Training Treacle (4)

Treacle is now free to enter to big wide world, all her vaccinations have taken and now she can mix with the big boys. She really enjoyed her first proper walks as she has boundless energy and was getting bored being restricted to her house and garden. We are very lucky with our location as we have a huge choice of dog walking areas nearby, army training ground, nature reserves, Forestry commission and the Basingstoke Canal (that doesn’t go to Basingstoke). It is very important at this early stage to get the balance right so that a puppy gets enough exercise to build muscle and stamina without being exhausted. The more experiences that they can be exposed to the better. Treacle accepts Steve and Caroline as the Alpha pair in her pack and so as they act as calm, consistent and convincing leaders, in times of perceived danger, which could be any new experience that Treacle encounters, if the leaders are not concerned then neither will Treacle be.

Her new experiences this week have been many. She has had walks through army training areas which she thoroughly enjoyed as it has a variety of terrains. Treacle has been able to hide in long grass, bounce through the heather and dig in the sand. We knew that she was truly a Labrador when she discovered the joy of a muddy puddle! At one point when the gang had stopped to play I went on ahead and hid several yards off of the path and stayed silent. When the walk resumed and Treacle approached my location she indicated my presence with no prompting from the humans in the group at all. The nose works.

Amongst her other new experiences Treacle had a trip to the pedestrian precinct doing a bit of window shopping. Again all experiences can be capitalised on. She encountered crowds, babies in pushchairs, older children and of course traffic going there and back. She also attended a barbecue at her house and although she behaved very well amongst the guests she didn’t bring a bottle.

Her training can really start now but will proceed at her pace so that there is no stress. Most elements of training can be gently introduced at this stage with the exception of agility as a puppies bones are still soft.