Keep Calm & Waffle On

The Training Log of a Breakfast Menu Item

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  • Week 5 Roundup

    It was a busy, busy week for a wee Waffles — one filled with firsts and with some slightly more stressful adventures. He’s been growing like a weed! This week, he started Puppy Kindergarten at Cloud Nine and enjoyed his first class. He also went to the vet for a quick visit and some boosters, Read more

  • Week 5 – Working Basics Begin

    This week, we double down on bite inhibition work, and start working really hard on the difference between “neutral socialization” and “active socialization”. We also work really hard on our on-off switch, using our nose and paws for good rather than evil, and basic manners: ACTIVE CUES PASSIVE CUES BUTTON CUES (PASSIVE) OTHER BITS AND Read more

  • Week 4 Roundup

    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 Read more

  • Week 4 – And so it Begins…

    This week, skills start picking up speed, and building blocks of future tasks start being introduced: ACTIVE CUES PASSIVE CUES BUTTON CUES (PASSIVE) OTHER BITS AND BOBS Waffles is looking at a big step up in training this week: lots of words are now assigned to cues he knows and understands how to perform, and Read more

  • Week 3 Roundup

    It was a busy week for Mr. Waffles, with a lot of daily training, meeting new people, and working on some basic skills. He had house guests for the first time, which was an absolute joy! He’s learning to sleep through the night, loves his crate, naps like a champ, and is full of chaos Read more

  • Week 3 – Stepping it Up a Notch

    This week, Basics continue and new skills are added: ACTIVE CUES PASSIVE CUES BUTTON CUES (PASSIVE) OTHER BITS AND BOBS It’s a big week for a little Waffler — we have house guests this upcoming weekend, he gets to spend time with his auntie Jodi while the family attends a very long screenplay reading session Read more

  • Week 2 Roundup

    Waffles has had a busy week! He has met over 50 new people, visited his vet Dr. Jeff Krull and all the staff at Flying Cloud Animal Hospital, visited a local seniors apartment complex, the grocery store, and our city’s main firehouse. Thanks to Assistant Fire Chief Dom Guzman and his crew for welcoming the Read more

  • Week 2 – Vet Visit & Field Trips

    This week’s Basics continue: ACTIVE CUES PASSIVE CUES BUTTON CUES (PASSIVE) OTHER BITS AND BOBS The second week of training is a reinforcement week — a week where we aim to gel the previous week’s skills and switch a few things from the “passively taught” cue category to a category where they get assigned a Read more

  • Week 1 Roundup

    Waffles has had a stellar first week at home. Here are the notes from my logbook! New people met: 23 active encounters (including house visitors, neighbors, and “training assistant strangers” at the grocery store), plus 34 more as passive interactions outdoors. Building people-neutral skills, where strangers invited to pet him are ignored while he focusses Read more

  • Week 1 – The Basics

    Service Dog training starts where all dog training starts — The Basics. Here is the list of cues I start teaching on Week 1: ACTIVE CUES PASSIVE CUES BUTTON CUES (PASSIVE) Our “training sessions” are 2-3 minutes long, multiple times per day. Waffles’ attention span is typical of a puppy his age, and that’s about Read more