We started this day off by finally doing the barrier challenge at breakfast. I’ve delayed this exercise because the puppies were not as keen for food as they needed to be to have it be worthwhile — they were often preferring and holding out for Peaches’ milk! She’s pretty much weaned them now which makes meal times much more engaging so we could move forward.
The Barrier Challenge begins pretty easy and becomes more difficult over time. We introduce a frustrating experience around food where the pups have to problem solve to get it. Studies have shown that aggression in dogs is often as a result of frustration (think of people and the road rage phenomena). If we can frustrate these youngsters a little at this age and teach them problem solving skills, it will positively influence other frustrating life experiences they will encounter later in life. The application of this is not in their interactions with people and other dogs which would be obvious, but this will also help them in their decision-making around frustrating livestock in the event that they are a working or sport dog as well.
We did a set at breakfast and lunch. I have a compilation highlight reel on this post in case you’re curious. The outtakes not included were of puppies leaving the test to go find the potty mat, a couple who handled frustration by avoidance and left the test and needed to be reset and some distractions/stress caused by siblings having temper tantrums in the background. I was interested to see those who struggled a little at breakfast were much faster at lunch… and a couple who did very well at breakfast were a little overtired so struggled at lunch. In either scenario it is a win. The point of the game is learning and progression. Of course there were also some happy accidents that proved to problem solve for them too.
Since food is finally becoming more interesting, the boys got to engage with snuffle mats today. I snuck them into their day-pen while they were sleeping and was happy to see they found them on their own. Again, a highlight reel of their discoveries is attached. Nose work is a great way to tire out busy minds and it’s another level of problem solving.
We had a basement playtopia visit with Christine today where the pups were really using the full space on their own volition for the first time. There’s now way more interactive play with people and each other. They’re venturing onto new equipment on their own… in particular today’s first was the “scary moving floor”…yeah, not so scary for these guys. Regular games of chase and “I’ve got the toy and you can’t have it” have also begun.
We continue to mess around with household appliances and today included both the vacuum and the mop. Not the first exposure by any means, just the first time I thought to document it. I have central vac so it’s not as loud as some machines can be but it still provides good sucking noises.
Terri & Nancy also came to play in the afternoon.
We worked on taking treats, playing tug and sleeping as they’d had a pretty full day.
And this is what happens when puppies get overtired…
