Cadence Turns Two

It is hard to believe that two years ago today, I got the e-mail I had been excitedly awaiting, announcing the birth of the litter that would include my next little boy.  A few hours later, I received the first photos of the seven newborn pups.  There were three boys.  Male #1 was a cute split-face, Male #3 was a very traditional black and white, but I fell immediately for Male #2.  He had rather traditional markings with a lot of white – a full blaze and wide collar – which I liked.  But I fell for him because of his spots.  He had a little black spot on the top of his head, and a little white spot between his shoulder blades.  I thought he was adorable. 

The weeks passed, and I was thrilled to receive regular photos and videos of the litter as they grew.  I loved watching them all, but my eye always went to the little spotted guy.  I just knew he was mine.  When the breeder began to assign names to them, she somehow never came up with the right one for him, and so he became “No Name.”  I actually appreciated this fact because I knew his name.  He was Cadence. 

Seven weeks passed and it was finally the day to make the trip to pick up my boy.  I had second pick of the males, and knew that the first person had already selected the split-face, so I got to choose between little No Name and the traditional male.  I pretended that I was going to keep an open mind and choose after observing them both, but I knew that my mind had been made up.  No Name looked very promising to have good structure, with nice front and rear angulation and a crazy long neck.  And, more importantly, I knew where my heart was, after all.

I talked my dad into making the drive to Canada with me, and in a few hours I was sitting on the breeder’s kitchen floor, with seven tiny black-and-white balls of fur scrambling happily around me.  Eventually, I was asked what my decision was, although she knew already there wasn’t actually any question.  I would be taking home No Name, now Rival’s Drum Roll, Please, aka Cadence.

In two years, we have already had a blast together.  Cadence has accompanied us on many road trips, including to CPE Nationals in Massachusetts and Florida, where we were competing with our older dogs.  As a ten-week old puppy, he visited Niagara Falls, sat by the ocean in Maine, and enjoyed attention from park staff at Acadia National Park.  Last year, we hiked together at Mammoth Caves and Great Smoky Mountains National Parks, and Sleeping Bear Dunes.  This spring we enjoyed runs along the river north of Chicago.  He’s come to Dog Scout Camp for two years, and has earned his Dog Scout  title and a number of badges.  He has also represented Dog Scouts at various pet expos, where he politely greets the public while we discuss positive dog training and responsible pet ownership.  He is a great traveler, camper, hiker and backpacker.  And since he became old enough to start running last fall, he has run 200 miles with me and is a phenomenal, tireless running buddy who motivates me on many a dark morning when I’d rather stay in bed.  He is always up for anything, and I love to go anywhere with him.

I have made it my goal to raise Cadence without using punishment and by shaping, or clicker-training, behaviors.  In the process, I have learned a ton.  Cadence and I have gone to Susan Garrett’s Puppy Camp together, to a “Get Connected” workshop with Brenda Aloff, and two ClickerExpos, where we have learned from some of the best trainers out there.  We’ve been able to challenge each other and learn and grow together, which has been an exciting process.

Is he perfect?  Of course not – what dog is?  He has his quirky moments.  At his worst, I could describe him as a mischievous little monkey with ADHD.  His attraction to motion is beyond even my other Border Collies, and he can tend to be easily distractable and easily frustrated when something is moving that he can’t chase.  He can sulk and pout like a 15-year-old girl when things don’t go his way.  In contrast to Django, who will try over and over again to get something right, if Cade fails too many times in a training session he is quite ready to go find his own entertainment.  

But what has been the result of his quirks?  I’ve become a better trainer, with better observational skills and much quicker timing.  I have had to become creative in controlling reinforcement, and knowing what will motivate him and keep his focus.  And I’ve had to become much better at “splitting” behaviors when we train, not moving forward too fast, and keeping a high rate of reinforcement while still challenging him to progress.  Many times in an early training session for a new skill, I’ve felt like we weren’t getting anywhere, but then been delighted when the next day, he’s got it down pat – he’s mastered it. 

We’re working, and I think this year he’ll be ready for prime time, and in the process, I love every minute of it.  I can’t look at him without smiling.  He is the silliest goofball of a Border Collie ever, and incredibly sweet.  He is constantly by my side, and thinks that at least one hand should be petting him at all times.  He fancies himself to be a 33-lb lap dog.  He is incredibly in tune with my moods, and always ready to cuddle if I’ve had a tiring day.  It is impossible to get mad at him.  Life is fun with him, and he makes us laugh constantly. 

So, again, is he perfect? 

 

Yes, of course he is.

 

 

Happy birthday, Noodle!

Puppy Love

Week One with new pup, Cadence, could not have been any better, and we are completely in love with the little guy. He has been such a good puppy. He sleeps through the night already – in fact on Memorial Day I awoke after having slept in an extra hour to hear him awake in his crate but contentedly gnawing on his chew toy until we woke to take him out. He doesn’t fuss at all when crated, and is happy and wagging his tail all the time. He loves to play, and will tear after us, tug on toys, and even retrieves a tennis ball already, but is also happy to be sweet and lovey and just hang out with us. He is a very cool little man.

For the first several days, we mostly focused on name recognition, getting acclimated to the new home and surroundings, accepting handling and a collar, and playing with us and learning that we are lots of fun. We made sure he met someone new every day, and had plenty of friends and neighbors stop by to pet him. By Friday, we decided to take him out in the world, and took him for a healthy puppy check-up with our regular vet. He was a real trooper, and enjoyed a visit to the neighboring pet supply store afterwards. Met lots of people there, and was very happy and friendly with everyone. His only annoyance was with his collar and leash, but he is gradually accepting that as a fact of life.

