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Balki will be 6 months old on Wednesday. I am very proud of how he's turning out. Despite a few missteps on both of our parts, he's becoming a sweet, sensitive, well mannered little puppy. His recall has improved by leaps and bounds, and he's learning what is and isn't his to chew on or play with. He's taken to seeking me out if something scares or upsets him. When I call him over, he gallops over to me, turns to the side and "leans" on my legs. If I get down on the ground, eye level with him, he zips over to me with his little ears back and tail wagging and showers me with little puppy kisses.
In many ways, he reminds me of Tag, and a good example is if Tag saw me with a "poker face", he'd stop in his tracks and watch me as if he was wondering why I looked so upset. Balki is the same. Livie is not like this at all, so I'm going to have to get used to this trait once again.
Unfortunately he's not as advanced as I was hoping (my fault, due to work etc.), but, he does understand sit, down (verbal and hand signals), recall, "drop it" (out), and back up. Ever since he was a tiny brand new puppy, he'd walk backwards if I moved towards him. He's very good at it and I took advantage of it and started putting it on cue. He can really hustle backwards and it's very cute to see. His nicknames are "Baby Boy", "Bouncing Baby Balki Boys", "Hey Ding Dong" (if he's doing something naughty) and my favorite, "Fat Butt." When he was a baby, he'd hustle around the house like he was Mr. Important with that fat little puppy butt with all that puppy fur sticking out. When he runs up the stairs, he does so with such insane concentration and intensity he reminds me of a cartoon character. He'll use so much energy to move 2 inches, and I'll say "Let's go, little Fat Butt!" and he hustles up the stairs.
Work calms down considerably in late September, and I'm making a training plan for the winter months. One thing he doesn't seem to understand is "stay" or "wait", and we'll be working on that and a few other things.
The best part is, Livie and now BOTH of the cats just love him. He's incredibly polite with the cats, but he can't help but give everyone a free face wash several times a day. Lila playfully grabbed him around the neck one day and "bit" (without hurting him, he didn't make a peep) him on the neck. She took him down like a pro wrestler but did it so gently it was almost laughable. He got up and immediately started kissing her face and she gave him the most pathetic slap (more like a tap) and walked away.
Oh, and wonderful news...the housebreaking mistakes are pretty much a thing of the past. He's starting to alert me when he needs to go outside. And if he's in his ex pen, or I'm very tied up and can't get to him right away, he seems to understand that his litter/pee pad box is where he needs to go. He's also been holding it all night, despite having access to a potty box so this is good news all around.
Recall practice!!
Showing off his "big boy harness" (which he hates with a passion, LOL!)
A descendant of Air Bud
In many ways, he reminds me of Tag, and a good example is if Tag saw me with a "poker face", he'd stop in his tracks and watch me as if he was wondering why I looked so upset. Balki is the same. Livie is not like this at all, so I'm going to have to get used to this trait once again.
Unfortunately he's not as advanced as I was hoping (my fault, due to work etc.), but, he does understand sit, down (verbal and hand signals), recall, "drop it" (out), and back up. Ever since he was a tiny brand new puppy, he'd walk backwards if I moved towards him. He's very good at it and I took advantage of it and started putting it on cue. He can really hustle backwards and it's very cute to see. His nicknames are "Baby Boy", "Bouncing Baby Balki Boys", "Hey Ding Dong" (if he's doing something naughty) and my favorite, "Fat Butt." When he was a baby, he'd hustle around the house like he was Mr. Important with that fat little puppy butt with all that puppy fur sticking out. When he runs up the stairs, he does so with such insane concentration and intensity he reminds me of a cartoon character. He'll use so much energy to move 2 inches, and I'll say "Let's go, little Fat Butt!" and he hustles up the stairs.
Work calms down considerably in late September, and I'm making a training plan for the winter months. One thing he doesn't seem to understand is "stay" or "wait", and we'll be working on that and a few other things.
The best part is, Livie and now BOTH of the cats just love him. He's incredibly polite with the cats, but he can't help but give everyone a free face wash several times a day. Lila playfully grabbed him around the neck one day and "bit" (without hurting him, he didn't make a peep) him on the neck. She took him down like a pro wrestler but did it so gently it was almost laughable. He got up and immediately started kissing her face and she gave him the most pathetic slap (more like a tap) and walked away.
Oh, and wonderful news...the housebreaking mistakes are pretty much a thing of the past. He's starting to alert me when he needs to go outside. And if he's in his ex pen, or I'm very tied up and can't get to him right away, he seems to understand that his litter/pee pad box is where he needs to go. He's also been holding it all night, despite having access to a potty box so this is good news all around.
Recall practice!!
Showing off his "big boy harness" (which he hates with a passion, LOL!)
A descendant of Air Bud
Balki is so darn cute! so playful!
He looks so sweet and innocent in his bed surrounded by all the toys. He's not too spoiled, is he? 
Balki is beyond precious and your diligent training is obviously paying off. Can't wait to hear more in the months ahead about his agility triumphs. Recall was one of the hardest skills I had with our last dog. He was so smart and did great at obedience training but obviously had a somewhat independent nature. 
