More adventures .....

We have had a wonderfully exciting, fun and challenging week!!

1st, Harly is enjoying biting on everyone, everything in sight and jumping up to get attention.!! Thank goodness for "obedience training"..what a lifesaver !! We have a wonderful trainer who helps you overcome these puppy challenges! Even via email she offers assistance for us to try at home. This obedience training is all about being consistant and perservering thru the tough times, which we have had a few this past week.! But after about 5-6 days , Harly is finally learning its not ok to bite us, only his toys!

The best way to overcome this, is if he goes to bite you, turn your back and ignore him for a few seconds, then turn back and praise him for not biting for those few seconds and hand him a toy. It is amazing tho for a very smart dog how quickly he learns some things and others take a lot longer. But all in all, Harly is really learning quickly as he is only 13 weeks. Sometimes we look at him and think he's much older because he is so smart and learns fast.

The fun part of this week was yesterday when again, we went to visit the wonderful dears in the Nursing Home. Harly was a charm , yet again, enjoying sitting with the 4 residents and just to see them smile when Harly sits with them is worth it all :)

Junaita and Jeff (home nurses/owners) have thier own dog, Casey; he is 15 and totally deaf but such a sweet little dog. Harly and him really get on well and enjoyed all the treats being shared out yesterday! This nursing home is really unique in that there are only 4 permanent residents and the amount of love and care in this home is just so precious. Bernice's husband came to visit yesterday..bundled with roses and a special jello dessert for her. To see him sitting next to her..holding her hand and still glancing into her eyes with so much love..not sure how long they have been married..but soo tender and loving with her..really touched me yesterday. The JOY and LOVE and PEACE in this home is very evident. Full praise to Juanita and Jeff for being very caring and so attentive to these residents nursing needs!

We went afterwards to visit some dear friends who also own 2 dogs. Harly had not met them before, so it was exciting to see how Harly interacted with them. All 3 dogs did exceptionally well enjoying each others company.

It was a very long day for Harly and we got home arround 5.30pm. He ate some dinner, romped outside for about 10 minutes and literally, came inside and took himself to his crate (bed) and never left there til 5am today!! He was one very tuckered out little boy. Being a working dog especially as young as he is, I guess would be exhausting. Usually he comes into our room to lie on our bed if we are watching TV, last night he didnt budge an inch !! hehehe

November is Thanksgiving and my son Joel, is coming out from Australia for 3 weeks and will enjoy taking him to visit our new found friends !

Another wonderful week in the world of Harly. He is such a delight and joy to raise and train as a therapy dog. He brings us so much JOY and each day so entertaining...never a dull moment in our house !!

Have a blessed week..

Obedience Training.....

Last night I attended with my inlaws...our 1st obedience class...to train Harly to be obedient and well behaved dog. We left him at home; this 1st lesson was to help us be aware of whats important in training our puppy..I feel we are on the right track, but have lots to learn. Harly is a very wonderful, smart and alert puppy and in one month ..has already learnt to sit..and ring bells when he wants to go outside...but now attending class..we can really concentrate on training him the right way...and after seeing how well behaved and obedient the trainers 7 month old Alaskan malamute is...its very encouraging to know its very reachable to have a well behaved and obedient dog.

I am excited to work hard over the next 7 weeks with Glenn also. He will attend classes with me too :)

Important to make aware all people living in house with puppy to say and do the same things..being consistent is the key to a quick easy and relatively painless training..hehe ...if that's possible !!

here is a list of things we will concentrate on over this next week.. yes..we get daily homework !!!

1: Make a list of all the things that makes Harly's tail wag. Also, note all the things that I think make our dog feel uncomfortable. ( dislikes, fears)

2: "YES" and "GOOD": work on associating this word with pleasant sensations...a tummy rub, eating, stroking. remember to use a happy tone of voice and SMILE!

3: PUPPYS NAME: encourage Harly to look at us when we sue his name. Begin with sating his name when he is already focused on us, then begin to use his name to get his attention in non-distracting situation. To help Harly look us in the eye when we call, use our hands to frame our eyes. once we have Harlys attention, do something interesting ( throw a toy, get his dinner, go for a walk) to reinforce the behaviour.

4: BE A LEADER: To demonstrate our leadership, incorporate some doffie social behaviour into our routine at home. This includes not allowing our dog on chairs or beds, our dog should follow us ( e.g...through doors, on walks) and not vice versa, don't chase our dog ( if we need to catch him, run the other direction) and we should always have control of toys and food.

This is our starter list to work on this week..somethings will work great..others wont..some we might agree with ..some we might not. For instance i don't like to "control"...but i do believe its important to be the "alpha"..to teach him we are boss but always in a loving way !

Just as God disciplines us..the ones He loves..so we discipline our puppy..whom we love and adore ! :)

Will now update every Tuesday with progress from Monday nights class!

Have a great week...or til next time we post..

Blessings....