Clean Run Magazine - February 2007 - 40

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Socialization, Play and Training raining Sessions Sessions By Nancy Gyes I
have a newfound respect for dog breeders. Raising a litter took total
commitment and a huge portion of my time each day. Nail clipping, clicker
training, cuddle time, potty walks, handling, toy play, one-on-one time,
multiple walks every day around the property, socializing with guests, car
rides, staring at them for hours, discussing structure and personality with
trainer friends, and on the list goes. The pups are eight weeks old now.
They follow me around the yard like a little pack, one often grabbing at
my pant leg, while others cavort, explore, and wrestle. Jim has picked his
puppy and tomorrow the other pups will go to their new homes, new lives,
and excited owners. I know now that I didn’t take enough photos or
videos or record enough details about their personalities. But my time is
up. Jim chose Sweep. He wagged his tail a lot, seemed totally coordinated
by six weeks of age, and has a nice mixture of drive, attentiveness, and
brains. As he grew up it became apparent that he was a bundle of energy
combined with dexterity, curiosity, and playfulness. © MARCY MANTELL
PHOTOGRAPHY Training the Litter, Weeks 5 through 7 When the pups were four
weeks old they had their first meal from a bowl, and that’s where I left
our story a month ago. Within a few days I started using the clicker as I
set their communal food bowl on the floor. As they were eating they heard
clicking. Eventually that turned into clicking and tossing a handful of
kibble to them on a blanket, and then I separated them for individual
clicker/ food association sessions that lasted about one minute each. I
used their kibble for almost all training, but also introduced tiny pieces
of cooked meat. I did some training with the litter as a whole, like
clicking when they all jumped on the Bosu ball and feeding them all at the
same time on top of the ball, or clicking when they jumped into the big
round dog bed and feeding them in the bed. For a couple of meals each day,
they only received food from my hand, from the bed, or in a big low
cardboard box they liked to jump into. I was uncertain if the clicker
meant anything to them, however, until I took them out for one-on-one time
starting at five-and-a-half weeks. I tried unsuccessfully to take one pup
out of the pen and train a few feet from the pen. The working puppy
ignored his counterparts, but the pups left behind screamed incessantly
while I clicked and treated an individual. At that point I knew without a
doubt they understood the nature of the game. I began working on a
different behavior for each pup but realized quickly it would be Clean Run
| February 07 Evaluating Evaluating Structure Structure in a litter of pups
is evaluated by using standard guidelines for both good conformation and
movement, and not just by comparing individuals in the litter. The
best-structured pup in the litter may still be a pup that is not built
well for agility. We are lucky to have local experts available and
renowned puppystructure authority Pat Hastings co-author of the “Puppy
Puzzle” to evaluate Jim’s puppy just two days short of eight weeks of
age. Common thought is that pups within a few days of eight weeks old show
strong similarity to the structure they will have as adults, but this is
not necessarily true before seven or after eight-and-ahalf weeks old.
Opinions on structure can be highly subjective, since what might appeal to
one person might raise the eyebrows of another. I learned that overall
structural balance is more important than a great front or a great rear
that does not match the other end of the dog in angulation and length. The
mysteries of structure slowly faded while watching Pat’s capable and
gentle hands carefully examining each pup. She heartily approved our
choice of Sweep, for which we consider ourselves extremely lucky, and we
had an engrossing and educational day spent with her looking at our pups.
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Clean Run Magazine - February 2007

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