What a busy busy busy week it has been! Waffles was visited by the Leg Fairy this week. He now looks like a dog on stilts. He is a solid 15.5 pounds or so, and growing like a weed.

We’ve been working a ton on meeting new people of all ages and Waffles thinks that’s pretty neat. Especially when treats and belly rubs are being offered. He had a wonderful time meeting costumed kids and adults on Halloween and was happy to “give a treat, take a treat” — we’d give the kids their goodies and then have them offer Waffles a doggo treato. Glee!

He got to experience his first snow on October 31st and wasn’t too sure what to make of it at first. Then he figured it was super fun to pounce around and try to hang onto his big brother’s tail and go for a ride.

This week, he also visited the local library and showed off his awesomeness with his first “on the floor” visit on a loose leash. He met a man with a walker, a handful of kiddos, and checked out trollies, wheeled chairs, and sitting areas. He’s soaking in every bit of it and basking in the glory of being told he’s the cutest and smartest puppy ever. Funnily enough, our work on using his paws transferred easily to him being held up to the door pads at the library and immediately pressing them when asked to touch. Good boy! He seemed pretty chuffed with himself.

Next week is a busy busy busy week again: visitors to the house, the start of STAR Puppy Kindergarten, a playdate with a houseful of Golden Retrievers (and a much beloved Lab), a vet visit for follow-up vaccinations, a visit to a passport service center… the whole nine yards!

Socialization goals now change as we hit the ripe old age of 12 weeks — our focus is now on becoming people, animal, and location neutral when in our working clothes. He’ll still get to socialize and meet new people, of course, but not when learning to work. It’s an interesting time for a highly social puppy, but all of them figure out the difference between “on the job” behavior and “I’m free to go get loved on by my fan club” behavior. It’s one of the building blocks of a solid on-off switch, and essential for a working dog. Waffles has picked up enough of a connection with his primary handler now to be able to focus even in public settings, for short periods of time. Our training blocks are still very short, but there are many a day!

Waffles has become a pro at napping during the day and snoozing at night. He’s pretty reliably housebroken and asks to go out. This said, when he’s out of his crate or his pen, he’s being worked/played with and 100% supervised, so we haven’t had the opportunity to miss a cue! He’s currently on a 1 hour up, 1-2h down schedule of activity and naps. All his naps are in his crate, and he kennels up like a pro. He is used to going in his crate when he’s tired but not sleepy — again, a building block skill for that on-off switch that allows a working dog to sleep whenever, wherever, while they can! — so he chomps on a high-value Kong for about 2-3 minutes and passes right out, often upside down.

He’s still a piranha — especially when tired. This is a good time to remind ourselves that Acquired Bite Inhibition is a process that is super important for puppies. They’re not being asshats for fun and profit, they’re learning about the force of their bite. During this period, it’s important for them to play with other dogs in order to find out just how hard they can bite before someone corrects them. Thing is, we’re not dogs, we’re people! They need to figure out that part, too, and it’s up to us to teach them. Their little teeth are super sharp, which means they don’t have to put in a ton of bite force to elicit a reaction. The most important thing they ever need to learn in their little lives is that humans are fragile creatures and that you can’t chomp them to get your point across. You have to treat humans with care. The hard thing is that puppy teeth hurt! There are many schools of thought on how to deal with ABI with puppies, but my approach is this. I say a firm “Ouch!” and “Ouch! That hurts!” without pulling away (that tends to make them want to chase and turns it into a game) then lots of praise when they pull back and wonder how you’ve lived this long with such a low pain threshold. When they’re overstimulated, overtired, or just plain nuts, an “OUCH!” followed with removing yourself from them to a spot they can see you but can’t get to you will do the trick. They’ll learn that if they bite, you go away. Don’t overdo your reactions, don’t punish or isolate the puppy for biting (remove yourself instead!), don’t bonk or bite back (seriously, I’ve seen people do that), don’t “alpha roll”, don’t just redirect to toys, but praise them when they redirect their chewing and biting behavior to them when offered! Believe it or not, we actually do want puppies to bite when they play. Otherwise they’ll grow into adult without ABI. That’s how devastating bites to humans and other dogs can happen. It’s how they learn limits and thresholds. It gets better! Over time, the force of their bite diminishes. Once that happens, the frequency diminishes. By 5-6 months, they should be fairly reliable. If you miss that 6 month window, it’s a lot harder to correct the problem and it’ll need a different approach.

All in all, a month into training, Waffles is a sound-minded pup, confident without being reckless, and with a lovely social drive that will make him a good worker.

Onward to Week 5 — the week where we start introducing a lot of work-related behaviors and cues, a little bit at a time!