Saturday we went downtown to another pet supply store, where he met several people, including quite a few children. The children were all polite and asked to hold him, so we sat down on the floor and passed him around. It was a great experience for him to learn about kids, and he handled it all perfectly.

Sunday we walked/carried him down to the nearby canoe livery and park. By this trip, I think he was really starting to learn that excursions into the world can be fun adventures, because he was downright full of himself. We hung out at the park for a while meeting strangers, watching canoes go out, and watching geese on the river. He had his tail up and his happy grin on his face the whole time.

Over the weekend, we introduced him to the clicker, and started training “sit” and a target nose-touch to my hand. He has picked up both concepts in just a couple sessions, and is already looking to me ready to work and learn when we go out.

His first interactions with the other four dogs have gone well. He spent much of the first week in an ex-pen in the living room when the others were loose in the house, and everyone would get treated and praised whenever they were near the ex-pen. All are starting to associate good things with being in close proximity to each other. He has had supervised one-on-one sessions with the adult dogs for the last couple days, and all go smoothly. He seems to have very good social skills and body language for a pup, and Tristan especially will play quite gently and nicely with him. The others are less impressed with him as a playmate yet – still a little small to be much fun – but are tolerating him politely.

This week we will continue the socialization experiences, “sits”, and target work, and add in “down” and working on his recall. We’re also working on basic crate manners – not barging out the door when it is opened and going in voluntarily – but he is already quite good about both those things.

All in all we couldn’t have asked for a better first week with a pup, and are looking forward to all the fun to come.

Cadence

OK, so he isn’t actually red, but our newest family member is still pretty darn cute, and a great little guy.

This weekend, my dad and I made a road trip into Ontario to pick up a new addition – a 7-week old male Border Collie from Rival Kennels. With credit to our friend Jill for coming up with the registered name, we are calling him Rival’s Drum Roll, Please - “Cadence.” I have been thinking of the name Cadence for a few years, as I wanted something that conveyed balance and rhythm. Plus, it is also a cycling term, and as bicycles are my other great love, it seemed right. I think it fits this little guy very well.

Since I recently made the decision to retire Jade and since Django is at the peak of his career, I figured this summer would be a good time to add on my next performance dog. I thought a lot about what I wanted in my next dog, decided I really wanted another male Border Collie, and decided to look into a breeder that has produced some of my absolute favorite dogs that I’ve seen around here. I discovered there were puppies available from a Spur/Beren breeding, and as I learned more about those dogs and their lines, I grew very excited that this could be the pup I was looking for.

I’ve always felt that all our pets were sort of fated to be ours. I remember seeing Maebe’s litter when they were two days old, and being immediately drawn to her. Likewise, when I first saw photos of this litter, I felt drawn to “Male #2.” He had a very large white collar, a somewhat asymmetrical blaze, a cute little black spot on the top of his head, and a little tuft of white fur in the middle of his black back. Maybe it helped that he was distinctive and easy to pick out in the photos and videos, but as I watched him week by week, I kept noticing him and feeling drawn to him.

As it grew closer to selection time, I learned more about his personality and looked at photos of his structure. He was built very nicely – good shoulders, lots of rear angulation, and a nice topline. The breeder said he had a great stride length and will cover ground fast. She told me he was a cool pup, very eager to please, and had lots of drive, yet very sensitive and sweet. He sounded like a great fit for what I was looking for, but I vowed to keep an open mind when I went up to actually meet the boys.

The big day came, and I had great fun meeting the whole litter. They were all happy, friendly, wild little pups, and I sat on the breeder’s kitchen floor getting mobbed by puppy kisses. As expected, we left a couple hours later with “male #2,” and his littermate, Spy, who we were taking to Ann Arbor to be picked up a couple days later by his new owner from Indiana.

The boys did great on the car ride. We stopped at my dad’s for another hour so they could play a bit before the last leg of the trip. It was there, away from the frenzy of the litter, that I really got to see Cadence’s personality come shining through, and I fell madly in love with him instantly. He would chase me all over the yard, dive at my feet, play tug with any toy I picked up, and confidently marched around checking out his new surroundings. We had another quiet car ride back to Ann Arbor, and by the time we got home all of us were ready to drop.

We spent Sunday and Monday just playing with the two boys, and couldn’t get over what cool dogs they are. Monday afternoon, little Spy was picked up by his new mom, and while Lowell, Cadence, and I were all very sad to see him go, we have now been enjoying bonding and playing with little Cade all on his own. He is an absolute blast – always ready to play – and the sweetest little thing you could hope for.

I am so excited about my new little companion. I have been immersing myself in videos, literature, training seminars, etc. while making plans for his socialization, training, and care. I think I have been keeping Clean Run in business for the last several weeks with all the DVD purchases, and am planning on being rather strategic in how I raise and train this pup. I am determined not to give in to the desire to rush into performance training right away. I have lots of time for that, so for now we are going to focus on foundations and obedience, and developing into a healthy, happy little guy.

So, this blog will probably follow a lot of our journey together over the coming months, and will help me track my goals and our progress, as well as just being a nice journal of our time spent with him and with all our “fur family.” We are looking forward to both the challenges and all the fun ahead.