[94Magna_Tom]

Now that Elroy's 52 weeks thread is complete, I figured I'd better start another so I can keep track of our journey together.

 

[Happy'sDad]

That's a great idea. I wish I had started a running log at the beginning. Something along the lines of "Peggy Pic." I have Happy travels for when we're on the road and the more current Happy's big move, but neither let me post regularly Maybe I'll follow suit. Anyway, looking forward to the Escapades.

 

[Miki]

Now that Elroy's 52 weeks thread is complete, I figured I'd better start another so I can keep track of our journey together.

And? I have no doubt Elroy has escapaded a lot in weeks 53+, probably daily. 😉

Really glad you're doing this. I ❤ Elroy.

 

[94Magna_Tom]

Elroy is just shy of 15 months now and we started his CGC class last night. There are 8 of us in the class. One 18 month old poodle mix (guessing 25-30 lbs) was very barky on and off throughout the class. He didn't bother anyone except his human. One black lab was super excited but was otherwise trained pretty well. The rest, including Elroy, were pretty much chilled out sitting quietly by their human. Our instructor Cindy introduced herself and gave a brief synopsis of the class. Treats are not allowed during the test, and we will be weaning them off the (on person) treats starting next week. Treats are allowed "off person", reward when event is done. There are 3 classes, and the 4th class is the test. She went over each of the test behaviors, then we each performed them with our dogs.

Elroy wanted to get up to "Greet the Friendly Stranger" (Cindy), he needs to remain seated. This poodle is just too darn friendly to remain seated 🤣! He got it after a couple of tries.
For the "Walking Through A Crowd", we all meandered around the room for at least 5 minutes. Elroy was pretty calm considering there were 7 other human/dog pairs criss crossing about. He never jumped or pulled (very hard). During the test this is done with only 3 people as "the crowd". I think he'll be fine. He did good on all the other behaviors. The "Out For a Walk" one is one I'll be sure to practice a bunch because he's quite used to getting food rewards for "working". It's not that difficult, walking, including a left turn, right turn, about turn, a stop in between, and a sit at the end. My rally class has this covered, but I'm still using treats there too. Time to advance!
In general, it seems like it won't be very difficult, and as of now, I'm expecting we'll pass when we take the test. If we don't, no big deal, we'll have to practice some more and try again. The adventures continue!

 

[94Magna_Tom]

Elroy got groomed today! I told Lauren that I wanted him trimmed shorter than she's been doing. She was like "What! Shorter! I'm already using a 4F on his body" I said yes, his Top Knot, Ears, and Tail are too long. These seem to get incrimentally longer with every groom. His body has been good, but his legs are longer than I want come his last 2 weeks (before next groom). Also, I think he'd enjoy a shorter trim for the summer. She understood my drawings, and said no problem. I figured I'd be picking up a lot less poodle than I left her with. Anyway, here's some before, and some afters with Elroy's new velvety #7 trim.

Before

After

I think I'm already in love with this short velvety trim. Elroy seems to like it too!

 

[Asta's Mom]

Elroy is such a handsome pup. love the new groom.

 

[cowpony]

Lookin' good, Elroy.

 

[Rose n Poos]

Ahhh, the feel of a freshly short shorn poodle coat

 

[Streetcar]

He looks great, and seems to be contemplating his velvety self himself. Very thoughtful look on his face 🥰.

 

[Skylar]

Love the summer velvety trim.

Good luck on the CGC. I think you and Elroy will do great.

Don’t worry too much about the treats; while you can’t use food to lure or treat while taking the test, there will be breaks where you can. For example with the recall you can’t have treats on you but the testers will have each dog take a turn for recall and as soon as your team is done you return to your seat where you can treat. You can reward with praise and you can talk to Elroy just like rally during the exercises.

 

[WinnieThePoodle]

Aww he looks so soft and so handsome. I love a short clip and its so much easier to keep clean and tidy. I think they like it too as Winnie always has a bit more bounce when she gets it all cut off. Winnie is getting it all cut off on Friday.......Yay!

 

[Liz]

Love his new look!

 

[lily cd re]

Wonderful. For both Lily and Javelin greeting the friendly stranger was super hard. Well socialized poodles give new meaning to being social.

 

[Spottytoes]

Elroy looks fabulous! Love his new groom and he really does look like velvet. 😍

 

[94Magna_Tom]

Elroy likes to sleep with his head up.

 

[cowpony]

Elroy likes to sleep with his head up. View attachment 491758 View attachment 491759

Human furniture provides perfect support for a sleeping poodle.

 

[94Magna_Tom]

I'm so proud of Elroy! Yesterday I got a new fiber internet installed into my house. Elroy barked ferociously when the guy arrived. When I opened the door, I asked the him if he liked dogs, and he said yes. Elroy proceeded to greet him as though he was a long lost friend! After the technician got to work, I decided Elroy was a bit too inquisitive (he was inhibiting the guy from working) of what he was up to so I figured I'd put him in his crate. I opened the door, said "in your crate", and without hesitation, he went right in! Yeah! I closed the door and he laid down and settled! Yeah again! After about 5 minutes I let him out again, but apparently he wasn't ready yet. Too excited. I said "in your crate" again, and in he went...and settled. He wasn't in there too long either time, but he never complained! This was the first time he's been crated to keep him away from a guest. The only other times was for crate training and for time outs. I think his crate training/use during Rally class has helped him to tolerate being closed in his crate. Anyway, figured I'd share the good news on his progress! Photos unrelated 😁!

 

[Minie]

Well done Elroy!

 

[Kukla the Tpoo]

Good boy, Elroy!

 

[lily cd re]

Fabulous job Elroy and Tom. I have two puppies I am currently training and there were no crates for either of them the first time I met them. The golden's family got a crate and set it up nicely but hadn't used it. I could tell the wife was still iffy about it, but by the time I left on Monday Goldie was sleeping happily in it digesting the treats that had rained on her to lure her in. This evening I spent time with a lovely 12 week old GSD pup who also has no crate. I sold the virtues of it to his family too. Here's to hoping he is already using it by the time I go back next week. Being able to keep a dog out of trouble is a good reason to keep one around. We don't have crates out anymore but we do have one well placed baby gate.

Your tulips are beautiful. I don't grow them since our squirrels just bit the flowers off the stem and leave them where they fall. It kinda makes me want a BB gun.