Odor, Vehicles and Santa Paws!

Venom is doing really well with his K9 Nose Work training.  He has shown a strong desire to search for food in boxes.  He is persistent and confident in his searching and willing and able to problem solve obstacles.  He goes crazy when he has his nose work harness on and when he sees boxes and knows it's time to search.  For all these reasons I knew that he was ready to move onto odor.  This means that he will no longer be searching for just food, but for food paired with the first target odor which is birch.  I began pairing birch with odor to build a strong association.  This pairing will continue throughout his training.  Once the association is very strong we will begin to do more and more unpaired hides where he is searching for the birch only.

He is doing great on his training so I decided to get him started on vehicle searches.  With vehicle searches the dogs must look at the vehicle as a huge container (box) and have the same enthusiasm and excitement about searching vehicles as they do searching boxes.  We start off by setting the hides in a way that we hope to set the dog up for quick success early on.  These are pictures from Venom's first ever vehicle search!

I was so pleased with how he did.  I am most happy that he loves searching and hunting and is already proving to be a great hunting dog.  Next weekend we will travel to Southern California together to compete in the New Year's field trials.  These will be Venom's first trials on cottontail in a different terrain so it will be interesting to see how he does.

After nose work I had to stop at Petsmart to pick up some things.  Turns out they were Santa photos so I decided to go out to the car and get Venom and get his picture taken.  I wasn't sure how he would react to Santa but he did great!  Merry Christmas everyone!

Venom's First Field Trial

We spent this past weekend at Venom's first ever Dachshund field trial.  It was held in Vacaville, California at the Lagoon Regional Park.  I like field trialing at this park but it has it's up and downs, literally.  When there is a lot of game, it's great!  When the game is scarce, it's not so fun as you could walk for hours before popping a rabbit and when there is no game down below it means you have to head up into the hills.  The great thing about this grounds is that the game is jackrabbits.  Jackrabbits are big and they move high and fast.  Because of this, the whole gallery is able to see the rabbits run and usually see the dogs run so they can watch the runs.  In other places where the game is cottontail rabbits, it is harder to see because they move so much lower.  Also, many of the other grounds have a lot of trees or brush, so you just can see.  That is fine but it means you can't watch.

Okay, back to Venom.  So, for those of you who may not know how a field trial works, I will try to explain it.  Dachshunds are run in braces of two dogs.  Dogs run with dogs, bitches run with bitches and field champions (dogs who have already completed the requirements to be field champions) run against other field champions, so that class is mixed with dogs and bitches.  The dogs are randomly drawn into braces of two.  Each "stake" (or class" is run separately.  So, the class running first, we'll say dogs, head out to the field.  There is a person designated to be "field marshal".  That person runs the "gallery" which is the group of people walking.  They also call out judges decisions.  The gallery is lined up in a line and begin to walk slowly in a line through the field.  It is important that the gallery listens to the field marshal and stays close together and moves slowly or we will walk over and past rabbits.  Eventually, you will "pop" a rabbit.  This means a rabbit will jump up and run.  The judges watch where the rabbit went as best they can.  Then, the judges bring up the brace that is up to run to the "start".  The start is where the rabbit was first spotted.  They then bring the two dogs up on "release lines".  Release lines a long (about 12') piece of rope looped through the dogs collar ring allowing for the handler to hold each side of the line.  The hounds are brought up to the start line together and the handlers start them where the judge pointed out and then begin to walk along the line the rabbit took.  As soon as a handler thinks their dog is on it, meaning that they are scenting the line they can let go of one end of the line and release their dog.  The dogs are judged on how well they follow the line and how they are hunting it.  As a judge, I am personally not interested in the "style" that a dog hunts, I just want to see that the dog is working the line correctly.  Dogs work the line differently.  Some dogs are very slow and methodical, others move faster and air scent with their heads up picking up scent and some use a combination.  I am looking at whether or not the dog is making progress and how well he is working the line.  It is not a race.  Faster does not mean better so just because a dog may blast out of there doesn't mean he won.  I will always watch the other dog work too.

