Baxter is doing so well! His off-leash obedience is pretty good though still a little sloppy. He just needs practice and encouragement. He is simply charming inside and even though he protests he does well on Placemat.
Today Bax got to be my helper during lessons and so we ran his obedience around two very energetic and barky dogs who were working on leash manners and reactivity. He did very well and showed that he can remain under control even when a very distracting situation is upon him.
Tomorrow is mostly clean up work and getting his video taken for his go-home lesson. Good job Baxter!

Baxter is a loving, spring loaded Australian Shepherd boy with a lot to say who here for a week of “finishing school”. His owners have already put a lot of time and effort in to his on-leash obedience and now they are ready for me to finish off his remote collar training.
Bax is a high energy, driven fellow who can get into trouble if left to find his own activities. But he is also a joy to teach and work with. His ability to focus keeps growing and he enjoys being challenged more than anything.
Today we mostly did review but I made it hard on him. Very fast change ups to his commands and varying speeds. I was unable to get more than 2 mistakes out of him. Tomorrow I am going to introduce him to a long line recall and start moving him towards off leash reliability.
Dana is definitely enjoying having a boarder who can keep up with her big dog games.

Leo is doing really well especially considering how nervous he is. He is a tense fellow and so even though he knows his words he sometimes struggles to put aside his anxiety and comply. Having seen him with his owner I know this won’t be as big an issue when his owner has the leash. But for me, since I’m not 100% trusted by Leo, he needs patience to let him move slowly. I give him 4 seconds to get going on a command before he gets a correction. Once he starts he can take a few seconds to get where he is going but I won’t wait forever.
Leo is slowly coming out of his shell for me. He likes our walks and does enjoy learning. He just gets nervous sometimes. Having his buddy, Dana, around helps a lot.
Day 4 is going to be all about cleaning up his commands and working on response time. He is almost done!

Leo the boxer just bounced over to Free State K9 this morning for a week of basic obedience. He is a very sweet boy who is just now coming into himself as he grows away from puppyhood. He has some nervousness that Boxer’s are prone to and I am hoping that pushing his exercise will help his nervous energy and flightiness.
Today we started Heel, Autosit, Implied Stay and Come. He did well but didn’t like sitting in the snow (can’t blame him). Tomorrow we are going to start Placemat and Down. I can tell Down is going to be a fight just because he can be contrary when he doesn’t want to do something and he has that wonderful boxer stubbornness.
Even though he is a little flighty, Leo has settled in nicely. He has been polite in the house as he learns the rules and he has struck up a fast and fun friendship with Dana the Akita. I predict a fun week for this bozo. Welcome Leo!