I spent a good part of August and the beginning of September worrying about whether the lady from Canada was going to (1) take a puppy and (2) transport the other one or two puppies (it was up in the air whether three were going to go or not) to Canada when she returned from a disc dog competition in Atlanta. I am not sure how anyone can run a business without retrieving voice mail or e-mail, but apparently they do. It all seemed very, very suspect and in retrospect, I’m glad she didn’t show up wanting to take the puppies. While I have nothing against disc dog or fly ball competition, I can’t see any of these puppies doing either sport, nor could the evaluators. They should be working stock, doing agility, obedience, tracking or search and rescue.
I know very little about disc dog or fly ball competition, but to me, both would foster obsessive tendencies. I’m not going to say any more about this for fear of offending someone, but I am going to continue to try to get these puppies in homes doing work that I believe they are suited for.
At this point in time, I plan to keep both Inferno and Scorch. I know keeping two puppies is not recommended, but until I can find a high level performance home for Scorch, she’ll stay here with me. We’ll see what happens with Pyro and Torch. If I were to sell a dog for fly ball it would by Pyro because she’s got an independent streak; Torch is very well rounded. Heatwave is going to the local pet home. The puppy tests indicated that he was the most suited for a pet home.
So, back in the saddle. Last night I played with each puppy individually. I “loaded” the clicker with each of them, then played a game of tug and when that was done, cuddled each of them on my lap. Today I plan to teach eye contact. Back when I was actively doing agility, I purchased Susan Garrett’s Shaping Success, but it seems I lent it to someone and never got it back so I bought it again. There are lots of puppy games and training tips in this book so I’m using it as my guide for the puppies.
They will all find the homes they belong in, I’m going to have faith in that.