Handlers can and do affect how a dog runs.  Some handlers can be quite rough on their dogs.  This weekend I watched some handlers do some really nice, thoughtful handling and I watched others do some pretty ugly stuff like shoving their dogs into thick star thistle.  One handler was even lifting their dog by the lead which meant the dog was being lift by his neck to move him over thistle.  This is not kind or respectful to the dog at all and it won't help a dog to be a better hunter.  Treatment and well being of our dogs in the field should be our number one priority, not such a desire to win that the dog as a living being is overlooked.

After being rushed in the vet parking lot by an off leash dog Venom has developed some issues around other dogs while on leash.  He can be reactive and barky so I wasn't sure how he would do.  When we got him out of the truck, he was great!  He walked beautifully in the gallery with the other boy dogs and was relaxed and confident and happy.  He occasionally greeted other dogs and did just fine.  That made me so happy and I was able to really relax and have a good time.

On the first day the conditions were really tough.  It was extremely windy which means of course that scent is blowing everywhere.  It was very difficult for any of the dogs to run, especially the less experienced class dogs.  Venom's first rabbit was released in some really thick star thistle and he just didn't know what to do with that, so he didn't work too well.  That's okay, it was his very first experience and we were just fine with that.  I was especially proud to see Rick handle him carefully without any pressure.

That evening, after the trial had ended, a longtime trialer, judge and very knowledgeable hound guy who is a friend of ours offered to work Venom on a dead frozen rabbit that he had.  I know, it sounds gross, but many people will keep a dead rabbit when they come across one and freeze it then use it for training.  He drug the frozen bunny and allowed Venom to track it and then chase it.  Rick felt it really got Venom fired up which is good.

On the second day the conditions were much better and it was quite nice field trial weather.  If I had been allowed to discuss it with Mother Nature prior to the trial, I would have requested it rain a little bit the night before for wet ground, but I wasn't give that option.  It was chilly in the morning and warmed up.  Even though the weather was nice the game was fairly hard to find.  Some local people had come and allowed their dogs to run off leash (illegal at this park, we are allowed to do it because we rent the park and pay and have permission to run two dogs at a time off leash) so they probably pushed the rabbits all over the place.  Rick and I had judge the girls in the Open All Age Bitch stake.  We saw some really beautiful runs and were happy with our first through NBQ (next best qualifier) picks. 

The boys were run after girls, so they didn't head out until about 10am.  There were only 3 braces which means that there were just 6 dogs entered.  Venom was in the second brace.  We saw a rabbit pretty quickly so the first brace was run on that rabbit.  After they ran, the handlers walked down the hill and asked the next brace to be ready.  After a few more minutes Venom's brace was called up.  This means that they had decided to use the second half of the line that had already been used.  So, by the time Venom's brace got up to the start line, the scent line was over 10 minutes old.  That is okay, but it can make it harder for young dogs.  Venom was released along with his brace mate.  His brace mate was licking Venom and sniffing him and the judges called interference and had the handler of the other dog pick up their dog while Venom continued to work alone.  Venom did so great!  I don't have pictures of this run, but I was able to watch it.  He followed the line, with his nose down for probably 40-50 feet!  We were over the top with pride at how great he did.  When you run a dog, especially a young dog for the first time you just never know how they will do.  Sometimes they run off and start playing with their brace mate.  Sometimes they just run crazy.  Sometimes they just sit at their owners feet.  Sometimes they run to the gallery to look for their other human.  Venom didn't do any of those things.  He was just really good and we couldn't have been happier.  I do know that I will need to do more practice with him working in brush and bushes so he learns to push through and ignore it.

After the "first series" or the first time each brace is run the judges look at their scores and call back the dogs for second series.  In small stakes like this where you only have 6 or 8 dogs, most judges will only call back 4 dogs.  So, 4 dogs were called back, but Venom wasn't one of them.  Frankly, we were disappointed as I thought his run was really good.  Not the best, but I did think it was quality and worthy of a call back.  But, the great thing is that regardless of placements or what the judges saw and thought, WE KNOW what we saw and how we felt.  We treated Venom (as always) as if he HAD won because no matter what he does, we are happy and proud of him, but when he does really good, recognized or not, that is still really important to us, so we were thrilled.

After the dogs stake we stayed back while they ran champions.  I walked Venom down by the water and got a few good pictures of him.

Then we went into our friend Sharon's RV and hung out waiting for the field champions to finish.

