# Daily Enrichment Log for Amaretto



## marshies (May 18, 2011)

I've been reading tons and tons how mental exercise can enrich a dog's life, help develop a puppy, and most importantly, TIRE this little devil out.  I wanted to start this daily log so that I can keep track of what I've done each day to make Amaretto's life just a bit more exciting. I also hope to receive some feedback and have good discussions about what else you've done, and what else I can do. 

January 26th: ( bad day. She was grumpy and bitey so we couldn't do much. 

-Did heeling (2-3 Meters), down, sit, touch, wait training for about 20 minutes throughout the day
-Introduced card board box to try and shape "in the box"

January 27th: GREAT day! Though she was still a bit bitey, we got alot done today!!

- Did 5 minutes of heeling, down, sit, and touch at the park
- Was originally going to shape "in the box", but she had fun tearing it apart 
- Hid 1 cup of kibble under plastic basin, cardboard box, and all over the stair for Amaretto to track and eat
- Went to a new park to do some sniffing. There was a HUGE dog park there, but we didn't go in, only barked at dogs from afar.  
- Ate dinner kibble (1 cup) out of a treat-ball


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## robinhuerta (Apr 21, 2007)

Shoot....SHE had a more productive day than I did! LOL!
Good job done!


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## marshies (May 18, 2011)

LOL Robin, I PRAY to ANY kind of god out there for the day that she is LESS productive. I am sore every time I try to get up from any type of resting position from all the walking and playing that we do.  

Yet somehow, with these 2 hours of walks a day, I am STILL not losing weight. HUM.


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## marshies (May 18, 2011)

January 28: good day!

Went to the local park with a ginormous dog park. Didn't go into the dog park but worked on socialization outside the fence. Look and don't bark? Treat. Look and bark? Get walked away. 

Taught her "shake" 

5 minute training session for basics

Tried to teach "find it" to no avail

Ate lunch from a treat ball. 

Ate dinner half scattered in the floor, half in training, and half in a king. 

Feel like I need to find more ways to to challenge her


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## marshies (May 18, 2011)

January 29th: good day!!

The night is still young, but today was great fun day for both of us.

Reinforced "shake", and when I moved it higher, she moved with me and turned it into a high 5! She won't offer it at the higher position unless I put my palms there first, so guess we'll be working on that tomorrow.

Taught "perch". It's not cued up yet, but she got it very quickly!

Taught the beginnings of "fetch". We're literally talking retrieving for 1 meter...but hey, at least the toy is FINALLY coming back to me!

Ate 1 cup out of treat ball 

These few activities took an hour. So I guess we could count 1 hour of brain work. 

Did 5 minutes of heeling intermittently on our walk

1 hour walk this morning included some sessions of learning to stare and not bark at dogs outside the dog park. 

I REALLY enjoy teaching her tricks. I DON'T enjoy trying to correct her behavioral problems. But hey, I guess I get the complete package.


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## Miss Molly May (Feb 19, 2010)

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup: your doing awesome!!! sounds like Amaretto is a quick learner!


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## jhoop371 (Dec 28, 2011)

Keep up the good work Marshies!


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## marshies (May 18, 2011)

Thanks for the encouragement guys! I need more suggestions of fun things that I could teach her to do. Please toss your brilliant ideas this way!!!


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

You can teach hand signals for commands.

Sinister knows sit, lay down and speak with hand signals. 

How are you teaching "find it"?

Do you have a Tug-A-Jug?


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## stealthq (May 1, 2011)

How about beg/sit up? Supposedly helps teach a dog to sit square.

Place is a good one, and useful, too.


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## marshies (May 18, 2011)

LaRen616 said:


> You can teach hand signals for commands.
> 
> Sinister knows sit, lay down and speak with hand signals.
> 
> ...


Will look into this!



stealthq said:


> How about beg/sit up? Supposedly helps teach a dog to sit square.
> 
> Place is a good one, and useful, too.


I think I'll try beg tonight!

Thanks guys!


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## marshies (May 18, 2011)

January 30th: Good day!

Had class today. Learned touch with a target (paper beer coaster). Learned off to treats on the floor. Practiced restrained recall. Practiced Heeling. This was 1 hour at night, so it was a great mental workout for pupper. I've done all of the stuff we learned today at home already, but seeing other dogs up close is worth the tuition.

