About Me

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My name is Lesli Hyland. In my fifty three years on this earth, my home and my heart have been graced with the company of twenty eight dogs. Many came to me as seniors. All of them taught me something and helped determine the course of my life. I became a dog trainer because of them. I met my friends because of them. My husband and I are are forever bonded by our mutual connection to them. Currently, as a Dog Walker I have access to other people's dogs and I am allowed to experience their unique personalities. The dogs make me a better person by forcing me to closely examine my motivation, my actions and my choices. Everything I do affects their behavior, safety and happiness. It is an awesome responsibility. The dogs keep me honest.

Monday, June 16, 2014

RAISING GOOSE - Basics

Goose turned 8 weeks old on June 14!  He is gaining in size, endurance and coordination.  He is awesome!
We continue our careful barrage of socialization.  This week he met several new people, including a couple kids, and met some new doggie friends.  These are, of course, dogs I know well and am confident about their health status.  You don't want to sacrifice safety for social exposure.



We have started training the basic postures of SIT, DOWN, STAND and establishing a positive association with his name. GOOSE = cookies, praise and games.  We are encouraging him to follow us on and off leash. We are introducing TOUCH (hand targeting) .  He is a quick study.

His house training is coming along VERY well.  The few times he has gone potty inside have been lapses in my supervision.  Last night he grabbed a piece of newspaper off the end table, played with it a bit then put it down and peed on it!  I kid you not!  Riot!  He sleeps through the night without having to "go", which is a blessing, as neither my husband or I do well with sleep deprivation!

His ability to tolerate being crated is a work in progress.  He is great in the car crate now. :-) And he will eat in his kitchen crate, following the lead of the other dogs.  But simply getting him to chill out in a crate is not happening at this point.  Thankfully, he is tolerating being left in the crate when I leave the house, but only barely.   He screams a little less than he used to. :-P  

Goose has his first visit to our veterinarian this morning.  He will have company, as Cubby, Chalupa and James are also due for their annual exams. This oughtta be exciting! :-P

 

1 comment:

  1. "Goose turned 8 weeks old on June 14! He is gaining in size, endurance and coordination. He is awesome!"

    ...and he's freaken adorable! Hope his first vet visit went well. :-)

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