Vito's 9 week Video

But don't be fooled into thinking Vito is such a brilliant easy puppy! Right now I am getting very irritated with Vito as we are in a battle of the wills. I have a rule that states any bullsticks must be eaten in his kennel. (I am trying to build up a good association with his kennel). However, Vito has a mind that states bully sticks should be eaten wherever I want. So for the past 15 minutes Vito has been going into his kennel, grabbing the said bully stick and running with it into the living room to chew. I have been telling him no, grabbing the bully stick and putting it back into his kennel. Back and forth we go until he added a twist. This last time, he ran into his kennel, grabbed his bully stick, ran to the edge of the bedroom, dropped it, ran forward a couple steps and stopped to look at me as if to say "ha, what now!"

Vito just turned 11 weeks today and weighs 10.4lbs

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Agility Night

Lance had agility class last night! This was the first time he's ever been really distracted in class. Adam was working with Vito in the kennel and Lance really wanted to run over there for some easy treats. I think this also spilled over into his intense desire for the obstacles. He would pull like crazy towards them when we were waiting around, but luckily would still listen really well to the "wait" when it was our turn. But despite being so distracted he was still the most focused dog in class by far!

We've started to do some more sequencing in class which really shows me that I need a lot of help. Lance is great, but I screw him up so much! We were supposed to be doing some front crosses which of course means that I have to actually be in front of my dog. Let's just say that I don't think I'll be able to do a whole lot of front crosses in Lance's agility career unless I get some distance! I also had issues with the rear cross as Lance is really sensitive to my change in posture. I have so much to learn, but hopefully can get things figured out with Lance so Vito isn't screwed up as much :)

I think the teeter is Lance's favorite obstacle so far. It's not at full height, but he's running across it with great gusto! He is also loving the mini dog walk and has great contacts so far. I think I have to be careful since I want to do running contacts but haven't had a lot of opportunity to train them. I don't want to get lazy and just rely on him naturally doing it without Lance knowing what he is supposed to do.

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Pinecone incident revisited?

Vito is not one to hide his feelings. If he is upset, Vito will let you know with loud protests as he demands to be put down or let out. Yesterday he had to come with me to Petsmart for my entire shift so he got to play a little bit before my intermediate class started. But all too soon it was time to be put away. He of course let me know by flailing about, grumbling, and shrieking as I picked him up and carried him away from his new friend.

Vito's actions reminded me of when Lance was a little puppy and a day I will never forget. Lance had to be under 4 months when we took him across the street to a baseball game. Little Lance was content to explore and get petted by adoring fans. By the end he found the joys of a pinecone was happily munching away when it was time for us to go. I of course did the unthinkable and took away his pinecone as I swooped him into my arms. Well Lance was pissed and screamed bloody murder at the top of lungs. Every face turned in our direction to see the puppy abusers as Lance was still shreiking his head off. This wasn't just loud whining, but actual screaming as though he thought he was dying. Embarrased, Adam and I quickly ran off with Lance in our arms while he screamed the whole way.

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Vito's Youtube premier

I have finally made a video of Vito's first week home. He's a star :)




As for his training, he is continuing to make progress in the crate and is a shaping maniac. I started to teach the "place" command as he worked for his dinner today and I got Vito to run to the mat and lie down without any cue within one handful of kibble. I was able to work up to me being 3ft away for him to run to it before I got bored and moved on to something else. He is also doing rollovers now which is a huge deal for him. We were stuck on the lay down and turn head to side step for quite a while!

He now weighs 9.4 lbs.

And Luke recently has learned a new trick as well. We have always had to battle to outsmart him and his obsession with eating as much as possible, including the ferret food. Since Luke also likes sleeping in the ferrets hammocks we had at one point tried keeping the cage open and just moving the food bowl up a very high shelf. But it wasn't long before Luke discovered how to balance precariously and reach the food. So we then said too bad and simply kept the ferret cage closed even when the ferrets are out. However, Luke then discovered that he could still reach in with his paw and scoop out the food if it was kept on the bottom shelf. We of course battled that by simply moving the food dish to the top shelf of the cage and pushing it to the back wall. Well yesterday, I looked over and saw a little kitty hanging on to the outside of the ferrets cage like one of the Garfield window toys. He then proceeded to reach into with his paw to the back of the cage, slide the bowl of food over, and scoop out some kibble onto the floor before hopping back down! *sigh*
No, I wasn't able to catch a picture of the moment, but this is another one of Luke's attempts at food.

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Progress

So things are going pretty well here. It's a blast working with Vito. I've been just having fun with teaching him to think so I'll put a box on the floor and think of something for him to do with it. Within 20 clicks I can have him standing in it, or have a good 2 on 2 off... I can see his little brain turning, and when he gets frustrated he likes throwing spins to see if that'll work!

