Murphy's First Report Card!!

I have been dying to hear how Murphy was doing, and we finally got his first report card! I was so nervous, I could barely open the attachment. But our area coordinators think this is a good report -- I'm so proud of him.


I'm having trouble getting the report to copy over and format, so I'll summarize: He was rated "Good" in community run, kennel behavior, obedience, introduction to harness, forward command, and wait command. He got a "fair" in body handling and hup-up, a new command that basically means keep going. (Is this the same dog whose problem as a puppy was that he ALWAYS kept going? :-) )


Here are his trainer's comments:
Murphy is a sweet boy. He shows good initiative and focus. Murphy has a pleasant personality and can be a little reserved at times. He shows good responsiveness to voice, hand signals and the collar. At this point in training, he has demonstrated average distraction. In these situations he can be refocused through voice, leash, and counter conditioning. Murphy is body sensitive; we have worked a lot on this using positive reinforcement with food reward. He is in no way handler reactive. He is however very aware of the leash when wearing the harness. I am careful to be clear with my intentions and commands when using the leash always making sure to follow it with support and praise. This calm clear handling has been working for Murphy and we are making progress. This is just an overall body sensitivity and may or may not dissipate with time and exposure. Murphy is still in the beginning of training and is in the process of learning basic harness and working commands. We will be heading into town towards the end of next week to start working on street work and clearances to start building a foundation for a solid work pattern.Murphy is a sweet boy who loves to play in the community run. His roommates are Betty and Mimi BLF’s.



Now, when Bob read this, he inquired if they had the right dog when he got to the part about "a little reserved."

I was also surprised a little bit about the body handling, as he was always really good for us about being handled, including ears, eyes and nails.

Anyway, I am excited. Maddox, his brother from Maine, also is doing well.



In honor of their progress, it's time to break out some old pictures...






This was taken the day we gave them up .. Beth and Maddox are at left, Murphy and me at right. (You can see how different in size the boys are!)





This was one of my favorite pictures of me and Murphy .. getting a kiss from him. This was a week or two before he went IFT.


One phase down, three more to go!