All in all, we had a good time.  So proud of our boy and more excited than ever to head down South with him at the end of the month!  Here is Venom with his first Rosette!

Too long!

It has been too long since I have written!  Venom AKA Munckie, as I call him, is doing well.  His training is coming along nicely.  He is currently going through a beginning obedience/manners class with me teaching the class and Rick training him and to another kindergarten class taught by a friend of mine that I take him too.  We did hit a bit of a snag where he has become a little bit reactive, which is a bit upsetting.  I believe it was triggered by an incident at the vet's office where a woman's large (90+ pound) lab mix got away from her and ran over to a Peke rescue that I was walking on the leash while Rick was walking Venom.  She cheerfully yelled out "he won't do anything", however, he ran over to the Peke standing over him growling.  I quickly picked him up and told her he was scaring my dog, but he had already targeted Venom and was running over there.  The next few minutes were upsetting, with the dog trying to get to Venom and Rick trying to keep the dog away, yelling at the woman, etc.  After that incident, he became reactive on leash to people and dogs.  This is why I always like to remind people how important it is to do everything you can to avoid your puppy having a scary experience.  I have done so much to make Venom socialized, comfortable with people and dogs and confident and outgoing and after one scary incident he is now afraid.  It is upsetting to say the least as this woman still feels she did nothing wrong because her dog "wasn't going to do anything".  So, we have been walking Venom and working on desensitizing him.  He is doing better, but I still opted to not take him to the field trial last weekend which was to be his first one as I just felt he wasn't ready.  Since he is improving however, I plan to take him next weekend.  I will report how he does!

Teacher's Pet

Saturday was Venom's second Puppy Preschool class.  It is so much fun to have him and Rick in my class!  I mentioned before that this is a large class and so it's great to see Venom doing so well with all the other puppies.  Of course, several of the puppies are from his litter, but still. 

A few weeks ago we had an incident when going into the vet's office another owner dropped her huge Labrador's leash who then ran over and stood growling over Grasshopper, the Pekingese I was fostering.  When I picked Grasshopper up, he then ran to Venom.  Rick and I both got upset, the owner stood there, clueless as Rick tried to keep the dog from Venom.  Venom and Grasshopper seemed okay, but after the incident Venom began to bark at other dogs, particularly larger dogs, on leash.  So, we have started to work on that and he is doing great.  He was perfect in class and before he came into the training yard.  After class, I had one of my assistants do some walk bys with a few of the larger puppies while I treated Venom for looking at them calmly.  It is something I will  continue to work on with him.

Down

I am working on training Venom a few behaviors including "down" which means to lie down.  I started out by luring him down with food.  I try to just do this a few times and then, once the dog can easily follow the lure, I do it with no food in my hand which causes the lure hand to become a hand signal.  I would still click and treat once he is down, he just wasn't following food to lie down.  Luring is fine and actually quite helpful as long as you stop luring as soon as you can.  At this point, I am now adding the verbal cue.  What is happening here is that Venom is "offering" downs.  This means that if we are training he will do downs over and over on his own without being prompted because he has learned that this is something I reinforce for.  So, I get out my treats and clicker and every time I can predict he will lie down I say "down" and then mark (either by saying "yes!" or clicking) right when he lies down and then tossing the treat away so he has to get up to get it.  I toss the treat away because I want to practice many downs and I want to have many downs to reinforce and tossing the food away sets him up to come and lie down again.  Here is a video from our practice today.

Puppy School!

Venom started Puppy Preschool on Saturday!  The cool part is that his brother and two of his sisters are also in the class.  The REALLY cool part is that I teach the class!  This is an interesting class in that, for one thing, it's a huge puppy class.  There are 16 puppies in the class which is a very large puppy class.  But, I took that many because a well run, quality puppy class is really beneficial to puppies and if I don't let someone in, they might not have the opportunity to do a puppy class or worse, they may end up in a poorly run puppy class.  Also, this class has not only 4 puppies from Venom's litter but also 5 puppies from an Australian Shepherd litter!  So, we have two litters plus several other puppies in between.

