Saol

MEET SAOL

Everyone meet Saol!!! This handsome fella is a 7 month old Australian Cattle Dog! ...and we just think he is the cutest thing ever, HYPER but a cutie patootie none the less.

Saol is the second youngest dog to come through our Excel program... and we are so excited to watch him grow, learn and be the best that he can be. ;)

Saol just finished the Ruff Life training not that long ago, but his momma thought that we could help fine tune a couple things. Saol comes across as cool and collected when walking on a leash, but when he gets a chance to play with other dogs... well... thats a whole other story. This handsome fella gets a little crazy, and looses his brain temporarily. lol. He has been known to 'dominate' other dogs, which can get him into trouble... so that is one of the first things that we are going to work on. We want to teach him that this behaviour is unacceptable, because we don't want him to get into trouble with a grumpy dog. 

Our goal is to find specific things that grasp Saol's mind, to keep him focused... calm... and wondering what is next. We also want to teach him the types of behaviours that we LOVE, and the ones that we could do with out.... tighten up his obedience and teach him that recalls are the best things ever.

Session 1 of 3

Thursday, August. 7th 2014

Today we went to Saol's mommy and daddy's office to pick him up for his exciting adventure, and to have a quick chat with his mom about some specific things we would like to work on.

Saol was VERY excitable, and jumped up and barked to let us know he was pleased to see us!! One behaviour that Saol's mom wants us to help with is how pushy/demanding he can be with people... so this will be something we will have to work on each time we come to pick him up. Excitement is good... demanding can be less then desirable... 

When we got to the dog park Saol was über excited to be there, and to see DOGS!!! It took us a little bit, but we got Saol to walk calmly into the dog park before we gave him his entire leash for some running around time. 

We tried to do a couple recalls right off the bat, but Saol acted as though he lost ALL of his hearing... crazy when that happens. I guess this handsome fella is going to make us work for our money lol but we are up for the challenge. We are just going to make sure that he has some good drive for food next time ;) 

By the end of the session Saol was starting to get the hang of being a respectable gentleman, he was starting to relax and have fun doing his confidence boosting drills, his recalls were getting better, and his obedience was great!!!

We can't wait until the next time we get to work with this cutie!!!

Check out his video progress below.

(A very BIG thank you to Tammy with Hank and Nelly, and Kona and Yoko for their puppy support)

Session 2 of 3

Thursday, August. 14th 2014

Oh Handsome Saol! You are such a character! 

Today we picked Saol up and he got to ride in the back of the truck. It was like he had already done it in a past life... he hopped right up, got clipped in, and sat down with a HUGE smile on his face for the entire ride. 

Today was a BUSY day at the dog park, and there was LOTS of distractions and situations that we were able to use and learn from! At the beginning of the session it was hard to get Saol's attention, even if we had treats (Yummy hot dogs), and were jumping up and down like crazy people. lol. The world's an exciting place you know!! ;) So we stepped up our game, and not only were we über exciting!!! But we did tons of obstacles WITH Saol to grasp his mind. Our little trick worked ;) and it didn't take long until Saol was wondering what we were going to do next. Wheew!!! I think we are going to need a nap after all of this agility stuff! 

We noticed right from the beginning of the class that Saol's manners had improved immensely with other dogs. It just took a calm "leave it" to get him to stop being to 'forward' with other pooches. We think he finally get's it ;) yay! He was even sweet as pie with the small ones.

This handsome man is so smart! He reminds us of an old soul. Saol is quite particular about what makes him tick.. but we think he really really likes this stuff that 'grasps his mind'. Once he get's it, it seems to work even better then treats, toys or sticks... although those are good things to mix it up. 

We can't wait until next week!! For more adventures of Saol!

Check out his video progress below.

(A very BIG thank you to Greg with Stella, Carmin with Cabella and Bandit and Jasper for their puppy support)

Session 3 of 3

Thursday, August. 21st 2014

Oh what a character sweet Saol is... so calm, cool and collected... it's been fun figuring out what makes this man tick!! At first we tried food, then toys, then sticks, then obstacles (we know he loves those...but that wasn't quite it).. and FINALLY we figured out all it takes is a good old fashion bum scratch and a few kisses. Saol is a ladies' man for sure ;) Just look at that face below. lol 

Today was a fun day at the park with lots of distractions (ie. people, dogs and thousands of grasshoppers), which gave us tons of opportunities to work on manners with other dogs ....which I must say... has come ten fold in 3 short weeks (no more humping or excessive licking), recalls out of exciting situations, leaving awesome smells behind when called, and learning to stay in commands even though there is fun stuff going on around him. We are so proud of this progress thus far.

It's going to be really important that Saol's mommy keeps this man's mind challenged, so he doesn't find ways himself. Saol is a methodical man.. you can literally watch him thinking. He may be to smart for his own good. he he. He knows when we can get away with things, and will push the boundaries... just like all those loving teenagers out there. ;)

We know Saol's mommy will do a great job, as they are a wonderful team!!! We can't wait to watch them grow together.

Check out his video progress below.

Good Vs. Evil = Prim and Proper Vs. Goofy and Fun

(A very BIG thank you to Chloe and Erik with Toby and Juniper, and Kona and Yoko for their puppy support)