SSD Nubble Visits High School

A little over a week ago, Nubble went to high school with his puppy raiser, Lindsey. She was giving a presentation on dog training in her English class, and Nubble provided an excellent visual. He was very well behaved, doing everything Lindsey asked him to do, including rolling over on cue! When he wasn’t demonstrating his skills, he sat nicely at Lindsey’s feet and at one point stretched onto his back and played with his leash.

When the bell rang to signal the end of class, Lindsey and Nubble waited a few minutes for the halls to clear before leaving. This is a great example of setting the dog up for success. When dogs are in training, especially early in their training, crowded places can be very challenging. Lindsey and Nubble practiced walking the school hallways when they weren’t as crowded, so Nubble had the chance to get used to the environment and successfully give behaviors. Nubble seemed to take walking in the hallways and sitting in the classroom in stride. Soon, he’ll be going to school for longer periods of time.

The next day, he visited a horse farm for Lindsey’s riding lesson and met four new dogs – a Great Dane, two labs and a little Jack Russell. He had a great time playing with them. So far, he seems to get along with all types of dogs. While at the horse farm, he had another new experience – he saw a creek for the first time! He seemed enthralled by the moving water. All in all, it was a busy day for Nubble, and he was asleep almost as soon as he got in the car.

Nubble has been doing very well with leave it and recalls. He loves when Donna and Lindsey throw a toy for him. He runs to retrieve it and drops it at their feet. (Although, sometimes he’ll take it to their dog Gizzy instead.) Recently, Lindsey was running outside with him and she dropped the clicker. Nubble stopped, picked it up, and brought it to her, dropping it at her feet!

He is certainly a character! One day, Donna was walking Gizzy and Nubble. Gizzy was on a long Flexi-leash, while Nubble was on a short nylon leash. By accident, Donna dropped Gizzy’s leash, and before she could pick it up, Nubble picked it up and ran with it! There they were, Donna holding Nubble’s leash and Nubble holding Gizzy’s leash!

Donna and Lindsey are having a great time raising Nubble. Lindsey is training him as part of her senior project for school. "It's teaching me lots of patience. I've never had a puppy this young before. I've learned that it's a lot of work, but it is well worth missing a little sleep!"