Swifter – 13 Week Journey

Training Begins: December 27th, 2024 | Training Ends: March 30th, 2025

Behaviors Swifter will learn or begin learning during his stay here:

BEHAVIOR	7 Weeks In Training
Sit	Swifter is a hesitant “sitter”. He doesn’t often auto sit like his friends do, he has to be asked, sometimes a few times. I attribute this to the fact that his tail is always wagging and he has “ants in his pants”! He definitely doesn’t like to “sit” still, but he does know this cue well and will do it when asked. I have him sit to be let of his crate, playpen, and doors. I also have him sit for treats, for his meals, and for attention. Some auto sits are sprinkled throughout the day, so I think as training continues he will start offering this behavior without needing to be asked.
Down	Swifter does a great “down” cue with a visual point to the ground, and is doing a verbal “down” about 70% of the time without needing a visual reminder. We are working on duration, as he likes to pop back up quickly.
Name Recognition	Swifter is incredibly responsive to his name!
Touch	Touches nose to hand reliably as long as I know he has his focus on me.
Recalls	Swifter is an amazing boy with recalls! I fully trust him off leash on our 10 acre property, he responds nearly instantly.
Go Into Crate	Swifter is doing a fabulous job with his crate! Every time he comes in from going out to potty he assumes it must be nap time and runs right to his crate and stands in it waiting for a treat. Of course, it’s not always nap time so sometimes he gets disappointed when he gets nothing but a laugh from me. He sleeps all the way through the night and doesn’t make a peep. The only time he whines in his crate is if he sees me doing things around the house, since he never wants to be left out of anything!
Leash Walking	Swifter does great on and off leash heeling for short distances. Our main focus is continuing to teach him how to walk nicely on a leash with heavy reinforcements for his good behaviors, and increasing the duration of his heeling. Once he is fully vaccinated we will be walking in more distracting environments (stores) where he will get a lot of leash work.
Place	Swifter really enjoys his “cot” place and often situates himself on it with chews and toys. He eagerly will run to it when we start a training session. We are still working on his “stay” — puppies who have a hard time sitting still are the hardest ones to teach stay, so this is an area he definitely struggles with.
Stay	Swifter is able to “stay” while I take several steps away now. He is a little behind on this, I usually can walk around a room at this stage but Swifter’s personality leads to a little slower progression with this. He is still gradually improving and doing a great job! He does “stay” at doorways very well.
Drop It	Swifter isn’t a big tugger, but is doing a good job dropping any and everything when presented with a treat. We are still working on the verabl for “drop it” to be more concise and immediate.
Leave It	Swifter is a major foodie, and therefore gets a little “wound up” around food. This has made “leave it” a bit harder for him. We are working a lot on his impulse control and him not being so grabby with food. He will leave more boring treats pretty well, so as time continues I will keep using better and better treats for this.
Wait	Swifter does a very good “wait” once I can get him to sit and focus!
Potty Training	Swifter has been doing a very good job with potty training. If he ever had an accident, I can’t remember it! He does a good job on his potty schedule (about every 45 minutes when up and active, and every 1-2 hours when he is awake but relaxing). He is still not showing any strong signals, though he will go over to the door when he wants outside and has even pawed at it a few times. Swifter has done well in a variety of environments not going potty indoors. He goes potty very quickly once he gets outside and responds well to the cue “go potty”.

Swifter’s Midway Update

Swifter is the party boy of the group! He’s always happy, always cracking jokes (at least I think he is based on the other puppies laughing — or I guess I should say barking — at him), and always bringing energy to the room. Swifter absolutely loves his outdoor time to burn off energy and zooms over and under everything the outside world has to offer. Because of his impeccable recalls, he’s given quite a bit of freedom on our property to get his energy out. He also really loves the flirt pole which is a huge help in burning some of his energy. Usually two 30 minute sessions outdoors at a minimum are enough to keep him more calm indoors.

Swifter, while very outgoing and friendly, does take a minute or two to warm up to new places and dogs, though seems to warm up to new people nearly instantly. Even at the vet office he’s a bundle of love and excitement as he greets the vet staff, and he’s always the one at the front of the stroller greeting everyone on outings!

With all of his energy, Swifter has a hard time settling down sometimes. He LOVES his crate and is quick to settle in his crate, but when I have tried letting him wind down without the crate he will pace and whine because he’s not sure what to do without his crate. As soon as I put him in his crate he eats his treat and goes right to sleep (unless he can see me moving around, then he will whine). Swifter is a vocal puppy in a lot of ways — barks when playing, whines when he’s tired or wants something — but is also silent as can be when crated, sleeping overnight, and when he has free roam access. He mostly only whines when in the playpen when he’s tired and wants to go to bed, so that’s something to keep in mind as an indicator that it’s time for one last potty break and then a crate nap.

Swifter’s potty training is going so well, I believe he won’t even need a playpen soon. He gets too excited about my dogs outside of the playpen and won’t give them peace (he is easily overstimulated by other dogs) which is the only reason I’m still utilizing the playpen with him at this point. As long as he has gotten exercise/mental stimulation, he hasn’t been destructive around the house and is good about playing with his own toys and leaving rugs and furniture alone. When he does get into something he shouldn’t, he redirects very easily.

Swifter is a very smart boy who picks up cues quickly. He loves his training sessions and gets so, so excited for them! Again, his biggest challenge is learning how to sit still. He’s a wiggle-butt about everything which is very cute, but makes some things a little challenging (like stay and down). I anticipate as he matures he will continue to learn to slow down a little; until then we are continuing to work on these skills and I am seeing gradual improvement. He loves car rides and has been given access to sit in the back seat outside of a crate and has done an amazing job with that. He enjoys watching out the window and is quiet as can be.

Swifter loves people and can get a little over excited around guests. He nips in excitement (he really loves biting at hair) and really benefits from being on a leash when guests come over so they can step away from him when he’s being rude. Keeping toys on hand to redirect the nipping will be important as he continues to go through teething. He does stop biting when an “Ow! Be Gentle.” Is used. Ignoring him when he is wound up and being rude (he’s not a big jumper, it’s the nipping that is the problem) and only giving him attention when he is being nice and gentle has come a long way in lessening these behaviors. What I, or guests, do is just approach him, as soon as he starts nipping or jumping, back away until he settles down and return to him again. He will continue to learn from this that nipping and/or jumping will make people leave, while being gentle will make them stay and give him attention. This is his “party boy” attitude coming out in an undesirable way, but with consistency this behavior will extinguish as he matures. It really is a very positive trait that he loves everyone and everything so much! Funnily enough, often when first meeting people or first going to a new environment Swifter acts shy, but just give him a few minutes and he warms up and is ready to party!

In short: Swifter suffers from “party boy” syndrome and the major wiggles and has a hard time sitting still and being calm – but he is the sweetest, happiest, smartest little guy! With time and patience, Swifter will continue to practice behaviors we appreciate and the ones we don’t appreciate (the over exuberance) will begin to fade as he matures.