Thursday, June 19, 2008

Puppy Evaluation

The puppy evaluation is done ! How did they do? Overall, our trainer was very impressed with these little guys. Although the specifics of the test will be given to each owner (you wouldn’t want your tests scores all over the world…), the results validated what I have been seeing here. The purpose of the assessment is to let owners know natural tendencies of the pup. Can outside factors influence the pup’s reactions to the stimuli? Yes. The pups were away from home (20 minute car ride), there was a small group of observers, the test was done by a stranger (to them), and Martha was not present.

All the pups had no reaction to touch sensitivity (indicates type of training equipment required). Does this mean a cattle prod should be included in our training bags? I think it means that these are poodles have been groomed since they were but a week old and don’t mind getting shaved. The other scores were all within normal ranges. The pup that did not perform “the best” was my little Piper. Am I concerned? Quite the contrary. Piper made it quite clear that she is dominant…this was no surprise to me. In fact, I am happy to know up front so I can tailor my training to meet her needs. Watching Piper reminded me of my Hope…a princess with an attitude! My job as a trainer/owner was to get her to accept that I can be trusted to be in charge. I had to be consistent. Working with Piper will be a reminiscent joy.

I thank all our friends (family is a better assessment) who helped us with our puppies.

Margie

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