orloffer's Spoo Puppy thread! 🐩

[aart]

can now officially fetch a ball!

Excellent!
Fetch is one of the best activities!
Tires em out, and promotes the basics of 'come' and 'leave it' commands.

I'll try to get some pictures of her in the new couple of days.

Please do!

 

[black_cat]

How is Tessa doing? How big is she?

 

[aart]

How is Tessa doing? How big is she?

Yeah, we needs some spoodle pics!

I'll try to get some pictures of her in the new couple of days.

 

[aart]

Rascal circa 2014.
Never ceased to amaze me what was under all that hair.

 

[orloffer]

How is Tessa doing? How big is she?

I forgot about this thread for a while!

Tessa weighs 20 pounds now! She has had her 3rd round of vaccinations and is going to get her rabies shot in a couple of weeks.
I tried shaving her face a little bit every day over the course of several days, and while it definitely does not look perfect, it revealed her thin poodle face (so cute!). I haven't got a picture handy, but will try to take one later today or tomorrow.

Things that have been tricky to deal with lately:

Mouthiness: As for her behavior, the main thing of note is that she has been very bitey lately. She is mouthy in general, but sometimes when she is overstimulated or overexcited she will go for our arms, hands, ankles, and feet in a way that is rather alarming and often a bit painful. This is often accompanied by or followed by barking and jumping, and though it happens with everyone, certain family members are especial targets. Because it usually happens outside when she is (or is supposed to be) playing with a toy, she has no leash on and the only way to control her is to grab her firmly and not let her escape. Of course, this leads to more biting, and then I take her inside and put her in her crate. About the crate, she will settle in it and go to sleep fairly quickly if someone is in the room, but if she is by herself she will not do so, even after several hours. I am hoping both of these things are just phases, but I want to know how I can handle them better. Any suggestions?

Walks: We have been taking her on short walks around the block and such. She has done fairly well with walking on leash, though she constantly stops and stares at things, and I have to say "let's go" and either lure her forward with a kibble (if I have treats), or pull her forward every few seconds. She also shows fear when she sees any strangers, balking, jumping away, and refusing to take treats. With other dogs her fear is often mixed with some level of interest. It has been very difficult to socialize her with people or dogs because of the pandemic and also because we just do not know that many people in our neighborhood. Does anyone have recommendations for how to best handle this? I think I need higher-value treats too.

Other dog: She has been to our relatives' house several times, where she has played with Jax, their dog. That is, she wants to play with him but he finds her rather irritating. She chases him around the yard or the house, barking, until he is obliged to growl and lunge at her, which causes her to back away -- but only momentarily. Her behavior even caused him to attempt to bury his rawhide bone to keep it away from her, something he has never done before. That was very funny to watch!

I am not sure how best to end this post, so I will just post it now.

 

[NatJ]

Mouthiness: ... Because it usually happens outside when she is (or is supposed to be) playing with a toy, she has no leash on and the only way to control her is to grab her firmly and not let her escape.

Suggestion: dragline. Just let it drag behind her while she plays, and then it's easy to grab. You can use a leash, a rope, etc. Once I got a tie-out cable (steel cable with plastic coating) and cut a piece of it for this purpose, because it was nice and smooth and didn't tangle on things as the puppy played.

 

[aart]

Can you do an obedience school?
Mouthiness, tug toy...and firm NO when she 'bites' and human part.
Has she started the bumping with her nose yet?
Will she fetch?
I've found that to be the best activity, it tires them out, and good practice for 'come' and 'drop it'.

 

[orloffer]

Suggestion: dragline. Just let it drag behind her while she plays, and then it's easy to grab. You can use a leash, a rope, etc. Once I got a tie-out cable (steel cable with plastic coating) and cut a piece of it for this purpose, because it was nice and smooth and didn't tangle on things as the puppy played.

Good idea!

 

[black_cat]

Suggestion: dragline. Just let it drag behind her while she plays, and then it's easy to grab. You can use a leash, a rope, etc. Once I got a tie-out cable (steel cable with plastic coating) and cut a piece of it for this purpose, because it was nice and smooth and didn't tangle on things as the puppy played.

Agree with this!! You can also use a cheap leash and cut off the loop so that it can’t get caught. I also recommend getting a harness like the one that Finn has, with a handle.

 

[orloffer]

List of words Tessa knows, or at least sometimes knows:
-Sit
-Down
-Stand
-Play (meaning 'sit' if you want me to throw a toy for you)
-Get it (meaning go grab the toy or treat; I might try to add 'fetch' as a separate command, meaning get it and bring it back)
-Wait (currently only being used for 'do not take the treat yet')
-Take it (currently being used for 'okay, now you can take the treat')
-Water (I say this when I am going to get her water and when she is drinking water)
-Come (this is very much a work in progress--I haven't done as much work with recall as I should have)
-Outside (I say this when I am directing her to the door and when we step outside)
-Free (I say this when releasing her from her crate or from a certain position)
-In your crate (She is not a fan of this one, though she is better about settling down once she is in)
-On your mat (Another work in progress, but I think she knows what it means)