[laceyfaye]

Well Zelda just turned 7 weeks yesterday! I figured now would be a good time to start her training, as well as start keeping a log of her training.

We got her 12/17/2015 when she just turned 6 weeks.

Currently working on:

• Sit
• Pad training
• Learning her name

We started working on "sit" with her on Wednesday the 23rd. We started by holding the treat to let her smell it and then holding it above her head so that she would sit on her own. We didn't start saying "sit" until today so that she can link the two together. Now whenever we pull out the treats, she sits. She still doesn't it know it on command very well, but occasionally when you say "sit" she does sit on her own without a treat (more like once out of 10 times saying it).

We've started pad training her with the super cold weather lately (she hates it outside, but we still take her out there every so often so that she knows that is where she will be going). She is seemingly doing well. We reward her every time she uses it and she just gets so excited her whole butt wags! We have had a few accidents where she squats before she makes it to either pad. There's also sometimes she pees NEAR the pad, not on the pad. She'll go on the pad about 4-5 times, then she starts going next to it. When she's not so little, we plan to take our puppy gate out so that she can start going to the door to be let out (will take some work on that as well).

She's learned her name in two days as well! We decided on Zelda and would squeak her toy every time we called her name. We slowly eased off it after the first day and now when you say her name she comes running right to you (70% of the time, if she's really into sniffing something, it's not happening!).

After we have mastered sit, we plan to work with lay down and drop it/leave it.

Sooner or later we plan to work on:

• Come
• Heel
• Shake
• Sit pretty
• Roll over
• Bye Bye (sitting on her back legs and waving with her paws)

 

[laceyfaye]

Zelda is now 10 weeks and some odd days. She is a very fast learner and is doing great! She was at the vet for an emergency visit (she was screaming when she was pooping) but now we thankfully have the issue sorted out.

Currently working on:

• Sitting without treats
• Down without treats
• Roll Over
• Pad training
• Accio (bring it)

The last time I posted we were working on "sit". She knew in two days what to do when we pulled out the treats but didn't link the action and word together. She now knows "sit" and it's action but doesn't want to do it without getting a treat. She does it but once she knows that she's not getting a treat, she's done doing tricks!

We started teaching her "down" around January 5th. Again, in two days she had it mastered. Since she knew "sit" had a linked action, it didn't take long for her to get that "sit" got a treat but so did "down". We're still on the same problem though, getting her to do it without treats.

We started "roll over" with her on the 13th. For a while she just assumed that when we brought out the treats she should roll. She doesn't link the term with the action though. This one will definitely take some work.

Now onto pad training... she has her good days and she has her bad days. Sometimes she'll pee on the pad 4-5 times on the row but then she'll pee on the carpet. Since we had the problem with pooping, she's not quite learned where to poop. Hopefully that will get through to her soon!

Now lastly, "accio" is a Harry Potter spell for those wondering. She's done pretty well at this so far but I don't think she has really linked the word and action. She does bring toys to you but other times does not.

What she has mastered:

• Knowing her name - without the toy
• "No" (clapping twice)

What we plan to teach her next:

• Drop it
• Come
• Heel
• Shake
• Sit Pretty
• Bye Bye
• Avada Kadavra (play dead)