Neville and Albus - Training Photos, Videos and Updates

Pawsitive Notes - Tracking Neville and Albus' Milestones

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  • ​5/12 - Albus is still pretty nervous with everything, but Neville is adjusting quickly. He's super affectionate out in the run, while Albus is the classic stand off-ish cattledog. We did get them both to engage in a bit of play however and Albus even let Jen have a few quick pets at one point.
  • 5/13 - The boys are still working on settling in. Neville hasn't eaten or gone to the bathroom much, which is normal for the first few days. Albus is doing better in that arena, but still slow to warm to Mark and Jen (which is a breed trait). Today, however, Albus decided to get in on a romping game of fetch with Jen and had an absolute blast! Neville played a bit too, but for the most part just wanted pets and snuggles.
  • 5/15 - Neville and Albus got out with Mark's dogs and did well with their interactions overall. Albus is a bit of a wildcard in his responses, which we will work to increase his confidence and sense of safety to help mitigate.
  • 5/18 - The boys have gotten out with the larger pack now and have done well. Again, Albus is the wilcard. Fritz, the Bernese pup, is super interested in Albus and that is not reciprocated, so there is a bit of a disconnect there. We will continue to work this!
  • 5/19 - The boys are being good and have finally settled in, even Albus. He's still showing a bit of lip curling with the big Bernese puppy we have right now, but he hasn't taken it any further than that and gets a verbal correction every time, with which he immediately stops and excuses himself from the presence of the puppy. Exactly what we want to see. He has a right to let the puppy know that he wants space, as long as he disengages when told to do so. He's warmed up to me as well and will eagerly come over for quality pets, even if it means inserting himself into the full pack also vying for my attention. The best news there is that he maintains his composure while surrounded by 4-5 other dogs and isn't being overly possessive. We are super proud of him! The boys have played with one another almost since day one, but it wasn't until yesterday that I got to witness the WWE style of wrestling they have with one another. It was adorable! Neville has begun to explore play with a couple of the other dogs in the pack and Albus is inching his way towards that as well. Albus has done the herding/nipping style of play with the bigger dogs, Drogo and the puppy, but is a bit overwhelmed, edgy and uncertain as he explores that. He isn't quite sure how to play with those bigger guys. He has taken quite the interest in Fiona, the German Shepherd, over the past couple of days. She hasn't quite reciprocated the interest, but he trots after her, trying to sniff her ears and slowly/calmly gauge her interest in play. It's adorable to watch his patience in trying to get her to interact with him! All in all, the boys are doing well and now that they are comfortable, the real work begins! Stay tuned! The boys got out on a walk today, on the dead ring setting of the prong collars and did very well! Neville was self correcting with his pulling. Albus was pulling a bit too, so we kept working on his heel, but it wasn't too bad. We passed a few people out walking dogs and Albus showed interest, but didn't give any negative reactions.
  • 5/22 - Neville and Albus had excellent walks today. Neville has a slight pull and wants to take extra breaks to mark, so we are working on heel, let's go and leave-it to mitigate some of that. Overall though, he's eager to please and those issues have been pretty mild. He loses focus and a quick snap of the fingers will draw him back and then he's happy to oblige with your commands. Albus had the extra challenge of passing dogs barking along their fence lines today. He was interested in them, but did very well listening to "Leave-It" and kept walking. He pulls a bit too, but mildly and responds to "Heel" and falls back in line. He's also very eager to please and craves the positive attention.
  • 5/26 - Albus snarfed at another dog today over a bowl of water and got corrected by the hose for resource guarding. About 5 minutes later, he tried to share a bowl of water again and had no issues. Quick learner!
  • 5/27 - A great day in the pack. Albus and Neville have opened up and are engaging in play with a number of other pack members!
  • 5/29  - Albus had one of his biggest challenges yet on his walks. Usually we pass people at a distance, due to social distancing, and he barely notices the other dogs. Today, we had a couple of dogs charge the fence line, barking. Albus lunged at them once and received a sharp correction, along with "Leave-It" and fell back into his heel. With some "Leave-It" reminders along the way, he held his heel and obeyed. We also came upon a cat and he did an excellent job listening to the subsequent commands, especially considering his stimulation level. I will email you the video of this, which I had to stop at one point so I had both hands available if needed, when we passed the cat. He was a total rockstar once we got in motion again and held his heel past the cat without any reactivity. Neville is still trying to pull a bit on walks, but is getting so much better at responding to the verbal reminders!
  • 6/1 - The boys are working and learning. Overall being pretty good boys! They have a bit of separation anxiety going on now, as they have bonded better with us, so have a tendency to start barking and howling. We are working on trying to tame that new development. However, on the good side of the bonding, Albus is now super comfortable with me and is starting to jump up at me, which he hadn't done before. This gives us a chance to start reinforcing "Off" to keep him from jumping and to work on teaching him to come up and sit for attention.
  • 6/5 - Albus is still doing some jumping in his excitement, but definitely understands "Off". Neville is much better with his listening and is even responding to commands directed at other dogs. It's so stinkin' cute! The boys had been very vocal in the office with barking and howling this week, especially when jealous that they were being left behind and other dogs were being worked or walked. They are finally responding better to "Quiet."  
  • 6/8 - Excellent walks today. Neville shows much improvement with his listening skills and leash pulling. Today, we passed a leashed, not fenced dog, who barked as we passed, and with a preemptive "Leave-It" to Albus, he walked past the pup without a second look. Stellar work!
  • 9/16 - Albus and Neville are getting comfortable, and back into a pack, making a new friend
  • 9/20 - The boys are full of energy and love being back with the pack! So much running and playing, they are doing great. 
  • 9/23 - Albus and Neville are really enjoying this group, the bonding of this pack is growing stronger everyday
  • 9/29 - One big HAPPY pack!