Photo 17/365

A training update. Gimli is now 12 weeks old and has been with us for four weeks and I'd say things are coming along swimmingly. We have been following the training methods of Zak George, mainly through watching all his YouTube videos, but also by reading his book and becoming active members on the facebook group. His main tenet is that the biggest value in training, especially this young, is not just in getting ahead of bad habits, or in laying solid foundations for good ones, but in building a strong relationship and sense of communication with your canine family member. Having done that, he says, almost anything is possible. 

To this end we train with Gimli at least three times a day, one session with each human member of the family, and I'd have to say that I'm pretty impressed with his progress so far.

First, the big one: Gimli is potty trained in-so-far as he will always ask to go out...when he knows he has to go out. At only 12 weeks there are certainly times when we are playing and he forgets he has a full bladder. Such is the life of a puppy. But we have had no purposeful accidents (no squatting, no full release) in the house in over a week now.

Next, all the necessaries: he knows his name very well! And deigns to respond to it...whenever he isn't too busy. He also knows the big four in commands—sit, down, leave it, and look at me—with moderate distraction in the house, and minor distractions outside of the house.

Lastly, the fun stuff: he knows spin, roll over, play dead (we call it "chill out"), and shake. And as far as tricks go, his "leave it" with three treats, where he will leave all three and take only the one you point to when you point to it is probably his most impressive at this time. Calvin calls this the "trident", and it is today's picture.

Also, will you just look at those ears?

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Another day, another park. Actually, we're not introducing new places every single day, that would be an overload of learning and exploration for such a young pup. Gimli is 11 weeks old today (give or take), and while he's apropriately curious, he's also understandably nervous about this big, new world. Think about it—he's been alive for all of eleven weeks. That's not even three months, and there are so many things yet to discover, and some of those things move quickly, or are loud, or are very, very big compared to an eleven-week old puppy.

So we're taking it slowly by revisiting each new place several times before moving on to another new place. We're also treating heavily with each new experience, especially the ones that seem initially disconcerting, like rustling brush, bikes going by, or close birds. And things are coming along. Each successive foray into the great wild world has required less coaxing and engendered more eagerness. 

Getting him a little coat also helped a lot. 

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Gimli's first hike—a very short jaunt along a trail at the front of our favorite birding spot. I've had four dogs in my lifetime, none of whom were well behaved or outdoor loving enough to accompany us on hikes. In my defense my first three dogs were all special needs in some way, and Iris came to us at the age of three and already as prissy as could be (she'd be a good glamping candidate as long as there was absolutely no rain involved). This is the first puppy of my true adult life, and my goal is to "do it right", so we're introducing him to all kind of things early—parks, puppies, people, training—with the hope that he'll be everything we hope he can be. That being said, we understand that he's an individual, and that, as young as he is, we won't really get to know that individual well for some time to come. Right now, though, we can count our successes in small doses, including tentative potty training (no accidents in three whole days!), and general willingness to try new things. 

If his ears are any indication, he should be a really good listener. Hah!

(NOTE: we have loved all of our dogs and all of their individual quirks along the way and wouldn't trade our experiences or their lifetimes with us for anything!)