Maverick's blog

The journey starts with a good mom and plenty of play time with littermates

First adventure at 8 wks old

Maverick met Misha, an 8 mo old newfie and spent time on and off leash

9 wks old

Exploring a lake shore, on and off leash

At 10 wks old, Maverick is learning to walk himself - holding the leash.  This is a different lake with a lot of people and dogs. 

This was Maverick's first experience with so many people and dogs. A little scary at first but he made progress. 

Maverick met Hana - Newfie. 

We went to a quiet place to just play. Maverick learned that the water is fun and he also has a love for sticks. He did fetch it several times. He did very well off leash and was just allowed to free play. 

Maverick played with Misha ( Newfie ) 

Misha is still a puppy at 9 mos old. She plays rough so we watch them closely. 

Maverick is doing well for his age. I want him to be a water dog so I will continue to expose him to water.  

Still working on water.  

This is a state park near our home. It is a great place to take the pups for water. This area has a sandy beach area. I have Maverick on a 20 ft leash. I just sit. At first, Maverick will sit with me and eventually that puppy boredom kicks in and he decided to go explore. I still just sit and let him do his own thing on his own time. The longer I sat there, the more comfortable he got playing in the water. He learned a few good lessons. That green stuff is quite slippery !  Crawfish will pinch his butt when he sits on them and he worked on his footing. Bigger rocks and rocks under water as well as different water depths. It is all learning.   Maverick also loves to play in tall grass. 

It is so important .... to be patient and let them process what they learn. 

The downside to this beautiful lake, is that no people and no dogs in the water.  It is snow melt fed and it is very deep. I think the elevation is at least 8000 ft. People who fall off paddleboards / kayaks and have boats flip, often end up drowning due to the bitter cold water temps.  The shallow water on the shore is fairly warm. 

We always respect leash rules in public places. 

Water dogs ... Some will take to the water right away but not so often in the malamute breed. Malamutes that like water are encouraged from an early age. It takes time and effort. Keep exposing them and I have found the best encouragement is to get in the water with them. 

It also helps to have a dog friend that swims with them for extra encouragement. 

Incredibly special. Not only is Maverick swimming, but he is fetching Ducky! Ducky is special as he was Nikki's beloved duck. She actually took Ducky swimming and also on hikes. She carried Ducky in her backpack. 

Be patient, take your time. Go slow, let them explore. 

Letting them do their thing, builds confidence and trust. 

No fear of heights and sure footed

Long leash teaches limits. He can run and play but when he reaches the end, I tell him 

"Far Enough" So he learns what distance is ok

I threw a rock into the water, He wanted to get it. He tried and walked away and looked for a different rock. He then walked back to the original rock and tried again. He kept trying until he got it. He was so proud of himself ! 

A little free time playing off leash in a new area. It was a rainy day but still a lot of fun. Maverick got to play with his friend Misha. While playing, they met other pup. They did well meeting the new stranger. 

A different challenge and adventure. Wet slippery rocks and fast moving water. 

Another adventure. The lake was pretty low so we had plenty of beach to walk. This was another chance to do off leash work.  Maverick did well. 

One thing I always teach the dogs - find the jeep 

Every time we walk back to the jeep, I tell him to find the jeep. Then when we get to the jeep, I tell him "jeep" to confirm, that is the jeep.  As he matures, he will naturally head back to the jeep. 

Another test to his training. We were just walking along the shore and saw a deer. I told Maverick to "leave it" so he sat down and waited for it to move on.  He is used to some wildlife as we have a lot at home. 

Really proud of him for handling this well. 

It is so important to teach calm and impulse control. 

Just because he sees something interesting, does not mean to approach it. 

Beautiful bonding day. This is a quite little pond. Leash is required so he does have a leash on. 

scary unknown object 

No fear of heights 

Challenging obstacle - 

walking over wire that is holding rocks together

Another challenge, walking on the railroad bridge.  This is quite high but he was very confident. 

We walked down under the bridge and did some wet rock balancing. Everything is a lesson. 

Maverick is very aware of anything around me. He is constantly watching but in a calm controlled manner.  Impulse control is important here. He only observes, does not approach. 

Knowing there are people near by, he is still mentally balanced enough that he can still explore while watching. 

Lazy morning walk to the lake. This area offers people as a distraction and sometimes other dogs. It has a variety of paths, tall grass and big rocks to climb on. This is a state park so leash is required. 

another word I teach is "trail" 

When we are off trail, I don't say anything. When I want to go back and walk on the trail, I tell him " find trail"  and  "stay on trail" 

To this point, Maverick is just 4.3 months old. 

He has done quite a bit so far. He is well behaved and has pretty good impulse control. He is sure footed and confident. He has good recall and walks well on a long leash. 

 I will be working on fine tuning leash manners over the next month. 

Maverick also knows some trick. He knows sit, paws up, jump up, jump over, fetch, up the ramp. 

He is learning hand signals for sit, stay, up and down.