Busy times here as we prepared for Thanksgiving!
I began to acclimate the puppies to the sound of the clicker, connected with receiving food treats. I did this everyday this past week, at least once a day.  They are very aware now that the sound of a click implies something really great is coming!

As my various kids began arriving, things got busy, and we included the puppies in the festivities! I had a number of teens and twenty somethings around every day of the week, snuggling and playing with these puppies.  My grandkids arrived on Tuesday night, and they were enthralled.  They are very sweet with the puppies, and respectful of the puppies needs.  The puppies loved their childish noises, and being cuddled in blankets like little babies!

On Sunday, my daughters Annie and Amalia helped me take the puppies outside for the first experience of wandering around our field, and driveway and patio.  Sunday was a gorgeous day, and perfect for this fun outing.  Annie got the great photos you see of each puppy. Check out this blog post for all the photos!

On Monday, in addition to washing up the guest bedding and towels, I got serious about beginning training to sit.  With the help of my little friends Lucy and Clare, I place each puppy on the hardwood floor and let them roam around.  Then, I clicked the clicker. They each in turn came to me upon hearing the sound.  Then, while holding the treats, I began to encourage and click and treat whenever they sat.  I’ve been doing this all week twice a day with each puppy. It’s going very well. These little treasures are smart!

We’re also working on training the response when people approach the pen.  Each puppy usually jumps and whines whenever someone approaches.  My helpers, guests, and family members are all waiting for the puppies to offer a sit before we pat them.  This is working well! They really love human contact, and are willing to change their natural innate response of jumping and whining to a quiet sit if they know that human attention will be positive to this behavior.  I’ll keep doing this until they go home with their new families.

More updates soon!