When you have a large puppy class, or any puppy class for that matter, you never know what the dynamics will be like until you have all the puppies there.  I am thrilled to say that this large group of puppies did beautifully together.  My puppy classes include off leash, safe, supervised play, lecture on a puppy issue and some basic, beginning training.  The puppies are divided during the off leash play into groups that play and mesh well together.  This particular class included 3 groups.  One group was the Dachshunds, plus another Dachshund, about the same age but from another litter.  One group was the Aussies, plus a Lab, plus a Rottie, plus some little mixed breeds.  The final group is a Shih Tzu and a Papillon, both tiny little dogs.  I sometimes had the Rottie off with the little ones as he is a bit sensitive and felt overwhelmed by the wild Aussie bunch!  They all did wonderful.  When a puppy is not in a play group he is on leash with his family being rewarded for sitting, watching calmly, lying down, etc. 

I was so proud of Venom.  I practiced a few recalls with him where I called him to me while he was playing, which he did beautifully.  He played well with everyone.  He was such a good boy. 

Neighborhood Walks

I am really happy with how Venom is doing on his loose leash walking!  I took him out yesterday and we walked to the school around the corner.  Far for a little dude but he seemed to be having fun.  I am teaching him to walk without pulling on the lead and he is really well.  He likes to hop and run across the neighbors grass as we go down the street, which is fine as long as he isn't pulling.  I frequently say "yes!" and stop and give him a treat as we are walking along.  I allow him to switch sides if he wants to.  The only criteria at this point is that he doesn't pull on the leash.  Since I reinforce that behavior often with a treat, it happens more and more often.  Sometimes he stops to lie on the grass or check something out and I allow that too and after a moment say, "Come on, Venom, are you ready to go?" and he comes along with me and then gets treated for doing so. 

When I commented to Rick last night about how great he was doing he said that it sure wasn't going too well for him.  Yikes!  He said he wants to run on all the lawns.  I asked if that was a problem and told him that I allowed him to do that since he thought it was so fun.  We don't have grass in our backyard and I think he really enjoys being on it.  I suggested we go out together and he walk him while I walk behind and coach him on what to do.  We did that today and it went great.  He is now treating him more often for the behavior he likes and allowing him to run on grass as long as he doesn't pull.

When we got back, I laid a short (2 foot or so) track of rabbit scent and we put him on it.  It took a moment but then he caught it and followed the tiny scent line.  He was then rewarded by having his rabbit pelt on a rope thrown in front of him which he can grab and tug on.  He loves that! 

Kongs and Other Interactive Toys

My dogs love their Kongs!  I use Kongs and other interactive toys to offer my dogs some mental stimulation and enrichment.  Venom's first Kong was stuffed with kibble which is what I put inside most of my dogs interactive toys, but you can get very creative in how you stuff the Kong.  Many people tell me that they got their dog a Kong but the dog "didn't like it".  When I ask what they stuffed it with I find they usually put a hard biscuit or two in there which the dog simply didn't feel was worth working for.  If I am stuffing a Kong for my senior Chihuahua Chico, who only has two teeth left, I put only kibble in there because it would be too hard for him to get anything else out.  If I am filling it for my Dachshunds, I fill it with kibble and then top it off with a little cheese whiz.  If I were filling it for a young active dog, like a Labrador puppy, I would fill it with kibble, then top if off with peanut butter and freeze it making it even more challenging which will cause the dog to think more and work harder.  For Jenny, my young Basset Hound/Eskimo mix, I use different toys that are a bit harder to get the food out of such as an Atomic Treat Ball or Kong Genius toy because she is young and active and benefits from that puzzle solving work!  I also use some of the more challenging Nina Ottoson toys particularly for rainy days when the dogs need to exercise but really can't get out too much. 

Here are some pictures of Venom enjoying his first Kong.  Since this was his first time working on this puzzle and he really likes food, I just filled it with kibble.

Venom Gets a Bath!

Whenever I am raising a new puppy I try hard to make sure that all of their experiences, particularly "first" exposures to certain things are good, fun, happy experiences.  This is true for all firsts, getting a bath, going for a car ride, meeting new people, etc. 

