Keep Calm & Waffle On

The Training Log of a Breakfast Menu Item

  • Almost 5 Months Old: Velociraptor Mode ACTIVATED! (And week 14 Training Plans)

    Teething. So much teething. All the teething. All the time. It’s a good thing he’s cute. Training has improved by leaps and bounds. He moved on to Level 2 Obedience this weekend after two sessions at his new school. It should be smooth sailing until we level up once more, at which point we’ll be Read more

  • Weeks 11 & 12 Roundup, and Week 13 training plan

    Happy New Year to all! Waffles had a busy couple of weeks — one of which he spent solo with his dad and elderly brother while I was out of town to visit family. I swear he doubled in size while I was gone! He’s now a “long boi” who has lost many teeth and Read more

  • Week 10 Roundup, and Week 11 Training Plans,

    It was a quiet week in the Breakfast Food training world — Waffles is learning the basics like a pro and growing like a weed. He’s gone out to do some socialization work, some public training work, and a lot of distraction training. It’s been a great week! He handles automatic doors like a pro Read more

  • Week 9 Roundup and Training Plans for Week 10

    Now that puppy has hit 16 weeks, I’m combining our training plans and weekly roundups in a single post. Every week, I think I’ll tackle the Waffles training update, followed by a training concept that either someone has specifically asked me to talk about, or one that I think can be universally useful! Then I’ll Read more

  • Week 8 Roundup – Fulfilling Needs, Premack, and Surviving Puppyhood/Adolescence 101

    First order of business, a Waffles update: He’s doing great! Training is going well, he’s lost two baby teeth, and we’re making great strides with basic obedience and manners. This week, the demon he’d summoned previously has been nowhere to be found and I’m quite grateful for that. As his little personality emerges, I’m adjusting Read more

  • Week 8 – Impulse Control, Frustration Tolerance, and Distractions 101

    Our focus this week will be on reinforcing all the skills we’ve been working on — all those obedience basics that are simply part of being a good canine citizen — in a variety of environments, with varying degrees of distractions. We’re also specifically working on impulse control. There are lots of fun games you Read more

  • Week 7 Roundup

    This week has seen a lot of consolidation work and bite inhibition work. Waffles continues to be a very good boy and his chompiness is improving. This said, the Teething Fairy has definitely set up camp in our household! With his older brother on crate rest, poor Waffles hasn’t had his usual romp-in-the-yard parties this Read more

  • Week 7 – More Consolidation (first “Savvy” Stage)

    The training plans for Week 6 and Week 7 are very similar in that we switch a number of learning elements from “introduced” to “savvy”, and we continue to build on the introduced skills. You’ll recognize a lot of things are exactly as they were last week, some new things have been added, some stuff Read more

  • Week 6 Roundup

    Waffles had another great week of learning and consolidating things he knows. He got to work out and about in public and really start focussing on his people-neutral and dog-neutral skills. He’s a fast learner with an intense desire to please, which makes things a lot easier. I’m quite impressed by his ability to focus Read more

  • Week 6 – The First “Savvy” Stage

    The training plans for Week 6 and Week 7 are very similar in that we switch a number of learning elements from “introduced” to “savvy”, and we continue to build on the introduced skills. Here’s what that list looks like at this point in Waffles’ learning: Savvy: Near-savvy: Well on its way: Introduced (without cue): Read more