The first week

Tuesday 20th September

I checked on Tuesday afternoon at the community centre where we'd trained Mishka when he was a puppy, and this was the poster I found:

It all seemed a bit "puppy orientated", although I will send an email to the address on the poster to see if they will allow Jackson to come along, even if it is only to sit and watch for a while.

Olga practised keeping the dogs in a sit in the kitchen when I returned to the house, which was more effective with Jackson than Mishka, but they were still under more control than we normally permit.

In the evening we pampered Mishka a little, it was his birthday after all :-)

Wednesday 21st September

Jackson is getting the hang of "give a paw", although he is combining giving a paw with lunging with his mouth to try and grab the treat he knows we have in our hand that is not extended to receive his paw.

I bought a silent whistle and a muzzle from our local pet store. I've not tried the whistle out on the boys yet, and we've just tried the muzzle on Jackson very briefly to check it fits OK, and that he has enough freedom in it to pant and drink water.
I have also bought some liver from the supermarket, and after looking up the recipe on the web, will be having a go at making liver cake soon.

Today we changed the boys feedtime from noon to morning and teatime.

Thursday 22nd  & Friday 23rd September

Continued with Jackson's "give a paw". Also making sure they at least sit, if not give a paw too, before any food or attention is given to them.

Saturday 24th September

My first attempt at taking the boys out on separate leads. We went to one of our usual parks, a small one that occasionally has other dog walkers in it, but not this morning. I let Jackson off his lead for about 1 minute, calling him back three times, each time he returned to me quickly and with enthusiasm. I put him back on the lead then let Mishka off, for about 20-30 seconds, calling him back once. He was more reluctant to return, looking at me first from a few metres away, and only returning to me when it was clear there was a treat on offer. I took this opportunity to put him back on the lead.