Either way, we will start slowly torturing her with food and toys that she can't eat or play with so that she can build up some self restraint. So far we have been greatly enjoying her antics around the house and all the "stories" she tells with her little vocalizations. She is such a happy girl!
Nala had a good day today. We pushed Implied Stay very hard and we have brushed up all of her basic obedience. Tomorrow we are going to start testing her with strangers and teach her that under no circumstances is she allowed to jump up on people, even if a stranger invites her to. We are also going to start distracting her with toys and treats while we ask her to do obedience. For instance, there will be some tasty cheese or kibble that she has to ignore while in a Down or perhaps someone will toss a squeaky toy while we are in a Heel or doing Recall.
Either way, we will start slowly torturing her with food and toys that she can't eat or play with so that she can build up some self restraint. So far we have been greatly enjoying her antics around the house and all the "stories" she tells with her little vocalizations. She is such a happy girl!
0 Comments
Nala is doing great! She is now Heeling perfectly and her Autosit is coming along. She only needs little reminders here and there and she will sit right away. She already knows Down but has no staying power. As soon as her elbows hit the dirt she pops back up again so we spent a workout today just working on Implied Stay. We will likely work on it again tomorrow.
Tomorrow I am going to enlist the help of some of the extraordinary Golden Retriever who live here to work on her jumping up problem. They are going to act extremely happy to see her and try to entice her to jump up and when she does she will get a correction. We will repeat this until she is able to remain with "four on the floor" while they say hi to her and her reward will be a praise party. Her owners have clearly done a beautiful dog raising this dog. She is well mannered in the house when she gets enough exercise (even when she doesn't she isn't that bad, just energetic and very kissy!) and other than a few quirks that are based in being overly friendly she is a very sweet and level dog. Well, Mr. Felix is just about ready to head home. He knows his commands, we have tested him under difficult conditions. He has been able to stay on Place while a stranger entered the house (he needed a verbal "NO" once when he started to get up) and can maintain his composure around other dogs, cats and horses.
We took his go-home video today. We have him on video doing a good job on his long line with another dog near by and some off leash obedience in the training room. In the house he has been very charming though he is a little bit weary of strange men. He is not done learning. His owners will be charged with his upkeep. They need to take him on walks and expect flawless obedience. He won't -be- flawless but if they have higher standards for him he will backslide less. His owners will also need to invite dog-savvy guests over to let Felix get some practice being on Placemat. There are some strategies I will give them for helping him bond quickly to someone like a pet sitter or family member who will be staying with them for an extended period of time. Felix is such a special dog with a great big heart. I will miss his big goofy face but he is definitely ready to go home to be with his doggy sister and his people again. Things are just a little sillier with a Golden around. Golden Retrievers were a first love of mine, even as a child I knew these special dogs would always be a favorite. Nala is a good example of why. She is such a bright, sweet-natured girl with an air of stubbornness. She doesn't yet have any kind of work ethic and that is why she is here. While she has the very basics down she has no self restraint and she also jumps up far too much, especially with twin babies in the house! So that is what we will work on. She will have her obedience cleaned up and I will give her some self restraint and work on the jumping up issue. Today we did Heel/Autosit and Implied Stay. She got Heel pretty well and only needs a tiny bit of help with remembering to Sit. Her Implied Stay is nonexistent but she was already showing marked improvement at the end of the day. She is definitely fun to work with. Tomorrow most of her work will happen in the training room. With the heat index being what they are it is just silly to work outside if it can be avoided. Day 8 and doing fine. Felix is doing a good job with his obedience. He is now ready to start being really challenged around other animals. I am going to be calling in a few advanced clients who would like a free upkeep lesson to see if they would like to come out with their dogs and act as a distraction for Felix. He is now very good on his 20' line and he is doing okay completely off leash in the training room.
I have been using a 6" training tab (it is basically a tiny leash) in the training room to allow me to easily correct him without a leash dragging on the ground but also without hurting my fingers by trying to grab his collar. He at first did not like the tab and when I went to correct him he reverted to an old back-talking habit of trying to grab the leash with his paws, however with the leash being so short he actually ended up engaging the collar and giving himself a pretty nasty correction. He didn't try back-talking again. His only issue with off leash is that he gets so wiggly and happy that he is just a tiny bit sloppy when there isn't a leash on. The leash makes him calm down a little and seems to give him a sense of propriety. Tomorrow we are doing more with off leash but other than his exercise we are keeping him inside. It will simply be too hot tomorrow to do much with the dogs outside. Well Felix is just over halfway done with his Board and Train and so it is safe to say that he is feeling at home here on the farm. He still isn't eating very well, eats most of his breakfast and barely nibbles dinner but he is acting fine in all other ways.
