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.

In these tenth and eleventh weeks of life, our Zooka is meeting and playing with new dogs, is getting out on field trip, playing in a kiddie pool and trying many new obstacles.

Notes from weeks 10-11:

• Training is underway
  • primarily for meals
  • some other session mixed in with treats
  • mostly Eye Contact & Sit
  • starting Heel intro
  • Wait/Go with food bowl
  • also Kennel Up/Crate training
• Met new dogs
  • dogs boarding with us who are dog-friendly
    • through gates/fences first
    • once comfortable, can meet only those we are very confident are good with small puppies
    • some dogs we only interact with through the fence for safety at this stage
  • dogs out on field trips
    • only from a distance
    • we watch but do not interact with directly
  • play date with adult dog who is great with puppies
• Kiddie pool is set up
  • water is very shallow – only a couple of inches deep
  • only supervised play allowed
  • if pup is shy, can reward interaction with treats
  • Zooka is very comfortable since he had water exposure several times with the breeder already
• Housetraining is still a work in progress
  • one accident at night, moved off his bed and peed/pooped at other end of ex-pen from his bed
  • couple of accidents during the day on the tarp
  • clean up thoroughly so no smell left to draw him back there
  • if caught, interrupted and taken outside to finish
• Field trip
  • Local park, pretty quiet, not a lot of people/activity
  • Chance to explore without too much commotion
  • Training for loose leash walking
  • Click/reward for checking in with me
  • Click/reward for watching others without trying to go to them or interact
• Exposure to obstacles
  • tunnel
  • platforms
  • kiddie piano
  • agility jump (set low so it can be stepped over not jumped over)
  • sledding saucer (plastic, slippery)
  • skateboard
  • other various props
  • Click/reward for interaction with these things
  • Ok to check out and not climb on/over
  • If afraid, click for moving toward even if not yet interacting
  • Zooka had no problem with any of the items – a confident guy!
• Diet and Food
  • Three meals per day, feeding 27-ounces of our raw dog food per day, not including treats
  • Meals times = training sessions
  • Layered on the entire variety of foods that we want in his diet
  • Wait to give raw meaty bones to chew on until he gets a little older

This video is introduction to another dog parkour obstacle on our farm and how we do it in a way that is encouraging and fun for Zooka so it becomes a positive experience that we can build upon.

This video includes slow motion clips of Zooka playing with Theo and a recall exercise on the farm.