Cooper is such a smarty pants. He almost has Autosit, and Down is coming along. His Heel is basically perfect, except for the Autosit. Sometimes in the Heel he gets distracted and lags behind to try to sniff but he doesn't really pull anymore unless a bunny shoots out in front of us. Even then, he cuts it out quickly. Autosit is coming along but isn't quite there yet. Right now when I stop he immediately stops but instead of sitting he stands in this odd half-sit and stares at me as if wondering if I will make him do it. Of course, I do, and he is catching on that it isn't a sometimes thing.
Down is going fine. He only needs a little bit of cueing and then he will lay down on his own. Implied Stay is going well for this too, though if I walk behind him he still hops up every once in a while. 
His Come command is so so. He comes when called but sometimes tries to shoot past me or jump up. We are working on him restraining himself and sitting politely when he gets to me. 
Tomorrow we are going to push the things we worked on today and hopefully start Place. We are getting close to when we will start using the long-line and that is always an exciting first step to off-leash training. Saturdays are busy lesson days for me so he will have a little bit more down time than usual but work will still get done. Which is good because he is always ready to get out and do stuff, like the good little herding dog that he is.  

Sweet Max. He tries so hard. All he wants to do is bounce and play and jump. Nothing he wants to do has anything to do with laying down and sitting still for any period of time, and of course, this is what I insisted on doing today.
Today was almost exclusively about Down and Implied Stay. He made progress in both areas but still has a ways to go. He flat out does not like Down when there are distractions around (there are always distractions around). Implied Stay is the hardest thing ever because it requires sitting still. He back-talks the entire time during these exercises but he is at least following the commands now. Though he cries, yelps, yodels, and chirps throughout his workouts, his focus is getting better. And that is the important thing. 
We worked on walking nicely on the leash while there are distractions around. He did better than I was expecting, though there was still a lot of back-talk. We were able to walk down the drive around other dogs and he stayed mostly in a Heel. He would immediately start crying and yelping when we stopped and I made him sit. 
His big problem is just that his attention span is so small. He wants to do well but his doggy ADD gets in the way often. His focus will get better as the week goes on, however, and he will start enjoying the training more.
Tomorrow is going to be a bit of a boring day for Max. Saturdays are always busy for me, lesson-wise. He will still get some exercise and work done, but he is also looking at a little more down time that usual. I hope to reenforce what we did today and also to start Placemat, if I have time. I am pleased with how Max is doing and how hard he is working. He is doing just fine.

Cooper is one cute little scamp. He is a shepherd mix but won't be very big. He has a very sweet nature and is shy but enjoys company and praise. He really just lacks manners. He gets a little growly with other dogs but not because he is aggressive, he just talks in grumbles. It does not make my pack nervous when he grumbles. They know he is just talking.

Today we started Heel/Autosit with a leash on. He caught on quickly but tried a few different back-talking strategies to try and get out of walking nicely. His Sit when I stop is not yet automatic but he is getting there.

We also started Down and Implied Stay. He is happy to stay put for a while but has a prey drive and wants to chase Angela, my helper kitty.

He took quickly to Down. I think that will soon become his favorite.

Cooper has already made some buddies. Max, who is here for 7 days and Ace, my demo-dog both enjoy playing with Cooper and Cooper is nursing a bit of a crush on Kylie, my primary demo-dog, who tolerates him but she is ultimately "over" puppies and sends him away when he gets too irritating.

Tomorrow it is more of the basics for Coop as we get him used to his new routine.

Max is such a love sponge! He wants so badly to be best friends with everyone that he often forgets that he is large and he has is exceptionally strong. Keeping him from accidentally acting like a fool is a chore.

Today we reviewed Heel/Autosit which he already kind of knows. We are using a shock collar which he is already used to and I also am using a Titan prong collar to help get his attention on the leash. He has gotten so used to pulling through corrections that the new sensation of the prong collar will help get him back into working mode. Right now his "normal" is to frantically pull on the leash and the pinch collar reminds him not to and it allows the handler to use a lower level of correction on the electronic collar

We also started the Implied Stay, which means that if I put him into a Sit (or later a Down) he must hold it there, even if I move away. Basically, for a dog like Max this is the hardest thing ever. But he made progress today.

We also started Down and that was an argument. But after a few battles he started to understand that when he lays down he gets and ear scratch and when he doesn't he gets corrected. Still a long ways to go but for day 1 of 7 I am very pleased.

Right now Max is playing with Ace and the other boarder, Cooper. Kylie is observing imperiously from my feet but can't be moved into the indignity of playing with a bunch of rambunctious boys.

Tomorrow it is down to more work on what we started today and introducing the Come command with an implied Sit.