A few weeks ago I was out of town for a three day training seminar.  While at the seminar I received a video on my phone from Rick of Venom getting his first bath.  I was a little concerned when I read the text because Rick and I had not discussed how to go about this.  Then came the video.... It showed Venom, in the tub clearly uncomfortable, standing there frozen while Rick taped him.  I quickly called Rick and proceeded to have a mini meltdown.  "What are you doing?  He is so afraid!".  The truth is he was mildly uncomfortable, not "so afraid".  Poor Rick.  It wasn't awful but it wasn't how I had planned for it to go.  Today, several weeks later I gave Venom his second bath, and I did it my way! 

When I give new puppies their first baths it is important for me to make it a positive experience.  Here is how I do it.  I put some warm water in the tub, about 1/2 way up the puppies legs.  Then, I smear peanut butter along the inside of the tub.  I put the puppy into the tub and sort of "attach" them to the peanut butter.  This does two things, first it gives the puppy something to do while you wash him and second it builds a positive association with the bathtub because he learns bathtubs = peanut butter.  I also don't put shampoo on the puppies head for their first bath or two.  This is because I want to ease them into being rinsed off.  Most dogs and puppies are mostly afraid of the water on their head, by not using shampoo on their heads at first, I don't have to worry about rinsing them and can just run some clear water over their heads.  If there is shampoo on their heads I know I will HAVE to rinse it thoroughly, so I save that for later bath lessons!  Also, I don't use the sprayer from the shower at first.  Eventually I will but for now, I just want to use a large cup and pour the water over. 

Venom's second bath was a success!  Look at him enjoying the peanut butter while I start washing him!  By the way, I say it's his first bath, but it's really his second bath, just his first one with me!

The other day I stacked Venom and we took a few pictures of him.  He is currently 12 weeks old and 9.8 pounds. 

A lot of "firsts" this week!

Living with Venom has been exciting and busy!  He is doing great and progressing beautifully, he also had several "firsts" this week.

On Thursday I took him with me to the kennel to teach classes so that he could spend some time playing with his brother Slick and sisters Pearl and Stella.  It was interesting to see how he interacts with his siblings as opposed to the adult dogs at my house.  At home he plays almost constantly with Jenny (1 year), Ribbon (6 years) and Winnie (11 years).  He also plays a little bit with Sonic (3 years) and Ivy (14 years).  At our house he seems almost relentless sometimes.  He is confident and bold.  With his littermates however, the dynamics are different and he seemed to feel less confident and bullied at times.  I had to hold one of them part of the time so that he felt comfortable.  It is probably because they all still live together and play together constantly and quite roughly.  The adult dogs at my house temper their play with him and while they can get rough from time to time, they are generally pretty gentle and careful with him.  It's fascinating to observe the change in Venom with both groups of dogs.  It just confirms the fact that a dog's confidence or lack of it depends not only on him or her but also on the other dogs they are interacting with at the time and the relationship between the other animals involved. 

After my two classes were finished, Yvonne, my friend and co trainer decided to do some nose work practice with our own dogs.  We did some box work outside (a first for Venom) in the training yard.  Yvonne used soft, smelly tripe as the hide.  He loved it and confidently and quickly found each hide!

The next day I took him with me to my nose work group practice where I am working with my cattle dog Bill.  Venom did several runs there, inside my training building, and was again confident and happy.  We finished the morning with a play session with my two friends Kathy and Mary.  I love that Venom is happy and outgoing with everyone he meets. 

That evening, I got a UPS delivery.  As the truck pulled up, I decided to grab Venom and some treats so he could meet the UPS man and have a good experience with a "scary man in a uniform".  It went great.  He ate cookies and wiggled and happily greeting him!

We are also doing training with him on some basic stuff.  I have started leash walking, stacking, sit, recall and name recognition and he is doing really well.  I will get some pictures this week!

The First Fourth

Venom survived his first Fourth of July!!  I was so impressed with him although I am not surprised he did well, he is proving to be a very stable individual.  Fireworks are illegal in our city but of course people do what they want and spent half the night setting off super loud bombs and other fireworks.  A couple of our dogs were stressed and worried, but not Venom.  He slept or played through all of it.  I am really happy about that and super proud of him. 

No matter what anyone says all individuals are a product of both their genetics and environment.  We are doing everything we can to expose Venom to lots of different things in a fun and positive way and I think that will help shape him into a stable, confident, outgoing individual.  The other thing we did to ensure a dog with the temperament we want is to choose a puppy from two dogs with stable temperaments. 

