These posts lag waaaay behind what’s actually in the Alice In Wonderland Puppy Development Blog, but I thought I’d keep you updated! Here goes:
Monday afternoon (6-15) and Tuesday morning (6-16) were packed — here’s what we got up to.
After the morning chaos of June 15th, I took Alice downstairs to the basement for the first time. When the dogs are up in the kitchen it sounds like a thundering herd overhead, so she was a little distracted — but not too much. That’s actually a good diagnostic. Vida took a LONG time to be okay with that overhead noise when we were training downstairs, so I was happy to see Alice take it mostly in stride.
Then we headed out — her first real outing. I took her to a local coffee shop that has a quiet little patio where we could just sit and enjoy a cold coffee in the shade. I positioned myself facing the door so I could see when somebody was about to come by or come out, and made sure that any new person entering the environment meant cookies for Alice. Once she was comfortable she let me know by chewing on the picnic bench and the umbrella stand. So. It was a good outing. 😄 No video on that one, but that’s the kind of session I want early on — quiet, low pressure, positive associations, and no agenda beyond just being somewhere new together.
George and I wrapped up the evening just hanging out in the backyard — good weather, good company, a puppy burning off steam.
Then June 16th AM: we got into some real work. Blender habituation, Dremel habituation, and — finally — actual crate games. I’ll be real: up until now it’s been mostly me shoveling her into the crate and relying on puppy compliance and the foundation her breeder built. Which works for a minute, but it was time to do it properly. We also got a kitchen session in covering name recognition and some toy play, and I continue to be thrilled at how focused she is with the other dogs milling around. It means a lot less management for now — though I’m not taking that for granted. 😄
All the videos from June 15th-16th are collected in a YouTube playlist so you can watch in order or jump around – click HERE to check them out.
The videos and full write-up for this day, as well as every day between June 16th and TODAY, are in the Alice in Wonderland — Puppy Development Blog. Members have full access, and if you’re not a member, grab the free 3-week preview here:
Alice is growing fast! Check out what’s in the puppy blog so far, there’s a TON, and I’m adding new stuff every day! And, feel free to pass along this email if somebody you know has a puppy and could benefit from watching!
Yours,
Daisy
[email protected]