On the other hand, Vito ate an eggshell today so he can't really be a puppy genius. Most likely he has the cat and Adam to thank for the crunchy surprise. He is also big enough to climb onto the couch now. Now nothing in the house is safe!

Lance had agility class today for the first time in 3 weeks. All the dogs were extremely excited and had the zoomies. There were a lot of loose dogs today! This was really the first time we've been able to play on all of the equipment and do some sequences. Lance still loves stomping on everything so especially loves the contact obstacles. We weren't quite working on them actually hitting the contacts on the aframe and mini dog walk, just getting them used to climbing on them, but Lance did amazing! He even had a perfect drive to the end of the teeter. Right now he has the perfect combination of handler focus and obstacle focus :)

We took Vito with to Lance's class and I had Adam do some crate games with him. He's doing a lot better in the crate, although still cries when he can't see us anymore. But he is entering the crate voluntarily and even staying in it when the door is open! And at least his cries are more whimpers now instead of being a howler monkey.

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Vito the cat

I have more evidence that Vito is learning from the cat. He has recently started using Luke's scratching post...to scratch. He'll lay out on it and just tear it to pieces with his little claws.

We also are apparently starving him. I have caught him several times eating his tail. Not just chasing it, but actually eating it. He'll even hop around with it in his mouth and inevitably fall down.

Vito and Lance are really playing now. He has caught on to Lance's favorite game, "chase me", (yeah I know, some great herding dog Lance is!), and they run round n' round a little bush in the yard.

And why are 90% of my camera shots butt shots?! I'll have the perfect picture set up then the next thing I know I have a billion shots of their asses.

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Immitation is the sincerest form of flattery?

Lance is rebelling. Today he said "bye mom" and tried to run up to the cash registers for treats whenever he thought he could get away from it. He succeeded the first time which didn't help. He hasn't pulled that stunt in months, but clearly he thought he needed some attention today at work. Poor little puppy, ha!

Also, I think Vito has some border collie in him...or cat. Yeah he could have learned it from the cat. He loves to give Lance the eye and stalk him during play. It is so cute to watch his little body freeze as he eyes his "prey" and then spring on Lance's head!


Vito has also picked up a few tricks from Lance as well. When Lance was a puppy he would fake limp occasionally. Ok he did fall down the stairs, 3 times, but that is no excuse! Anyway, Vito shrieked like a little girl yesterday when he was playing in a snowy bush and started limping. I checked him all over and couldn't see anything, but he still continued to limp. However, when I put him on my lap he put all of his weight on his paws so I knew he was a little faker! He of course is fine now, no trace of limping at all. And as for Lance, well he hasn't limped since puppyhood, but still isn't good with stairs :)

And Vito now weighs 8.5lbs. He has gained 1.5bls in the week since we've had him!

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Happy New Year!

Like everyone, I feel that 2008 just flew by. So here is my review of the year, in crappy Christmas letter style!

We got a new ferret, Oppie, after we had to put Bartleby down at Christmas last year. We moved from a tiny duplex in south Minneapolis to a somewhat bigger, but still tiny duplex in Saint Paul. I was also able to use this move as a push to finally quit Auntie Ruth's (yay!!!!) and start working at the much better Dog Days.

Lance started obedience classes at TCOTC, and was the first dog to start straight into their advanced classes, and one of the youngest! He got his CGC and at the test we made a connection that enabled us to sneak into a foundation agility class while bypassing the year long waiting list! He absolutely loves agility, especially being able to stomp on everything in sight. He also entered his first 3 obedience trials and got 3 q's to get his CD!

Adam got a job coaching young swimmers at my old swim club. He loves it and it got him thinking more about working with kids. He also quit Petsmart for a better job with Omni installing furniture. And got into Hamline University and will start classes in 2009 towards becoming a teacher!

And of course we added Vito to our family :) So our household count is 10- 5 ferrets, 2 dogs, 1 cat, and 2 people. There is no way we are ever going to be able to move with this gang!

I'm not really good at setting goals, but here I go. I would like to work with Lance so he has at least 1 q towards his CDX. I think starting Rally-O would be fun as well! I also want Lance to be ready to compete in agility in 2010. With Vito, I just want to have a ton of fun training him and experimenting with hunt test skills and frisbee. I would like him to have his CGC as well. For myself, I want to continue having the highest percentage of students continuing to intermediate class, get some more privates, and by the end of the year start seriously thinking about moving on to a different training company who does more behavioral work.

Oh, and Luke says hi!

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