Clark is a sweet natured Golden Retriever who is here for some manners and obedience training. His First day focused on leash manners. For the most part he walks okay until he doesn't then he gets a little rude. He back talks a little if he gets frustrated. His favorite back talk is what we call the "hug it out" trick. He jumps up and tries to be cute and playful so that I will let him do what he wants. This is an old golden trick and luckily I am immune. His leash walking and implied stay got much better today. He is a fast learner and absolutely turns to pudding for some praise. This will be a fun week with this guy so stay tuned. Tomorrow we are working on more of the basics and seeing if we can't develope some self restraint.
I usually try to write longer posts than this but my blog host keeps crashing and so I am trying to be quick.
Clark is a sweet natured Golden Retriever who is here for some manners and obedience training. His First day focused on leash manners. For the most part he walks okay until he doesn't then he gets a little rude. He back talks a little if he gets frustrated. His favorite back talk is what we call the "hug it out" trick. He jumps up and tries to be cute and playful so that I will let him do what he wants. This is an old golden trick and luckily I am immune. His leash walking and implied stay got much better today. He is a fast learner and absolutely turns to pudding for some praise. This will be a fun week with this guy so stay tuned. Tomorrow we are working on more of the basics and seeing if we can't develope some self restraint.
0 Comments
Augie is making swift progress. We have him on his remote now and other than still being a bit reluctant with Down he is quickly mastering his commands. I am hoping to try some off-leash with him at the farm tomorrow but it depends on how well he does with Come on the long line.
He did well with his first Placemat lesson today. He got a little pouty but he stayed alright. For now he is resting in his kennel and wondering why his roommate doesn't finish his dinner. Just a short update today. Augie got most of the morning off (with some play time, of course) because I was busy with weekly lessons but in the afternoon we had some good work done. Tomorrow is a "weekend" day for me so I hope to get some more work done for him. He is so close with Down and Implied Stay. Heel is much better than it was (sometimes he still must pounce on a leaf that strays in front of him) and he is jumping up on us less.
Right now he is trying to convince an extremely unimpressed house cat to play with him so I am going to rescue the pup before he gets a good swat to the nose. He isn't taking the hint very well, I'm afraid, but he is being gentle with her. More than anything he keeps bouncing around her and booping her with his nose and then running away. A cat who enjoyed playing with dogs would probably love him. Kimono, unfortunately, is not one of those cats. Audie is doing just great. I hope to start transitioning him to his remote collar by Sunday. He is picking up the basics like a champ and seems to be having a lot of fun. We went out to the farm today where we pounced on the kitty and woofed at the horses. We also held a Down Stay for part of the KU game. He toiled with that a little because the toddler was walking around with pizza and everyone was being pretty animated. But for his first real challenge I think he did just fine.
I have lessons all morning tomorrow but then the Afternoon will be dedicated to working Augie and hanging out in the back yard. For now he is snoozing in his kennel waiting for his last chance to go potty. Oh my goodness Boxers don't come much cuter than Augie. He is a striking fellow with a perfect, sweet boxer face to boot. He is here for 10 days of advanced obedience training. Today we had him wearing a small pinch collar to teach him the basics of walking on a leash and Sit and Down. He wants to please and knew Sit pretty well already. He is a good little worker and is settling in well. We didn't push him too much today. We mostly let him settle in, he and I became buddies, and he is already good playmates with Ace.
Tomorrow we are doing more of the basics and we will start working on some self restraint, the Come command and maybe Place if we have time. But it all depends on Augie and how much he tells me he can handle in a day. But I am excited to have him here. Boxers are fun and they learn a little differently than other breeds because of they way they process new information and so they are always challenging in their own way and definitely never dull. Welcome Augie! Well my sweet friend Honey goes home tomorrow. I am proud of the progress she has made but she still has some things to work on. These things, like her confidence level and her willingness to work even when she is overwhelmed are not things that we can easily fix during a board and train (unless I kept her for a much longer stretch of time) but are things that I want to address during her follow up lessons.
Luckily, Honey is such a love sponge that she is a good worker 90% of the time if you will just give her a little bit of love and approval. She really, really, really, really wants to get the answer right, and gosh darn it when she does she is absolutely darling. I can't wait to for her owner to see her new skills (and to see just how silly Honey is when she sees her mommy again). I will miss her but I know she is ready to start her new obedience lifestyle with her family. Honey is doing a good job. We took her first go-home video today and she for the most part performed well. She did show one of her bad habits in the video, of trying to slither and ooze onto her person's shoes when laying down instead of staying where she was parked. It's very cute but does not always keep her out of her handler's way. It is always nice when the dog is willing to showcase a bad habit in the video so that the owner has a visual for what I describe to them during the go-home lesson.
Honey is working very hard at overcoming her fears but she is still a flighty girl and sometimes jumps or bolts for a second. But her off-leash Heel looks pretty darn good considering her lionheart. Tomorrow we are taking one more video and fine tuning some things. And getting her ready for her go-home lesson on Friday. Good girl, Honey! Honey is doing fine. She enjoyed a somewhat relaxed weekend and got some good playtime in. She gave me a little attitude during one of her workouts and tried to run away from her work. She was not frightened but she wanted to see if she could get out of her work if she ran to the door or "hid" behind the chair. A few corrections and at one time putting the leash back on got her t finish her workout on a high note.
Today was a much easier day for her. She only bolted once but I did not have to go get her. She came back on her own. She is trying hard and I am working to keep her motivated and it is important to me that she enjoy her training. So we are keeping a sense of humor about things. Tomorrow is looking a bit wet outside so I am planning on practicing Place if it is too wet for multiple outdoor workouts. For now Honey is tucked into bed for the night. Well week one is done for Honey. Her foundation is pretty good. Her Implied Stay isn't perfect but it is getting better. Her Heel is fine but she will skirt around scary things. More than anything we just need to practice, practice, practice and start making her good manners a way of life.
We also started her transition to the remote collar today. I want to just get her Come command a tiny bit better before we take the leash off. She is almost ready. Tomorrow we are giving her a little break from structured work because I have lessons in the morning and then we are busy in the afternoon at the Kansas Caucuses. But she will get plenty of play time and some house time after we get home. Honey is a total peach. She tries so hard to get the answer right and while she does make mistakes they are usually due to anticipating the wrong command, or over-celebrating her praise and so she gets excited and makes a mistake that way. The only actual defiance I've seen from her is when it's time to come in from play time in the yard.
Tomorrow we are heading back out to the farm where I will introduce her to the remote collar. She is still such a spooky girl that I will use a long line at first to see how far she will bolt if something scares her. If she bolts to the end of the 20' line she is not ready to go completely off leash yet. We will see how she does. For now she is curled up in her kennel squeaking her toy. |
Archives
February 2021
Categories |