Besides learning manners and being a good dog, it’s important that the puppies get time to “just be a dog”.
When we do an obedience walk, there’s an expectation of position and attention ti the handler. When we do a “just be a dog” walk, they get to be anywhere and do anything that is not destructive or harmful to anyone else. I encourage the opportunity to wander, sniff and play. Pre-litter this would be a 4-6x per week depending on weather. We have a few places we like to do them, but our favorite is at Y-knott Ranch. We have taken a number of these in the last 2 weeks and the puppies seem to enjoy them.
About the only thing I ever work on with these walks is a long distance signal recall… and that’s because my tracking boy Lucky is often on a scent and manages to get some distance away, but he’s always checking in. When I see him looking for where I am, I’ll offer him the signal, he usually recalls like a bay outta hell, there’s a reward (food/toy/praise) and then he’s released back to his wanderlust activities.
You know how you see someone everyday but you don’t really look at them that closely? It happened to me today with Peaches. When we were at the farm and she was bopping around while I videoed, I finally saw that she has shedded out terribly! She’s almost like a two tone classic car with red on top and white on the bottom! But I am sure every mother on the planet will agree that having babies takes a lot out of your body… And this is living proof.
We did wake up to some snow on the ground so the puppies got reminded of what winter is about again. And everyone enjoyed a special treat today – venison bones. They’ve had beef, bison and now venison. Tomorrow they’ll try out their chompers on some chicken necks!
