17 Weeks - 4 Months

Waiting by the back door

17 weeks 26.6 lbs

I dare say the house training is complete?  A dog that constantly has their nose to the ground, makes deciphering between the desire to pee and tracking a trail somewhat tricky.  We've only been accident free about three weeks.   It's much easier to manage my other responsibilities without the need to run outside every half hour...just in case. That's 36 times a day! The back door bell has improved our canine communication, in fact it's been a Godsend. Well, except that she's decided to use it for any reason to access the yard, including her daily worm dig.

Yep.  As it turns out the damage that I thought was due to a pesky grub seeking skunk was actually the dog.  Oops! It probably started in the wee hours when I was too visually compromised to notice. There are tiny holes about the size of an egg, scattered about. Clover unearths annelids regularly. I swear it's one of the strangest things I've ever witnessed. Let's face it,  I can accept the grass will not see it's historical lush golf green, but geez, is she a Vizsla or red breasted robin?  And of course the devastation is glorified by the devouring such creatures with a spaghetti-noodle-like slurp. Eeewww.  

The result of retrieving earthworms from the lawn

Clover's obedience work continues.  This is the developmental stage where we discover her actively questioning authority.   Fortunately we are as stubborn as she, and we'll see it through.  It's interesting to compare notes with other owners who may be less concerned with more than a few puppy classes.  I imagine to them, we must seem a bit over the top with the training.  Ok, perhaps more than a bit.

I remember growing up with an Irish Setter that would melt your heart with his gentle temperament, but realistically he had the manners of a bull in a china shop.  There was no walking, it was more like a dragging.  He was a food bandit, an ambitious door greeter, a six foot fence hopper and generally speaking, couldn't keep his paws or tongue off anything.  Like our V, that dog had more pep than an eight cylinder engine,  and, as my parents confess, for eleven of those sixteen years he never slowed down.  In hindsight he needed a job.  

That is why I put a ton of effort into this spongy puppy brain. I figure I owe it to our sanity, our active social life and Clover's enjoyment, to provide a work outlet for which she was bred to do. Apart from the opportune moments, each of us take turns 3 times a day for 10 minutes.  This project has not only created family cooperation but canine leadership.

At this point our clever girl knows the basics of "sit", "down", "wait" (stay), "let's go/heel", "kennel up"  (crates herself), "off", "leave it", "drop it", "out", "OK"(release word).  I continue to reinforce "come" which seems to be the most arbitrary command.  I don't use a clicker because honestly, I'd probably lose it and I can't take the stress of keeping track of such items.  I use the marker word "Yes".  As for tricks, there's crawl, rollover, sit pretty (beg), sleep, on your bed, find it (tracking items), and fetch it.  I feel we are making excellent pace and I look forward to some exciting bird work in the near future.  

Waiting to open the patio

Yet another little one with a passion for socks!  No sock is safe unless of course its on your foot.  I am hopeful this mishap curbs the random hosiery that finds their way beneath my furniture, but considering the testosterone level in the house, I have my doubts.

My boy at one year, loving laundry day for the socks

The first sock casualty