I met Neena when she was already an adult, about 3 years old.  As soon as I met her I could see that she has a very outgoing and sweet temperament.  I worked with her only a few times before showing her for the first time and walking away with a major!  She is a really great dog and super fun to show.  Casey is the same way.  Outgoing and friendly with people and other dogs. 

First Nose Work Sessions!

After coming home from the K9 Nose Work Instructor Certification training last weekend, I was excited to get Venom started on Nose Work.  I videotaped these two runs from his first session ever!  I didn't tape the first run, but at least I got these on tape.  I love how brave he is with the boxes and how he already trusts his nose!

The Dog Door has been Mastered!

Yesterday, I couldn't find Venom, who had been running around playing with the dogs.  I went into the backyard and called him and he came running over.  He had went out the dog door!  What a smart puppy!  When Rick came home I told him and he informed me that he had been teaching Venom to use the dog door each morning. 

Today, he went missing again and I looked out the door to find him sitting on a dog bed in the backyard chewing on a Nylabone.  What a good boy!  Then, he and Jenny were playing with a tug toy.  Here are some pictures and a video.

Venom's first class

Yesterday, Venom attended his first ever conformation class!!  I taught my 12:00 class and then Yvonne (my friend, assistant trainer, playgroup supervisor) came and taught the 12:30 class so Venom could have a try.  During the 12:00 class I had Venom hang out in his crate while I taught so he could learn to be crated even when I am interacting/working with other dogs.  He did great, with minimal whining.  It is important to prepare our dogs for the things that they will be expected to do in their lives while they are puppies.  Venom will be a show dog, a field dog, a demo dog and a nosework dog.  He will need to learn to cope with being crated while I work.  This is a great way to get him started.  He also came out and was held by a few people who came to watch other dogs in the class.  He was so good and I was really proud of him!

After the first class, Yvonne arrived to teach the second class.  Venom had never been on leash before and I put a small, black Resco lead on him with a simple loop.  He came with me and got clicked and treated often for walking (well, running crazily) with me!  I didn't care how he moved, the only criteria was moving which he did wonderfully.  It is important with puppies to train in baby steps, only asking for the smallest piece of the finished behavior so that they can get it right and get reinforced.  If I asked Venom to move correctly, at the right speed and in the right position the first time, he couldn't possibly have been successful and would have gotten very frustrated with me and show training in general.  So, I only ask for baby steps at first to ensure success for the dog and strong final behaviors.  I (stupidly) did not videotape it, but will try to next time!  His table and floor stacking was very good too. 

He visited briefly with some of the dogs in class including Beckham, an English Cocker Spaniel and Teddy and Bouncer, both miniature longhair Dachshunds and he did great with everyone! 

Plugging along!

Venom has been home for 10 days and he is doing great!!  As I mentioned before he has an outside pen and an inside pen.  We put him out potty in his outside pen and he generally goes pretty quickly if he has to go.  He has used the potty pad in his pen inside a few times, but doesn't have accidents in the house.  He may have gone in the house one time early on, but that's it. 

He is doing well on his stacking training.  I can hand stack him and then give him a treat.  Sometimes he moves a foot, but I just gently replace it and then reward him.  He is also learning to sit, lie down and come here.

He sleeps through the night every night.  He plays with the other dogs great.  I really couldn't be happier with him.

Today, I gave him his first vaccine.  I wanted to give it in the morning in case he had a reaction of some kind and I had to take him to the vet, so I had to do it alone.  I put a pile of high value treats on the couch and gave it to him while he was eating.  He didn't even flinch!  So, things are going great!

First Outside Scentwork, Siblings and Grandma

I am late on writing this blog, so this actually happened a few days ago.  I laid a heavy rabbit scent line in my front yard on the grass.  I used 5 rocks about 3 feet apart and sprayed rabbit scent in straight lines from rock to rock.  I put Venom at the beginning of the line and let him follow it.  He did very well and actually followed the line.  He did get distracted a few times but came back quickly.  Soon, I will have to start this work on a long line as I will want to be able to keep him on the line.  When he got to the end, I pulled out a scented rabbit pelt and played with him with it.  He LOVES playing with the pelt (or "killing the bunny" as I call it) and this game at the end seems to really get him going.  He turned 8 weeks old today! 

