Kastle in the Field

Since we aren't doing too much at Schutzhund these days, just tracking and a small bit of obedience; I've been taking Kastle out for some strolls among the fields. Working on his recall, and his sits/downs while I take photos. He is turning out to be so handsome! I love how rich his coloring is coming in :-)

He's actually a fairly serious puppy...

His reward for being such a good, cooperative boy!

A Little Bit of This and That

Schutzhund training today involved some cooler weather, frost was everywhere. This made the tracks laid very visible. Kastle stuck to using his nose though and did very well. He's really getting the hang of being slow and rhythmic.

After he did his track we dabbled in obedience a little. I introduced him to the wall and had him go up and down it for his tug and we also started to transition from the Go Around for the cones to the Go Around for the Blinds. He is such a smart pup!

Moo!

I frequently get questions about my dogs, my photography, my training etc etc so I made these Moo cards to hand out with the pertinent information. I love how they turned out! :-)

Leads!

I ordered BlueWater webbing (super soft on your hands but really strong!), snaps from Lowes and then had them sewn on at an alterations shop. The end result are some awesome leads ranging from 20' long lines to 6" tabs. These will be used in Schutzhund, Flyball and Agility!

Three "Blinds"

Today we set up three cones to teach. Kastle did amazing!

We had a little confusion as he wanted to heel between my legs every time he rounded a cone, which will be a disaster later if I'm not careful. Overall though, he nailed the basic principal right away :-D

Here is a compilation of Kastle's training and his half-brother, Ike's, training of the cones and some obedience. Ike is such a funny, funny dog!

Impulse Control

The drive for the ball/toy has skyrocketed and so has the number of times that my hand gets nailed while we are training and Kastle overloads. Time for more strict impulse control!

He caught on right away: do not lunge and snap at ball without permission, even if it's touching my face. LOL

Around

Started to teach Kastle how to run around one traffic cone. It is the beginning to moving to 6 cones eventually which will (hopefully) transfer to the blind search next year.

Smart puppy! Took only a few repetitions and he had it nailed! So impressed with him and his smarts!

Ike & Kastle van het Basjes Huis (Kastle at 5 Months)

The brothers' latest photo shoot. They are two of the most handsome dogs ever, if I do say so myself! ;-)

Kastle and I: 5 Months

Forgot to take the photos of Kastle and I together the other day. Definitely needed to update since he is changing and growing so much now!

He was not a huge fan of being picked up still LOL

A tiny bit more settled...

Ahhh this is better!

Had to play ball as payment for the posing :-)

Tooth!

Kastle has not been feeling well. His teeth have been falling out like crazy and he's bleeding all over everything. He smells foul (like blood) and is just not feeling the greatest. I think the combo of swallowing blood, teeth and feeling not-so-well have resulted in the crabby puppy I've seen lately.

Kastle is 5 Months Old

I missed taking Kastle's 5 month photos because it has been raining here for days. Today it was finally clear enough for me to get the pics I wanted. He's gotten so big the last month! Weighs in at 35 lbs.

These are the pictures that I'm sending into the AKC for his registration.

Then some goofy ones for me :-)

Here is the comparison from last month - quite the change!

Reed's Lake

Took the Two Shorties to Reed's Lake and met Rebecca and Gus for a nice long walk. We went for an hour, about 2.8 miles.

Love these dogs <3

Flyball Demo

Kastle's nailed the jumps and the running and now we're working on box-turns. He accidentally caught Becky's hand but overall it went fairly well. He definitely doesn't lack enthusiasm...

Marathon Crowd

Jason ran a half-marathon today. I dropped him off and then Kastle and I found a parking spot and then slept in the truck until close to the time Jason thought he'd be done by. I walked Kastle into the huge crowd of people (there were 4000 racers registered!) to watch Jason cross the finish line. Then we began the long meandering trek around the gated off areas until we finally found him. Kastle was a bit of a slow-down for us: people were following us in a mob to pet the puppy. They were patting him on the head, hugging him while wearing their silver, scrunchy blankets, shouting, running around, eating...he did AWESOME. Not one growl, bark or nervous moment the entire time. He was soooo wonderful and I am so pleased :-D

LOVE this Frizzy Noggin' Head!

Papers Are Here!

Tracking and Sunshine Pics

We trained today - tracking, obedience and lots of frustration barking tied to a post while the other dogs had their turns. He's a demanding, pissed off puppy during that time LOL His track was fantastic. When it was laid, there was no one around, by the time he unloaded and was ready to go, a little kids' soccer game had started. He was a tiny bit distracted by the soccer balls whizzing around but stayed on task with a verbal reminder. VERY pleased!

 Here are some pics of him enjoying the sunshine!

F-o-c-u-s...