15 Weeks Old

Nova is growing like a weed!  She was at the vet for another round of vaccine and she now tips the scales at 20 lb.  That's more than double her weight since Feb. 1.  We had another photo session with the Coke bottle this week.

My attempt to snap a photo BEFORE she attacked the bottle.

I guess this will have to do for her 15 week photo.  As you can see, she's grown quite a bit since the  13 week photo.

Along with basic obedience training, she's beginning some exposure to agility equipment.  She has a tiny "table":  a 12" round surface on a 2" high base.  She stands on it with her front feet and walks around it with her back feet.  This is an exercise in proprioception:  the ability to know where the various parts of her body are.  It's particularly important for her to have a sense of where her back feet are in relation to the rest of her body while walking over the dog walk or jumping over a jump.  Compare it to being able to walk up a flight of stairs without watching as you place your feet on each step.  You just KNOW where your feet are in relation to the rest of your body.  
I also pulled the buja board out of storage this week.  This is a 3 foot square board (with a textured surface for good footing).  Mounted in the center of the underside of this board is a 6 inch hard plastic ball.  The board tips in all directions, depending on where her weight is applied.  The purpose is to make her comfortable on a surface that moves under her feet, such as a teeter totter.  True to her bold and spunky nature, she wasn't spooked at all from the first time she climbed on it.  Once she figured out treats could be earned by tipping it every which way, she was eager to play the game.  This afternoon she went to it on her own, climbed on and looked at me as if to say "Okay, I'm ready to play!"  I hope to have a video to post in a few days.
The backyard holds a few more activities.  I've put out a couple jump uprights to get her used to going between them.  No cross bars yet.  Her bones need to develop a lot more before she's ready for jumping.  
I also have a baby A-frame.  Along with walking over it, I'll eventually teach her to stop at the bottom with her front feet on the grass and her back feet on the board.  This is the beginning of training her to "hit her contacts", the area at the bottom of the downward side of every contact obstacle.  She'll be required to step in this "contact zone" with at least 1 foot.  This is a safety rule to prevent dogs from launching from an unsafe height and injuring themselves.   

Nova on baby A-frame.

Her life is more than just training, though.  Besides puppy class every Tuesday, which gives her 30 minutes of playtime with 3-4 other puppies, she had a play date last weekend with 2 adult Golden Retrievers.  Devon wasn't much interested in playing with a puppy.  Devon knows I keep treats in my pocket and that's what she wanted!  Page, however, was a great playmate.  They ran and boxed and wrestled for almost 90 minutes!  Page would lay on the floor and let Nova climb all over her, never getting too rough or losing patience with Nova.  What a fun time they had!

Kennel Club visit - Look at that tail wag!

Nova also had her first visit to the kennel club building this week.  She met lots of people and dogs who will become her closest friends.  Our friend Lynne snapped these pictures of her visit.

  Stay tuned.  More to come!