Last night I had to teach two classes so I brought Venom to the kennel where I was teaching to spend a few hours with his brother and sisters.  It was very interesting in that he seemed a little bit overwhelmed at first.  I think it may be because he has been playing with my adult dogs who are very careful and gentle with him.  His brother and sisters were not so gentle!

Today, he spent some time this morning playing with his great great Grandma Ivy who is 14 years old and lives here too.  She is very good with puppies and played carefully and kindly with him.  He seemed to have a wonderful time!

Ribbon and Jenny love him and he seems to really enjoy playing with him.  It is really interesting and super cool to watch.

First All Nighter

Venom went into his crate and right to sleep last night with no whining at all.  Then, he slept through the night for the first time never having to go out at all!  Yay!  It is amazing at how powerful it is to just ignore that initial whining in the crate. 

Yesterday, he went to meet Manny, our other little neighbor on the other side and he did great! 

Venom is still learning to use different toys and chewies.  In the mornings, while I sit on the couch and drink my coffee, I put him on the couch with a bunch of his toys and I play with them with him.  He is learning to chew on nylabones and play with his little stuffed toys by my sitting next to him and interacting with him with them.

I have several other dogs and some are considerably bigger than Venom so while I do allow him play time with the other dogs they are closely supervised and his playmates are carefully chosen.  Ribbon, my 6 year old standard longhair Dachshund does great with him.  She does get excited, but plays pretty carefully.  Jenny, my 1 year old Basset/Eskie mix also really loves playing with Venom and does well with him.  Winnie, my 11 year old longhair Dachshund plays with him a little bit, but mostly just likes to see him and lick him.  Ivy, my 14 year old standard smooth Dachshund doesn't play with him but does great with him.  Having had two litters herself she is incredible with puppies.  She lets him climb on her but will gently reprimand him when she wants him off.  Dickens, my 2 year old Cavalier, is very interesting to watch with him.  He likes him on the ground, but on the couch, I can see that Dickens doesn't want the puppy to come near.  Most people would not notice this subtle body language, because it is very subtle, and he doesn't do anything, but when he watches him, he is slightly tense, he is not loose and welcoming.  For this reason, I do not allow Venom to walk up to or climb on Dickens while Dickens is on the couch.  It is up to me to set all of the dogs up to have good experiences with Venom but also to make sure that their comfort levels are protected and that I watch closely and listen when they are telling me that they aren't comfortable with something.

Excellent night!

Last night was night three for Venom and he did not cry at all when put to bed in his crate!  Yay!  Success!  He is pottied just before bed, then given a few Little Star treats in his crate when I put him in.  He did cry twice in the middle of the night and peed immediately both times I took him out.  Then, when I put him back in the second time, he cried for a few minutes before going to sleep.

This morning, we had a little training session and worked on a couple of stands, a couple of sits, and a few downs.  We also did a little bit of fetch, but he lost interested in the small puppy toy I was using and grabbed a big, floppy dinosaur toy that doesn't have any stuffing and began to drag and kill shake it.  Nice!  I love it!

Every time he comes running to me on his own, I say "Here!" while he is on his way and then give him a food reward when he gets to me.  When I am interacting, I always have treats (either tiny soft treats or kong stuffin) right there next to me so that I can reward anything I really like.

He is doing well on his mouthing.  He is a puppy so of course he mouths, but I just remove my hands and ignore him for about 30 seconds.  Yesterday, Rick, my husband (who Venom really belongs to) was playing with him and I heard him say "Ouch!" and then he put Venom away.  I asked what happened and he said that Venom bit his nose and it hurt.  I asked how he could get to his nose and that if he didn't allow him near his nose it wouldn't get bitten.  He replied with, "but he's so cute" which means that he is putting him up to his nose because he wants him by his face.  I told him that he can make that behavior go away by not allowing access to his face and nose and just keep him on his lap.  These are things we need to think about.  If having your nose right there is an antecedent (cause) for a behavior you don't like (nose biting) then it only makes sense to remove the antecedent (nose) and the behavior will disappear.  Make sense?

Training Begins!

Whether we like it or not, every single moment we spend with our dogs is a training situation.  They are always learning.  Just because we don't have a clicker in our hand or a treat bag on does not mean they are not learning!  They are always learning, so even before I start formal training, I am teaching them something.  It is important to think about what those "non training' moments are teaching our dogs.

