Troop Meeting

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Today Dazzle attended the troop meeting for the Dog Scout troop. We had 15 people and 20 dogs! I took my video camera to capture Dazzle having fun with his troop buddies, but when I went to film, I found out my camera's battery was dead! Most of the time was spent letting the dogs have some off-leash play time (Dazzle's favorite part)! He found several people to toss or kick or tug on a ball for him and a few dogs that didn't mind him shoving a ball into them or shoving them with his body. :-)
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We also set-up an Easter Egg hunt for the dogs which they really loved!
We hid the eggs (filled with dog treats of course- with holes in each end so the dog's could smell them) using whatever we could find around the training center: over turned chairs, plastic cones and cups, jumps, tunnels, etc. Each of the dogs got at least 2 turns to go in to sniff out some eggs. We only had 3 or 4 dogs at a time in the hunt area and they were on-leash so there were no conflicts with resource guarding. Some of the dogs even learned to bite the eggs to pop them open! I didn't let Dazzle do it only because it is the same room where we have to compete this coming weekend and I didn't want his nose to be on the floor (or his brain to be thinking about where the treats are hidden in the room.) He can do it next year and he'll get to play the very similar "scent game" up at camp this summer.
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I had Dazzle stay in the play room while I helped set-up the hunt area. At first he was willing to stay in there and play with the other dogs, but then he realized that if he put his feet up on the gate, he could see me. At one point, he scrambled over the 3.5' gate! He didn't so much jump it, as climb it, but he did it from a stand still (pulled himself over with his front legs) and I was walking toward him so he just about ended up in my arms. Thankfully, even if he gets loose he only runs straight to me to play. So I let him out in the big room (outside the ring gates) for part of the time too. Thankfully he didn't jump those!
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His training sessions at meals are going well. We have been working on a dumbell retrieve for obedience, resting his head on the floor during a down (for long stays) and a trick he decided to make-up himself- crawling backwards. He's pretty good at it and very fast! I'll have to get it on video. I just need to be sure it's only rewarded when cued so he doesn't try to toss it in where it's not appreciated (like the obedience ring!) :-) I think it will be a cute move for freestyle if he's willing to do it on a hard floor. I also got him to crawl forward, but he's not as fast and often just stands up and walks forward instead.
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When I measured him on Thursday, he hadn't added any height for 2 weeks. I think the big growth spurts are over now that he's 8.5 months old so I might just switch to measuring once a month or so.
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Happy Easter to all!