This post is part of our weekly series on raising our Vizsla puppy, Zooka.  You can use our posts as a guide to help raise your own puppy, regardless of breed. Keep in mind that different breeds might develop at different rates, so while you can do these things with any breed, your breed might need certain things at slightly different stages or ages.  Click here to see our list of all updates.

Notes from week 14:

• Continue with housetraining – no accidents this week!
• Continue training for meals
  • Still working on everything from prior weeks
  • Continue with Shaping/Capturing
    • without objects – reward offered behaviors, such as Sit, Down, using Paw, Backing up, etc.
    • with objects – some of the same objects plus some new ones
• Play dates
  • Play at end of Puppy Class with the other puppies
  • Play date during the week with a friend from Puppy Class
  • Play date with a friend at their house
    • first time in the suburbs!
    • adult elderly Mastiff who loves puppies
      • Zooka got her acting like a puppy too!
    • adult German Shepherd who was younger and had more energy
      • trying to get Zooka to learn how to play with another dog and with toys at the same time
      • practice hanging out with both dogs without playing constantly
  • Play with a boarding dog, an adult Goldendoodle
    • this dog is very tolerant and puts up with a lot of obnoxious puppy stuff!
    • Zooka prefers to wrestle, so he will wrestle
    • also kept trying to teach Zooka how to play Chase and Keep Away
  • Play date with another dog at our place in the back yard
    • adult female mixed breed who loves puppies
    • variety of play including wrestling, running, trying to lie in the same dirt hole, and hopping in the kiddie pool
  • Play date at a friend's house in the back yard
    • two Boxers and a Boston Terrier ranging from 1 to 12 years old
    • two older dogs were tolerant but told Zooka when they didn't like what he was doing
    • younger dog played Chase, Keep Away, Dig a hole, Lie in a hole together!
• Field trips
  • Play dates (as mentioned above) two times at friends' houses
  • Local park with playground, other dogs, pond, people, kids
    • got to greet three of his dog friends we saw there
    • got to greet a young child
    • got to watch most other things from a safe distance
    • got to walk around the pond but not go in it – much as he wanted to!
• Walks
  • Continue with walks on our property
  • Using ten foot line
  • Continue to work on name, recalls and check ins as well as loose leash walking
• Nail trims/grooming
  • Continue to work on cooperation with nail trims

Videos

Zooka's play date with Stella, who is around 2-3 years old. Zooka has some great play behaviors and play invitations. You can also see some obnoxious puppy behaviors. Stella is very patient and tolerant – as an appropriate adult should be with such a young pup. (But many are not!) If Zooka is being too much, Stella deflects and only escalates if she needs to. Even her “corrections” are very gentle. All puppies should have such a lovely adult dog to teach them some great social skills. Thanks, Stella!

Here Zooka is working on door wait, learning obstacles, checking in during walks, a rainbow and stalking

Images