Roller skating season!

Remember when you were a kid and it just became roller skating season, or jump rope season, or jacks? No one came and told you, it just was.
That is the reason I like Aussies, Australian shepherds, so much. When you want to do something different, they're game for anything.
I have never said, well I can't do that cause my dog doesn't like that activity. I just do what I want and the aussies raise their paws in agreement.
They certainly aren't for everyone. The Yipster is a busy puppy, but it isn't solo busy. She wants to be with me in the thick of things. If she isn't properly worn out, she is going to yell about it. It doesn't take too long, just some brushing time or play time but it has to be together. I really like that too. I want her to be with me as well as my other two girls Jiggy and Calamity. If you don't want your dogs to go to the bathroom with you, don't get an aussie.
I am going to start some ground work with the Yipster in regards to herding. Elsie has some basics to work on such as back, moving off a crook or rake, can't use the flag with Yip as she thinks it is the best toy in the world!
I am going to click Yip for turning her head away from the rake, she is very motivated with the clicker, and then eventually for squaring away from it.
That should be fun.
Oh she got hold of my glasses this morning, I am blind as a bat without them, and I started to give chase with a firm "leave it" command. When I realized that all I had to do was put out my hand, she brought them right to me. I have got her now retrieving her metal article and plastic dumbbell so why not glasses too?
It worked, but I don't want to encourage glasses retrieving.

Yip retrieves!

I have taught Yippee to retrieve a dumbbell to my hand and a metal dumbbell to my hand too. Not a big deal, but I did it using a clicker to shape the behavior and with no words. Plus she is just shy of 5 months. I think that is a big deal.
Three days ago she would go out and pick it up and then drop it because I clicked and that meant the end. Slowly I kept withholding the click until she got closer and closer. Now she knows to drop it in my hand.
Did I say "she knows"? Heaven forbid! I need to teach it everywhere I go for her to generalize it to that extent.
I am not asking for a sit or a long hold or anything like that. Just watch it and go when I release plus bring it back to my hand.
This has really been fun to teach.
I am planning on next week tying a couple of metal articles to a board and start teaching her scent discrimination. Too much fun.
Again, she is such a bright puppy but a puppy non the less! She is not coming when interesting things are going on, she has temper tantrums, and she tortures the older dogs. They're aussies though and it wouldn't look good if they were bugged all the time.

Updates

Just thought I would share updates on general progress of the Yipster.
At 4.5 months of age she is mouthing gently and does understand the word "gentle". That was probably one of the most important words I could think of, as I have grandkids. The grandkids have to be gentle with her too.
I, and anyone else at the moment, can go over her feet, body, teeth open pretty for the judge, and handle her head. She must be calm when being handled.
We are working very heavy on lots of play and retrieving. I like a dog to retrieve and play. Good way to work out stress.
Come when called, using a long line anytime I am outside and I need her to respond now. I am using it anyways just to reinforce the word "come" and she gets good food lots of praise when she gets to me.
Downs, sits, stands but not on command, stays very quickly, QUIET that is another story, housebreaking is going fantastic. She rarely has an accident, in the last couple of weeks, and we are all reading signs of when she needs us to let her out.
Agility table, loves it and will stay on it without my saying stay. I give her lots of food and vary my position when she is on it. Tunnels are great. Any piece of wood on the ground she gets rewarded for balancing on it. Trotting through a PVC ladder, hitting a contact board and working on retrieving a metal article.
Whew I am busy with this puppy, and then I have Calamity and my wonderful Jiggy to train too.

So Yip is that the age that "come" means go! And keep going! I kept saying that this was going to come on and I would expect it. I am and it is quite normal. How am I handling it? More toys coming out, more games, more food, and a long line attatched anytime I am taking her out and need her to respond right now.
She is such a cutie, and a bright as can be.
I am using better food, cheese, to send her in her kennel, crates, and playpen. I reward often and then release her again.
Teething on anything. So lots more legal type chew toys. Nothing left alone with her that she might shred, rope, and swallow. Very dangerous as it doesn't break down in a dog's gut.

alligators!

I don't have alligators, but Yippee's teeth sure feel like them. She is teething something fierce,I have proof on my furniture.
shame on me for not having enough chew toys to keep her mouth busy. Housebreaking is going quite well. Our accidents are few and far between now. If she has an accident, it is because we missed her signals that she had to go out.
Right now she is sleeping, so be quiet, at my feet attatched to her leash. I am keeping her with me to keep her out of trouble. It has helped her to calm down too.
She is a busy puppy, which I like, and so smart. We are working on metal scent articles. We started of with a nose touch and now she is up to putting her mouth on it and holding it shut. We are at the count of one maybe two. All food motivated, of course. Playing baby agility games, toys and food motivated rewards.
If you have puppy stories to share with me, please go ahead!
They're so much fun, but a lot of work.
Cookies, treats, toys, all day long!!

HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW?

So that is what I am thinking about, how does my puppy grow? She is growing so fast and is so bright. I have to say that the thing I so love about her is she makes me laugh. She also makes me think. How do I fix this? How do I reinforce this?
Am I getting her out enough? Am I getting her to meet enough people, be handled by enough people? Why do I care? I care because what she is going to become. A dog of the world. That is a bit dramatic, but it is true. She is out and about with my other two aussies and she has to be a part of my life. I am outgoing and involved in many things, and they come as part of the package.
I still watch Yip for interactions with other people and kids. Is there any nervousness, anxiety, tempertantrums? Can everyone handle her paws, body, head, mouth? Yip is doing pretty good on all fronts. I am very proud of this pup. I am also working on her putting her mouth on a metal scent article. She loves that game. All she has to do is put her mouth on it wherever I put the article. She, of course, gets a cookie each time.
Want your dog to come? Want your dog to recognize their name? Put a cookie, a really good cookie, on it. I am still at 100% reward for coming, name recognition, leave its, body handling too.
I just read that the dog whisperer is getting sued. How sad. What is sad to me is that we turn our animals over to others to fix them. Wait a minute, you turned the animal over to fix a problem. Didn't you find out how it was going to be done?
Books. What am I reading right now? Bobbie Anderson's puppy book and Ian Dunbar's After you Bring Your Puppy Home, I think that is the title. I have just about everyone of Ian's books and I love them. I think he is brilliant. It certainly feels right to me, and that is what it is about. What feels right to you?
Some days I think, what the heck am I doing? Then other days, it is peaceful kingdom.
Rowdy. Coming up on two years without my boy Rowdy. I miss him. He was such a big part of my family's life, he just left a big empty space. Yip will never know him, but the dogs he has trained are training her. Good girl%