Got a Nina Ottoson Brick and fed pupper's 1 cup of dinner in the brick. Thinking of returning the brick. It's medium difficulty, but actually not challenging at all. It was taught to her in less than 5 minutes, and she can solve it very very easily right now. I guess she is still sniffing for her food...but is sniffing worth almost $60??  I'm on the constant hunt for puzzle toys, and honestly, after the HUGE raves everywhere for this toy, I'm slightly disappointing at its LACK of challenge. 

Fed lunch in treat ball.

Practiced heeling and perching for about 5 minutes.


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## bianca (Mar 28, 2010)

Just a cheapie idea, kibble in an empty plastic soft drink bottle (lid off!).


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## marshies (May 18, 2011)

Bianca, yesterday at the park, I forgot to bring toys for her. Remembering your post, I gave her my water bottle. SHE LOVED IT. Thanks!

Feb 1:

After our spur of teaching, we're hitting another lull. She wasn't very engaged in training today, so I quickly wrapped it up and only did some heeling, sitting, and downs on our walk.

Fed 1 cup in treat ball
Fed half cup scattered for scenting
Fed half cup in Nina Ottoson Dog brick
Fed half cup mixed with plain yogurt frozen in a kong

Practiced "touch" with nose and with paw

Tried teaching "crossing front paws" with targeting but I think her paws are too short for this trick. The most I can get her to reach over right now is one paw directly on top of the other. Will keep trying.

Did a bit a perch. After getting her perched on an object, what exercises do you work on?

Tried teaching "back up", but when I lean into her, Amaretto's default behavior is sit. Will try to capture her backing up naturally instead.

Practiced "table" with large slabs of rocks and lower benches out during our walk. She now happily gets on the platform, so I think my next step is to make her go into a down to take the treat from me so that down becomes the default behaviour on platforms.


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## robinhuerta (Apr 21, 2007)

Marshies...be careful *not* to do *too much* with her everyday....she IS a puppy, and training should always remain fun and rewarding. She should always finish on a "good note" and wanting more....never finish with her mentally or physically exhausted. Training should be done in small increments (time frames).....
*Sometimes we (owners) ask & expect too much, from young puppies.....


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## squeak (Nov 27, 2010)

I love reading about your puppers day! I'm filing all this away for when I get a pup of my own so thanks for sharing.


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## NancyJ (Jun 15, 2003)

The main thing I did (and I don't know how old she is) was do an intro to something new almost every day. Not a long one but things like farm animals, construction equipment, traffic, parks, etc etc Not a bunch of training. Also the offlead walks.


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## Hillary_Plog (Apr 3, 2011)

robinhuerta said:


> Marshies...be careful *not* to do *too much* with her everyday....she IS a puppy, and training should always remain fun and rewarding. She should always finish on a "good note" and wanting more....never finish with her mentally or physically exhausted. Training should be done in small increments (time frames).....
> *Sometimes we (owners) ask & expect too much, from young puppies.....


Hi Marshies...I agree with Robin...I really don't do a lot of formal obedience with my puppies until they are around 10 months old.

My main goal is exposure to anything and everything, manners and foundation work for obedience....once those things are in place, the rest comes quite quickly once they are a bit more mature. 

It sounds like you are doing a fantastic job!


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## marshies (May 18, 2011)

robinhuerta said:


> Marshies...be careful *not* to do *too much* with her everyday....she IS a puppy, and training should always remain fun and rewarding. She should always finish on a "good note" and wanting more....never finish with her mentally or physically exhausted. Training should be done in small increments (time frames).....
> *Sometimes we (owners) ask & expect too much, from young puppies.....


Hi Robin,

Thanks for the reminder. I'll remember to end with her wanting more. 
That's something I havne't been very good at because I'm desperate to wear her out every day so I can do homework. Teaching is done in short bursts mixed with "food finding" games and chewing. Reinforcement of "tricks" we already know is generally done on walks very far and few in between.

