13 January 2011

Ceri Antics: I broke my puppy's sit

Ceri has been with me for almost 3 months now. In that time I've laughed a lot and cried a little because of Miss Ceri. I'm smitten, in love and enamoured with my puppy.

We do a few things in our time together - snuggle, train, go potty and play. However, with me being pretty sick these past few weeks and my lungs hatting more than bare minimum movement, I'd been skipping training like a bad puppy mamma. Little bits here and there, but she was way ahead of the curve for a 4 month old so I figured she'd be back to norm for her age when I got healthy.

Tonight was the first night we put in a full training session - we went back to basics to reestablish the clicker. And y'know what - my puppy's sit is broken. She was cycling trying to remember the words. It was absolutely hysterical. She eventually remembered sit, but for me it's funny cause she does it on command without training time and without treats all the time for me in our everyday getting along - like when I put the harness on, at the front door, and all sorts of other times. But that clicker came out and Miss Puppy could not remember what sit meant for the life of her. I was doing it just to remind her that clicker means food which she obviously remembered with so much excitement her brain switched off.

So, we're back to basics. She's got a pretty good vocabulary: Ceri, sit, down, off, touch, leave it, drop it, backup, dance, stay, go... Some are way better than others; but some are also super hard when you're a squirmy 5 month old puppy!! I mean, c'mon - I'm making her stay 4 feet away from me when I put a big pile of kibble on the floor and she can't move till I tell her "go". That's a good puppy so when she misfires, we just do it again.

And most importantly - I'm having fun. Whether my puppy nails every "backup" and "stay" or forgets how to "sit" or "touch" - she makes me laugh and grin. And then it's time to snuggle on the couch - the trick she taught herself that she's most proud of.