Today he started off being a real snot. He was not interested in working, he wasn't listening vey well, he was back talking and being difficult in general. I ended the workout after about 5 minutes (after I had finally gotten a Down without a big argument) and took him inside for some Placemat in the A/C. He may be like me and get very short of temper when he feels too hot. After the respite in the AC he was feeling much more like a team player and he had a near perfect workout on a 20' line. He even (grudgingly) walked past Angela the training cat without barking/lunging/ or being rude. He certainly stared at her but did not charge. Tomorrow we are going to do more of the same and now that I know that the heat of the day is best spent in the house we will continue that. We are also going to do a completely off leash workout in the training room which I am very excited to try. Right now he is barking in his kennel. Sometimes he does that, I have set up a camera to see what he is barking at and it seems that he is barking for simple purpose of telling me how insulted he is to be back in his ke Well our friend Bubba Lee goes home tomorrow. He has made great strides and still has some road to go. However, the work that lies before him is for his owners. It will come in the form of making obedience his way of life. He now knows:
Heel/Autosit Sit Down at the handler's left side Down from the front of the handler Come (and sit) at the front of the handler Implied Stay with all commands Placemat Stay (for longer than 3 minutes) These should not be looked at as cute party tricks but his rules for life. If his family is watching a movie then he can be on his Placemat. If they are going on a way then that is the perfect time for Heel/Autosit. Cooking dinner? Down/Stay. Only with constant high expectations will training like this stick. What is nice is that he can do it. He has thrown himself into the training this week and has been a little sponge for the work. He is happier when there are things his people expect him to know and to do. It is like a job for him. And who isn't happier with a job? Felix made another step towards off leash today. We had him on a ten foot leash and he held his commands and did very well. He bolted once after the kitty but I was able to get him back quickly. He is still having a little bit of trouble back talking sometimes when he feels he would rather not lay down around other animals.
Even though he is making strides towards off leash obedience and he is doing well with the commands he is still not a dog I would encourage to be taken off leash somewhere. He is very predatory around other animals, even those MUCH bigger than him and in order to keep him and other animals safe it might be best to leave him leashed when out on walks. Felix is a special dog and leashing may be an important part of keeping him safe. That said, Felix is a total charmer in the house. He does not really like his kennel, at least he strongly prefers to be in the house with all the people. He is very sweet and cute with my family, there is no doubt that this is a people-dog. Tomorrow we are going to give him 20 feet of mistake making possibilities and we are going to work Placemat, mostly because outdoor workouts may be kept very short because it i Bubba Lee is doing very well. As we wind down his Board and Train it seems like he just got here but he has also come so far he seems like he has grown so much. He now knows everything he will be taught and we are well into the polishing mode of his Board and Train. We are upping his distractions and we are asking him to work longer and harder. Today we had him hold a Down/Stay while Claven took a dog and went in and out the front door. I also worked him while my house dogs played in the yard. That was very hard. I have never seen a dog Heel and play bow at the same time. Every time the dogs went by he tried to join in the game but he also stayed where he was supposed to be.
His Placemat is going great. It is difficult for him to hold it when there is fun stuff going on around him and also when I leave the room so we are going to work on that tomorrow (this is fine with me because we can practice this in the A/C). Tomorrow we take his glamour shot for the website and we are taking his video to show his people when they pick him up. He will be very excited to see them and the video will help show them what he knows, just in case he is a little bit useless when he sees his beloved family again. Firstly let me apologize for the absence of yesterday's post! The Internet connection out here on the farm is spotty at best and sometimes I am forced to admit defeat and not make a blog post. Bubba Lee is doing very well and continues to make us laugh all the time.
His obedience is going fine. He was for some reason very distracted today and so we had what I call a "progress plateau" meaning we didn't get any better but we didn't get any worse. Tomorrow will, I am sure, be better. We did get to introduce Placemat today and he LOVES it. He has so much fun sauntering onto his mat and stretching out luxuriously. The first time he got it right all on his own without any help from me he stretched and dragged his back legs out behind him and did a sort of seal crawl onto his bed and gave me this biggest bully grin with his tongue flopping around. He was very happy about it! He has since become more dignified about it. Tomorrow we are going to lengthen the amount of time he is asked to stay on his mat, today it was only a matter of minutes before we asked him to get up again. Overall, he is doing great! We are in the proofing section of his Board and Train meaning we are polishing his commands and challenging him every day but there isn't a whole lot left to introduce to him. What a smart young man! |
Archives
February 2021
Categories |