My main goal in doing training with her is just so she doesn't feel bored. I don't really have a goal in mind, but I do want to make sure she's living a happy and fulfilling life.



jocoyn said:


> The main thing I did (and I don't know how old she is) was do an intro to something new almost every day. Not a long one but things like farm animals, construction equipment, traffic, parks, etc etc Not a bunch of training. Also the offlead walks.


That's a good suggestion! Offlead walks aren't possible because I live in the heart of the city and don't have a car, but I do try to walk to a different place each day. Yesterday we went to the university campus for a second time!



squeak said:


> I love reading about your puppers day! I'm filing all this away for when I get a pup of my own so thanks for sharing.


Goodluck on your search!



Hillary_Plog said:


> Hi Marshies...I agree with Robin...I really don't do a lot of formal obedience with my puppies until they are around 10 months old.
> 
> My main goal is exposure to anything and everything, manners and foundation work for obedience....once those things are in place, the rest comes quite quickly once they are a bit more mature.
> 
> It sounds like you are doing a fantastic job!


Hi Hillary,

Thanks for the tip! I really want to give her more socialization experiences too, so each morning and evening we do a 1 hour walk in the heart of the city. I'm just doing a few tricks training to develop our bond and work her little brain out just a bit more. I need a bit more time to do my homework, and having her hunt for kibble, or happily chewing on a stick because her brain is "tired" helps me stay sane and caught up at school.:blush:


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## puppyluv (Nov 15, 2011)

I think I know what you mean about trying to stimulate/occupy your puppy & having time to study. I try to do the same for Strider (5 months old). I feel sorry for him when he looks bored & seems mopey! I've got young kids that I homeschool so trying to keep everyone stimulated & attended to can be a challenge! Have you figured out how to teach "find it" yet? I learned an easy/quick way via one of the many (too many??!!) Books I've been reading. Let me know if you want me to share how with you.


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## marshies (May 18, 2011)

Hi puppluv, 

YES PLEASE SHARE! Thank you so much. I feel bad when she's mopey-looking too. But I have to remember if she just LOOKS sad and is laying still, it's probably because she's tired and ready to nap. When she's bored and sitll has energy, she destroys things, like the tarp on the floor.


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## marshies (May 18, 2011)

In light of everyone's recommendations, I've been holding off on training the last couple of days. Only reinforcing some basics like sit, down, and a very loose heel as we play ball for maybe 2-3 times.

Instead, we did some more socializing. 

February 3rd:

Amaretto's first time seeing the lake. SHE LOVES the lake. In the beginning, she was eager to approach, but ran away each time the waves lapped on the shore. But she bounced right back and was investigating. Within minutes she had her 4 paws in the water. I had to DRAG her out of the water because February in Lake Ontario is no place for a dog.

We had a birthday party at my apartment for one of my housemates, and had 7 people come over. Pupper was SO excited to see them all, and that was a good socialization opportunity too.

On another note, Amaretto is an ALCOHOLIC! I had a can of beer in my hand, and she was BENT on sniffing and licking it. When I put it a bit further away from her and turned my head for just a minute, she grabbed the can and made a dash for it, holding it the RIGHT way up so it didn't spill. Of course, as skilled as I was, I spilled it the second I grabbed it from her. She was furiously trying to lick what was left of the beer spill from the floor.  










February 4th:

Day is still young, but walked by a field with LOTS of screaming university students.


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## robinhuerta (Apr 21, 2007)

Of course she like liquor.....what do you expect with names like: Cuervo, Tequila, Tecate, Vodka, XX-Dos Equis, Corona, Cristal, Amaretto, Anisette, Absolut, Uzo......Whiskey too....
:hammer:


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## marshies (May 18, 2011)

Robin, I had no idea genetics made such a big impact on her alcoholic tendencies.


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## puppyluv (Nov 15, 2011)

Sorry it's taken me so long to respond! I read about this method for "find it" in a book by Dr. Mary Belle Brazil-Adelman. It is a part of her foundation training method called "Optimum Placement Technique (OPT)" and it is called "Find it-Here". You basically show a piece of food to the puppy then toss it out on the floor and say "find it". As soon as he eats it call "here" and treat him when he comes back to you. Gradually increase the distance. Once he is reliable you can use a name of a person or an object to find. Strider knows how to find my kids pretty relliably by name now! I'm just starting to teach him to find my keys. Let me know how it works for you!


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