One of the first things I wanted to teach Venom is how to be calm and quiet and entertain himself.  He has an expen in our living room that has a bed, his toys, his water and a pee pad.  He is in his pen whenever we cannot supervise him.  By making sure that he is confined in his own area with stuff to do, he stays out of trouble.  Here is his pen area.

The pee pad is mainly for when I am not home, when I am home, I am taking him out often so he doesn't need the pee pad and has actually used it only a few times.  When I take him outside I place him in another exercise pen that is sitting on my patio outside, until he goes.  After he goes I tell him good boy and give him some kong stuffin off of my finger.  He spends time both in his inside and outside pens.

As you can see he has several chew toys, but he wasn't sure what to do with them, so we had a little chew toy session on the couch so he could begin to learn what they are for and how to use them.

Venom is already doing great with this and can lie in his pen quietly and chew on chewies or toys.

I also wanted to teach Venom right away that being calm and quiet gets him what he wants.  When he is whining in the pen or jumping on the sides we ignore him.  When he stops vocalizing and sits down I pick him up.  Initially, I only required that he be quiet and I have built it up to being quiet and sitting.  He sleeps in a crate and night and is taken out potty just before bed.  When he goes in his crate, I give him a few small Little Star treats then close the door.  Both nights he has cried/barked/whined for about ten minutes before falling asleep.  He sleeps for a few hours and then wakes up and barks.  I immediately get up and take him outside and put him in his outside pen and tell him to go potty.  He goes immediately and then goes back into his crate and goes right back to sleep.  Last night, he went out once then went back to sleep.  A couple of hours later he cried again so I took him out.  He peed immediately so I brought him back in and put him back in the crate.  He started to cry again so I immediately took him back out thinking he had to poop and I brought him in too soon which proved to be true.  He pooped immediately and then slept through the morning.

Last night I started clicker training with Venom.  I just started to charge the clicker by clicking the clicker and then letting him lick kong stuffin off of my finger.  I repeated this several times.  I also started working on stacking him but gently stacking him (which I have been doing since he was 3 weeks old) and then giving him a bite of food.  He doesn't need the food in his mouth to stack him so I don't give it to him until he is stacked which is teaching him to be stacked comfortably without food in his mouth.  I also started a new method where I put kong stuffin on my index finger and then hold my hand like a gun with my thumb in front of his neck and my finger sticking out so he is looking at it (like I will do when he is trained to cue him to stand in a show stack) just for a moment and then say "yes" and let him eat it.  This is the beginning of training him to stand and watch my finger.  It's a brand new idea, so we'll see how it goes!

Today Venom also had his first play date with the neighbor kids Geneva, Serena and Malcolm.  Before bringing Venom out I talked to the kids and explained the rules and how we would handle the meeting.  They were told they could not run, scream or pick Venom up but that they could pet him carefully.  I brought out the kong stuffin and put some on all of their tiny fingers and we allowed Venom to go up to them and eat the kong stuffin off.  He would have had no problem going up to them anyway, without the food, but I want him to REALLY love people including kids not just tolerate or accept them so I am using food to condition a good feeling about kids.

Venom did great and the kids did great.  He did startle at a loud truck going by (but quickly recovered), but just to be safe, we are going to start truck desensitization training later this week!

He is also discovering and being reinforced for other cool things like:

How to climb the steps up to the couch:

How to retrieve:

How to tug:

Venom is home!

Two days ago I brought home Venom, our new standard smooth Dachshund puppy.  He is the great great grandson of our 14 year old Dachshund, Ivy.  I showed his mother Neena, who needs just 5 single points to finish her championship.  His sire is Casey, a dog that I love and whose father I co bred with my friend Sharon Carr from Carrdox Dachshunds.

Venom came from a litter of 6 puppies which consisted of Venom, one other smooth boy, two smooth girls and two longhair girls.  I knew we would be getting a male, but I had to choose between the two.  I chose Venom because 1) his sweet personality and high sociability, 2) his field potential and 3) his structure. 

I will be sharing my training process of Venom and the steps I go through to try to help become a happy, confident, outgoing dog that is a killer in the field.