Living with Poppy - June 23

David

Moderator
Staff member
Hello everyone. Been banging my head against a hard object for a while so I have missed out on everyone's news. Hope all well.

Poppy is 3 1/2 now and is a real constant in our lives maturing into a really lovely dog. Most of the "issues" have evaporated now with only one dog that she hates with a vengeance. It bit her on the face when she was a pup so she has "unfinished business" with it every time we meet and I have to be really vigilant to make sure I get her on the lead in time. I get the blame for having an aggressive and out of control dog that I really must keep on the lead at all times, but I will just have to live with that.

Poppy has pretty much forgotten her sniffer dog life now and has transitioned into a half-trained gundog. She was never much interested in retrieving but suddenly clicked that it was actually good fun. She's now absolutely keen as mustard to the extent she can be difficult to control on training sessions as a result of over enthusiasm.

Our trainer, Judy, is first rate. We are in a small group of 4 or 5 other dogs and we are all progressing together. Judy has taken Poppy in a couple of times now when we have been away on holiday for more than a few days. It's boot camp for Poppy! She loves it. Poppy does everything she's asked to do with Judy in charge. With me, not so much .... :rofl:

Here are some video clips from April with Judy doing a spot of training with Poppy while we were visiting our old friend Margo in Apeldoorn. Simple stuff but it shows her enthusiasm. Love her to bits!

https://flic.kr/p/2oJrT1o https://flic.kr/p/2oJqfUJ https://flic.kr/p/2oJrrs6 https://flic.kr/p/2oJmtjV https://flic.kr/p/2oJrruv
 
She is lovely! Such joy in her face!

Does the trainer (Judy?) sound rather stern to you? It always amazes me that dogs understand the commands. When I hear them barked out in a foreign accent (UK accent is foreign to me!!), I think I get a sense of what it must be like for a dog to try to work out the sounds we make! I feel even more amazed that they can understand us.
 
She is lovely! Such joy in her face!

Does the trainer (Judy?) sound rather stern to you? It always amazes me that dogs understand the commands. When I hear them barked out in a foreign accent (UK accent is foreign to me!!), I think I get a sense of what it must be like for a dog to try to work out the sounds we make! I feel even more amazed that they can understand us.
I feel the same, if you watch people training their dogs, they have a stiff stance and a funny language, how on earth a dog understands us I will never know!
 

David

Moderator
Staff member
Does the trainer (Judy?) sound rather stern to you? It always amazes me that dogs understand the commands. When I hear them barked out in a foreign accent (UK accent is foreign to me!!), I think I get a sense of what it must be like for a dog to try to work out the sounds we make! I feel even more amazed that they can understand us.
I feel the same, if you watch people training their dogs, they have a stiff stance and a funny language, how on earth a dog understands us I will never know!

Judy is a positive trainer and the Pop Dog absolutely adores her, but she needs very firm and on the ball handling. Wishy-washy commands just fail. Poppy is pretty much faultless when Judy is handling her. I always have problems and it may be to do with our early days with Poppy and dealing with turning her into a pet from a full on working dog. Our training sessions are mainly for me to be honest! We are out training again tomorrow so I'll report back on whether I've shown any improvement. :giggl:
 

David

Moderator
Staff member
Good to hear from you and the adventures of poppy with Judy!
Next time you are in Apeldoorn let me know, its quite near where I am now. My OH work in Apeldoorn! Perhaps we can arrange an meet-up then....
Hi Anne,

Sounds like a plan! We had a lovely time. We drove, stopping overnight in Gent which we like and then getting to Apeldoorn the next day stopping at Amersfoort to charge the car. We had lunch at the hotel where the chargers were and I made the mistake of ordering an uitsmijter expecting a fried egg on a simple slice of toast with ham and cheese. It turned out to be the hotel's signature lunch item and was two slices of toast with a huge amount of ham and cheese and four eggs! We stayed in a rather old fashioned hotel that we liked very much right opposite Het Loo - lovely walks in the early morning.
 
Lovely to read your update, David, and to see Poppy’s progress. I’m glad all your hard work has paid off and you’re enjoying life with Poppy.
 
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