Me: I wish more dog parks around here were fenced.
Nick: Why?
Me: Well, Justice has good recall, and an even better remote sit, but I’m always a little worried that she’ll spot a squirrel and bolt.
Nick: Just like Jesus!
Me: …Jesus never bolted after a squirrel.
Nick: Seems like the same thing to me.
Me: You’re an idiot.
Anyway. So, starting Thursday, Justice will have her… uh… cousin? Uncle? Whatever, we’ll have my parents puppy Jasper with us for a week, so he’ll have his first experiences at a dog park very soon. He’s already got pretty good recall, but more importantly, I can still outrun him. So I think we’ll give a dog park or two a try and see how he likes it. For the record, as of yet Justice hasn’t ever bolted from a dog park, and our usual one has a decent buffer between the road & the dog part of the park, but I’m what we refer to as a “worrier”.
So Jasper is currently about 10 weeks old, and he’s already got a great recall (only tested in Mom’s backyard, but so far he’s pretty unphased with the world. And hey, it’s a big backyard.) No wonder, golden retreivers are what we refer to as “food motivated”. If he knew what you were asking him to do, he’d stand on his head if it would get him a treat. This little bundle of fur is half the size of Justice, and already eats slightly more than she does. And no, he’s not getting fat at all — you can still feel his ribs just fine. (Can’t see ‘em, too much fluff!)
So this makes a nicely trainable dog. Food motivated, eager to please, and focused on his people. (Justice? Not food motivated, occasionally eager to please, and focused on … everything. She’s still ridiculously smart and learns pretty fast, but it’s … more of an uphill battle to keep her focused.) My goal, in the week that I have him, is to teach him a rock solid new trick.
But what to teach? I was thinking of a “sit pretty” (the trick formerly known as “beg”) but I’ve taught that to Justice, and I’d like to pick something new so that I’m learning something too…
Suggestions? I think I might spend some time on Zak George’s tricks and see what we can come up with.
The Food Lady teaches her dogs to spin left and spin right. I’m teaching Maia now.
Justice already has a counterclockwise spin — although in her case, it’s a “get your tail!” that morphed into a spin. :D
I should try to teach her the other direction. Hmm.
With Justice, I’m working on a left shake. She’s had right down since before I got her (er, my right, not hers) which has been great for things like getting her seatbelt harness on. Now her new jacket requires her to hold up her other paw, so we’re trying that… she’s got the same left/right deficiency I have. :D