Down and up again

Yesterday, I got so frustrated by Beethoven. He was stressing like hell. Biting a lot and almost teared my skin of my thigh while jumping on me. I know I'm the one to blame. Haven't really slept well after I got Beethoven in the house. I guess that leads to lack of judgment. He just got more and more stressed as I got more and more frustrated, so we just went in bad circles of destruction.
After the heat has cooled, I thought about returning Beethoven back, since I still has that option. He came to me and licked my palm, being that sweet dig that he most of the time is. No, I can't return him back. He's the best thing that has happen to me in years. He's just a little puppy, he doesn't know better yet. In a couple of months he's teething will pass and with training and care he'll be able to deal with stress in a non distraction way. I just have to be patient, just like anything else.
He's such a sweet dog and I love him so dearly. It's nice to wake up by a a little tongue and a waging tail. Even though it might be in the complete wrong hour. It's still lovely. Had to go out with him 5 times tonight between 11:30 and 7. I guess that's the part of owning a pup. Soon enough he'll grow into an reasonable adult, until than, just have to hang in there. Happy Saturday everyone, hope you have a good day with your furry pals.

What's a clicker?

Short said, a clicker are a marker for reward. Like a camera, you catch the wanted behavior. The clicker are used for making precise rewarding easy. «That thing you did in that very second was good. Here's your reward, let's see if you figure out what you just did.» A clicker wise dog will try to figure out what made the clicker click to get more rewards. A clicker should never be used for negative punishment, for marking bad behavior.

There's a variety of clickers out there, all from the I-clicker by Karen Pryor to the multiclicker or the simple box clicker. Try out a variety of them to figure out what kind of clickers you prefer. Personally I use a I-clicker outdoors and a multiclicker indoors, since the I-clicker have a clean and high sound and the multiclicker can be turned down in volume. They also are easy to put on for instance a bracelet. There's also some types that's built in on a target stick, making it easier to handle than the clicker, the stick, the leash and reward. For a beginner it's enough to deal with the reward and clicker, and maybe the leash under the foot to make sure the dog doesn't run off.

So where can I get one clicker, you may ask. You should be able to get clickers at your local pet shop or a well-stocked one. Some also make one themselves.

A variety of clickers;

A day of training

Today has been a lovely day. Started the day with a 5 minutes walk with Beethoven before breakfast. Worked a little on «Close the door» and «Roll up in a towel.» when coming back in. He has been really good today, took contact all the time and walked with loose leash. Slept when he was told to too. Later we took a 30 min walk with some practice on «heel» to start with. 7 meters with contact all the way! Great! I'm hoping that means we are going in the right direction. I think that's our record at the moment, but it's a great progress, since we haven't been working on heel for long.

Later we took a longer walk in environments that he hasn't been much in yet. He seemed confident and eager to explore. Greeted a lot of people, and even some dogs, but he thought that the dogs were kind of scary. Still needs to work on that part of socialization. He's getting more and more confident as days passes by. Growing like a weed too, he's 30 cm! Already fitting in his adult harness and collar.
Rest of the day, we'll just relax on the couch before going on the evening walk without any training involved. Can't train all day, you know, needs to have some fun too. Happy thanksgiving all.

How to housebreak a puppy

Would make it into two categories, one for housebreaking a puppy and one for dogs. It's very similar, but yet so different. A lot of dog owners struggle with getting their dog housebroken, so it's not an unusual problem. I'm not a professional dog trainer or keeper, so this will only be about the things that I personally have experienced and the info I've gathered in forehand.

Imagine a bucket of water, it's half full. Every time the puppy does something indoors, 2 cups of water gets added to the bucket. Every time the puppy does something outdoors one quarter of a cup gets subtracted from the bucket. The goal is to make the bucket completely empty.

When housebreaking a puppy, you've to remember that a puppy usually don't get control over the bladder before he/she is 5 months old. They haven't been developed enough both physically and mentally to do that yet. They simply can't hold themselves for a longer period of time while they are awake. Scolding can make the problem worse, by making the puppy ashamed and pee in the corner or under furniture.

Start out by taking the puppy out every half hour while he/she is awake. Some puppies needs less time, so moderate it after your puppy. Praise the puppy every time he does something outdoors, calmly so it doesn't get a stress moment. Let the pup sniff or play some with him afterwards, before taking him indoor.

Other than the 30 minutes rule, take the puppy out after he eats, plays, sleeps. As you may have figured, the pup needs to be out most of the day. Remember this routine are only for a short period of time, and it makes your life with your dog so much easier and pleasant. A dog that's properly house trained from the start will be more reliable.

Keywords to keep in mind; Patience, routine, encouragement and consistently. Before you know it, the puppy will be housebroken and you can relax and enjoy the joys of puppy-hood.  

About the blog

The blog will be about my british type shetland sheepdog from puppy-hood to adulthood. On the journey to go as far as we can in obedience and freestyle/heelwork to music, whether it's first class or as an Elite, we'll be enjoying the journey just as much. Silkwizards Dream the Magic (Beethoven as everyday name.) are a playful little puppy that love to make trouble and disturbance, but he's also very willing to please and eager to learn. Born on August the 4. 2013, which makes him 4 months old while I'm writing this. Beethoven are my first dog, so I've just as much to learn as the dog. Of course, the dog life isn't just about work, just as important to have fun and discover the world.

The reason why I choose a sheltie... I love to work with dogs, to keep it short. I live in a small apartment, but wanted a dog that was a serious working dog, but didn't take too much space. Considered a border collie, but figured it would be too much of a dog for me. I fell in love with those pretty little dogs with their drip ears after I first met one. She had the most amazing temper and was such a lovely dog overall. The more dogs I met, the more I fell in love. I just had to get one of these lovely dogs. I haven't regretted the choice once since then. But still, I had 4 years to decide what kind of dog I wanted and to look closer into them. Having a dog has been a dream since my childhood. Health was and still is very important to me, and the sheltie (north europe at least.) are relatively healthy compared to a lot of other working dogs.

So about me. I'm a 21 year old lady, which fully and wholly believes in positive interaction and cohesion, rather than scolding and punishment. You may have already guessed that I'm a clicker trainer. I just don't train with clicker, but clicker training. I'm also a violin player (beginner.), which do some study on lutherie on the side.