Growing Like a Weed!

(I just aerated the lawn, so no comments on the grass!)

Siren now has his show name: "Woodwynd Infini-Tea Imaginable"

He's grown quite a bit since our last update. He's also developing his dalmatian "bounce"-- that nice little up-and-down motion (or is it a lack thereof? I don't know, but I recognize it when I see it) when he's gaiting nicely.

We've been working on some basic obedience. 'Sit' has been proofed pretty well, and he will do it on hand command. It's also his preferred solicitation gesture.

He's also good at 'roll', where he rolls onto his back. This was a behavior he displayed on his own when we were outside. He'd run around the yard, leap into the laying position and roll over. I just began to reinforce it with a click and treat. Now he can perform it on command with some reliability. The gesture I've chosen to initiate the roll is an exaggerated tilt of my head to one side. He usually gets it.

We're working on 'down', but it usually takes putting the treat on the floor. It's also not very successful unless he is already in the 'sit' position. But we'll keep working on it.

He also is getting better at 'off', which is what we tell him to do if we want him to get off the couch or get down if he jumped up on us. We get a lot of practice with that one. I'm beginning to think he knows exactly what it means and that he is just beginning to develop his dalmatian stubbornness.

While working on these three behaviors, Siren would intermittently spin in a circle. Here is a dog in the sit position, I tell him 'down' and he stands up and spins in a circle? What the?

The giggling of my wife gave it away. Apparently my daughter has been teaching Siren her own tricks!