It's been a while since I have given an update, so I will try to catch up, these puppies keep me really busy!
For the last few weeks I continued to let the pups go after the scent swatch in the small ziplock baggie. I began to reward them with small pieces of canned chicken instead of their mom, Luna, when they were about two weeks old. Here is a short video of scent training when they were 13 days old and their reward was still nursing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzKLNfWDJXQ&feature=youtu.be
When they were about 3 1/2 weeks old I noticed that about half of the pups just didn't have much interest in the scent. After a few more days of continued training, I stopped working with the ones that had no interest at all.
So, I now had 4 pups interested in the scent swatch. These pups were Violet (F5), Lisa Farris (F6), Reff (F4), and Jackie (F9). I began to make finding the scent swatch a little harder, placing it on the ground so the pups had to walk over to find it, rather than it being placed an inch from their nose.
As they got older, their personalities became more obvious. Violet is laid back as long as she is being held and loved on. When she wants attention she might give a few little barks, but then gives up. She is very snuggly and will sometimes fall asleep if she is being held. Lisa Farris has a similar temparament as Violet. Lisa Farris will do anything to climb in your lap. Once in someone's lap she is content and will fall asleep. She is playful when she is in a familiar environment. She is a little bit curious, but is quick to run back to safety. Reff is less snuggly than Lisa Farris and Violet. She loves to romp and play and is always escaping from the pen. She is a smaller than the others and will squeeze between the bars and investigate anything she sees. When she is held she will jump and try to lick your face or chew on your hair, ears, nose, etc. She is a higher drive than the other two and loves to play. Jackie is by far the highest drive pup in the litter. She has no fear at all and will go explore without a thought of going back. She doesn't like to be penned up when you are near her, she wants to be with a person and will let you know that If she is penned up and without her littermates she will bark until you notice her, as soon as you pick her up she is quiet and happy. She is so fun to watch and has a lot of personality.
After examining their personalities, I decided that LIsa Farris and Violet weren't the best fit to be the D.A.D. because they were too timid and sweet. A D.A.D. has to be able to work all day and be more independant and less needy than those two. I had a really hard time eliminating them because they are so sweet though!
For the next few days I worked with just Jackie and Reff, trying to determine who would be the '"Sadie" (the name that Mackenzie has given her dog). Reff was a little better at the scenting, but wouldn't calm down as quickly when being held. Jackie would calm down when she was held, but was noisy when she wasn't being paid attention to, Reff would maybe give a bark or two, but then settle down and take a nap or play with a toy. I knew I needed one with drive, but wasn't sure how much drive would be too much. For 3 days I tried to study them and think of which would be a better fit. It was hard because it's an important decision and I really didn't want to screw this part up. But, today I decided to go with Reff. She did really well on the scent and was quieter, and if the D.A.D. will be going in public it can't have a tendency to bark or be too high drive. They were both good candidates and extremely sweet, but I am happy with the decision and happy that I now have a specific pup to work with.
A video of Reff, now called "Sadie", finding the scent swatch today can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0VYEQRgGs4&feature=youtu.be She did really well and I am excited about the training to come!
For the last few weeks I continued to let the pups go after the scent swatch in the small ziplock baggie. I began to reward them with small pieces of canned chicken instead of their mom, Luna, when they were about two weeks old. Here is a short video of scent training when they were 13 days old and their reward was still nursing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzKLNfWDJXQ&feature=youtu.be
When they were about 3 1/2 weeks old I noticed that about half of the pups just didn't have much interest in the scent. After a few more days of continued training, I stopped working with the ones that had no interest at all.
So, I now had 4 pups interested in the scent swatch. These pups were Violet (F5), Lisa Farris (F6), Reff (F4), and Jackie (F9). I began to make finding the scent swatch a little harder, placing it on the ground so the pups had to walk over to find it, rather than it being placed an inch from their nose.
As they got older, their personalities became more obvious. Violet is laid back as long as she is being held and loved on. When she wants attention she might give a few little barks, but then gives up. She is very snuggly and will sometimes fall asleep if she is being held. Lisa Farris has a similar temparament as Violet. Lisa Farris will do anything to climb in your lap. Once in someone's lap she is content and will fall asleep. She is playful when she is in a familiar environment. She is a little bit curious, but is quick to run back to safety. Reff is less snuggly than Lisa Farris and Violet. She loves to romp and play and is always escaping from the pen. She is a smaller than the others and will squeeze between the bars and investigate anything she sees. When she is held she will jump and try to lick your face or chew on your hair, ears, nose, etc. She is a higher drive than the other two and loves to play. Jackie is by far the highest drive pup in the litter. She has no fear at all and will go explore without a thought of going back. She doesn't like to be penned up when you are near her, she wants to be with a person and will let you know that If she is penned up and without her littermates she will bark until you notice her, as soon as you pick her up she is quiet and happy. She is so fun to watch and has a lot of personality.
After examining their personalities, I decided that LIsa Farris and Violet weren't the best fit to be the D.A.D. because they were too timid and sweet. A D.A.D. has to be able to work all day and be more independant and less needy than those two. I had a really hard time eliminating them because they are so sweet though!
For the next few days I worked with just Jackie and Reff, trying to determine who would be the '"Sadie" (the name that Mackenzie has given her dog). Reff was a little better at the scenting, but wouldn't calm down as quickly when being held. Jackie would calm down when she was held, but was noisy when she wasn't being paid attention to, Reff would maybe give a bark or two, but then settle down and take a nap or play with a toy. I knew I needed one with drive, but wasn't sure how much drive would be too much. For 3 days I tried to study them and think of which would be a better fit. It was hard because it's an important decision and I really didn't want to screw this part up. But, today I decided to go with Reff. She did really well on the scent and was quieter, and if the D.A.D. will be going in public it can't have a tendency to bark or be too high drive. They were both good candidates and extremely sweet, but I am happy with the decision and happy that I now have a specific pup to work with.
A video of Reff, now called "Sadie", finding the scent swatch today can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0VYEQRgGs4&feature=youtu.be She did really well and I am excited about the training to come!
