Zala with impeccible eye contact
Look at those legs!
Waiting patiently
Oken (with still a patch to shed)
"down stay"
Handsome boyIn addition to Canicross Hikes this season, two of the Tuloon/Bazil puppies, Oken and Zala, have been attending obedience class. Zodiak and Journey are next.
I still can't get over the fact that my "Group 4" puppy, Zala, has been doing amazing well in harness and at obedience class and is the most attentive of the pups. If you recall, the little peanut tested the absolute worst possible in her 49 day/7 week puppy leader test. According to Mel Fishback, a Group 4 puppy will never be a useful sled dog and (paraphrasing) may as well just pack it up and find another career. Granted, since the test she has had special training and attention to combat those troubling findings so we aren't quite certain if that is what it took or she had a bad day while being tested or just what could have happened to turn things around for her. Whatever it is, we are delighted!
Oken is so much like his uncle Klaus. Even though he is a completely different color, he has the same build, same head, eye set, ear set and personality. And like Klaus when he was younger, he needs a bit of confidence building. He tends to lag behind during the heeling exercises, concerned about getting in front of me. He's a sensitive boy and doesn't like the mild corrections given with the training collar so more verbal corrections and praise are being given. Canicross Hiking seems to have built up his confidence by leaps and bounds(literally) as he has no problem being in front and keeping the line tight.
It is with great joy that I watch these pups progress in their training and in their growth. They will be 10 months old very soon. I wonder if those legs have stopped growing!
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