Lying on the
sidelines, wishing their was an easier way to get in, I
think. He didn't like that big commitment!!

I did give him a Kangaroo tail, and a pigs trotter at different times, and that helped too. It's all about setting your dog up for success! If you think they are likely to pine, try to lessen the likelihood of that happening in any way possible. The more the dog pines, the more it will pine in the future. I have decided to specifically work upon 'independence training' with Knightley. Our experience at my husband's picnic with Knightley going nuts when we both walked away from him told me he is getting very very attached to being *with* us. And since I think a lot of that has been causing his barking problems, if I can make him better with being by himself, it may help.

My husband and I wearing our VERY AWESOME
Christmas pressies from my parents-in-law. How
cool are they?! I don't know if the hubby will wear
his though hehehe. But I have no shame and I'm
proud of my little cutie!

To that end, and to also help with things like our retrieve training and the like, we have started Karen Overall's Relaxation Protocol. We are working on Day 1 only for the moment, until Knightley does it perfectly. It involves basically staying in a sit for about 5 odd minutes (on and odd, but mostly in the sit), and Knightley does slide down into a down quite a few times still. He gets bored and figures it is time to lie down and rest. I mean on one side it is working at relaxing him - but not quite what I want!! So we shall continue to do that.

On the previous subject of barking, we have seen a good deal of progress there. For a couple of nights, soon after Knightley starting barking he was taken to the fabric crate in another room. I think that, and a small amount of rather gentle but carefully chosen noise aversion therapy techniques have produced our - so far, knock on wood - good results. Knightley also got quite a few Christmas presents - even a few all the way from England! He actually loves one of the English ones the best - a kind of rope Santa, with a beard, red hat and all. It has a ball on it too. I can't see the delicate parts of it lasting long. We bought him a toy turkey, with squeakers in the wings, and rope in between the body parts. Very cute. He's such a spoilt dog! He even got Christmas cards!!!

I hope everyone reading this had a good Christmas. I got some nice presents, but more importantly, spent a good day with the family and watched Knightley have the time of his life! He fills my life with joy. I know he was a birthday present from my parents, but he's the present that keeps on giving. So really, he's a Christmas present as well!