Keep Calm & Waffle On

The Training Log of a Breakfast Menu Item

dogs

  • 9 Months: Exposure, Exploration, Experimentation, Experiences, and Critical Socialization Windows

    The Magnificent Breakfast Food wishes everyone a merry month of May and hopes it’s been grand all around. He’s had a month full of new experiences and lots of work-related practice. He’s still committing crimes on the daily. Waffles is growing into a delightful young dog with a wonderful personality. He adapts well to new Read more

  • 8 Months – Training Update and Adventures, Tips and Tricks… and Crimes.

    Hello, friends! It’s hard to believe that this little furry heathen is 8 months old already. He’s still full of crimes: stealing the hose, digging holes, stealing socks, chasing chickens and ducks… so we try to give him outlets where he’s allowed to do these things with our permission. He is allowed play with the Read more

  • 7 Months: The Age of Exploration and Crimes

    Developmental Update Waffles is now 7 months old, still full of beans, and growing into a lovely adolescent boy. Canine teens certainly enjoy a life of CRIME. Waffles is a shameless recidivist. And I love every minute of it, even when the CRIMES drive me completely insane! On the training front, things are going well: Read more

  • Building Confidence in Adolescence: Hilarious Antics, Quirks, Fears, and Selectively Deaf Ears.

    These last few weeks have been all about exploring new things and having the confidence to go check out the things that we found randomly spooky or surprising. Waffles has always had a great bounce-back: if something startles him, he’ll carefully investigate and then commit to interacting with whatever the object was. I always prefer Read more

  • A Quick Update – Accomplishments, New Titles, & Early P.A.T. Skills!

    The Breakfast of Champions had a wonderful week! Like all teenagers, he’s either a REBEL or a VERY-GOOD-BOY. On the rebellious front, we forget we have house manners and we’ve hit the “explore all the thiiiiiiings” stage of development. It’s usually when our rock-solid recall goes out the window, especially in class because the instructors Read more

  • A Training Update, and a Word About the “Puppy Blues”

    Howdy, folks! This is the face of a guy who was visited by the adolescence fairy for realsies this week. Boy are we in it now, and it’s going to be a while before we come out the other side. Wish us luck! Waffles had a great training week — he went to school three 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 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 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