We made the trip to Spokane without incident. The puppies slept the entire three hours and then were happy to get out and meet their new people. Madison will be living with Barb and her husband in Port Townsend, Washington. There are still "marital discussions" underway about Madison's new name(s) but I think that given both Barb and her husband were Air Force pilots that a perfect name is Kaibab'z Flying High :) Barb is still making her way home with Madison so I suspect we will know her names soon enough! Today's picture is of Madison and her new mom, Barb.
Jennifer asked about what I am feeding Zoey and Faith, and what kind of training we are doing. The puppies are still nursing a bit and are having three meals a day. They get Innova Large Breed Puppy food soaked with Honest Kitchen dehydrated food for one meal, and they get two meals of homemade food. Right now the food is a stew of oatmeal, turkey, cottage cheese and pumpkin but it changes every few days as I go through the batch. If they were not nursing I would feed four meals a day until they are 12 weeks or so.
All training is done in short sessions and all the time. Earlier I was working with Zoey on letting me place her feet in a show position, and I was working to lure her to a down from a stand so that was a short session. I use no words right now -- once the behavior is consistent I will add the command but for now I am just working on the behavior. The "all the time training" has to do with attention. I give treats when Zoey is looking at me -- attention is the foundation for all working events and so I reinforce it from the beginning and I reinforce it all day long. I am also getting Zoey used to her name by saying it and giving her a treat. All training is happy, fun and positive -- I do not use corrections in my training.
Galen can lure Faith into a sit and down, and she has a great recall. We are going to start our tracking training today -- I will take and post pictures of that.
I hope your day is on track to be perfect!
Thank you for the info and I'm always eager for whatever you have time to share! Congratulations to Madison and her new home!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Barb - you have a beautiful pup!
ReplyDeleteMadison looks like a very smart cookie...look at how she is looking at you Mary-Ann!
This look is pulling on my heart strings...is Madison saying, mom...
Will we see pictures of Dawson's new family or is it the photo of Dawson being held by a young girl?
M-A - you are a very good Match-Maker, sleep well tonight. :D