Henry is such a champ. He was introduced to his remote collar today and, true to his puppy nature, his first instinct is to back talk a little and try to tease me into playing with him instead of working. But after a tiny discussion he happily complies with -most- commands. He and I are still in the learning stages of Down and sometimes he gets it the first time I ask (and we enjoy lots of praise for this) and other times he feigns deafness or pounces away. But with a sense of humor and a little puppy patience he is improving with Down. Heel/Autosit, Come, and Implied stay are all right where I want them. I hope to get him off his leash by this weekend or early next week. I want to make sure his recall is very solid before taking the leash off and his tendency to try to play his work away can lead to a bit of the chase-me game if we aren't careful. So we will make sure we are no-nonsense about the Come command before we remove the leash. Henry has a ball with the training because he enjoys having a job. He is such a silly doof and training him always makes me laugh.
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Toby just keeps on impressing me. He has been introduced to his remote collar and he is nice and sensitive to it. We are going to transition him away from his pinch collar and hopefully get him off-leash this weekend. He had two near perfect workouts today. The one mistake he is still making is he is trying to lay down when we stop instead of sit. Sometimes dogs do this because they are being smartypants and trying to anticipate a down command. We are going to take a little break from practicing Down for a day and see if we can't reinforce the automatic Sit.
I am so pleased with where Toby is right now. I am looking forward to his first off-leash day. That's always a happy day. Henry is working so hard. He keeps giving me little stress yawns (wide mouthed, high pitched, yawns that don't have anything to do with being tired) while we are working which lets me know he is not bored. He is starting to get Autosit and he is getting better with Heel. His Implied Stay is still...not that great but it is better than yesterday. He really wants to come with his handler wherever they go and the idea that he needs to stay put is completely foreign. But I was able to walk in a full circle around him today. We are starting Down and Come as well and he is learning fast. He likes to tease me into playing with him when he starts getting bored but his focus is already improved from yesterday.
In an exciting turn of events, today Henry's owner decided to extend Henry's training to include an extra week to take him to off-leash training using a remote collar. He is a great candidate for this and I look forward to taking this pup farther during his stay. Right now he is having a fantastic time playing with his buddy, Toby. They have formed a very cute friendship and they always enjoy their morning and evening play time. Toby had a solid day today. We are now working on Heel/Autosit, Implied Stay (he is trying SO hard but it is still difficult for him), Down and Come. Down is interesting. He seems to know it some of the time and will lay down on the first asking. Other times he freezes and really resists it but he isn't really acting defiant, more confused. We will continue working on it and making it smoother for him. I plan to introduce him to his remote collar tomorrow just to introduce the sensation. He will still be working primarily on his pinch collar.
Right now he is playing a rather rowdy game of tug with the lab puppy who is in training also. Their little friendship is really quite endearing. They are good buddies and they play well together. Tomorrow is another work day and so we will be continuing Implied Stay and Down with our focus being on self-restraint. Henry (Hank) is a very labby lab. He is only a baby but he is kind of a buffalo. He gallumps around the house happy to investigate pretty much everything. As a lab, he is perfect.
Henry will eventually be taken through advanced off-leash obedience. But this week we focus on on-leash basics and house manners. We started with leash walking today. Heel and Autosit and we barely started Implied Stay. His attention span is virtually non-existent so we are keeping a sense of humor about his training at first. He is enjoying the work, though, and is a good natured student. I imagine this week will be busy for him but fun. Toby is a sweet but energetic, young, mixed breed dog who is here for two weeks of advanced obedience training. He has a lot of pep and sometimes can be a bit of a handful. But he is a kind dog who has gotten on very well with everyone here, dog and human.
Today we did the basics with Toby. Heel/Autosit, Implied Stacy and Come. He settled into Heel just fine and even got a couple autosits. Implied stay is HARD for him. As soon as him handler so much as flinches he pops up ready to go. We will be working on this daily for the next two weeks to give him some self restraint. Overall he had a great day a and I am looking forward to introducing more stuff tomorrow. Another good day for Josie. She had a more low key day today than yesterday. We did a lot of work around the neighborhood and around the house. She is still a bit flighty. She is not the bravest girl and that's okay. We don't need to change who she is. But training and good leadership increases her confidence in her people which helps her be brave.
She knows her commands well now. The corrections she needs are small and getting smaller. Usually it's nervousness and not defiance that leads her to making a mistake. Tomorrow we are getting her ready to go home. We are going to take her go-home video and her yearbook picture and do just a little more distraction proofing before she goes home on Sunday. For now she is enjoying a Nylabone she liberated from Ace and relaxing in her kennel. I am proud of how well she is doing. Josie is doing so well. She had a very full day today. She went to work with me and was my "helper dog" for lessons. This meant going to different neighborhoods and working around different dogs and surroundings and distractions. She did very well. Got a little nervous at times but recovered with direction.
She is fast asleep on her mat right now and after being out and about with me it isn't surprising. Tomorrow we are having a calmer day but we will still push her obedience and distraction proofing. I'm proud of how she did today. She was a good helper. Josie is doing great. Her Heel/Autosit is fantastic, her Implied Stay is really improving, her Down is getting there though she is still unsure about it. We started Placemat and she got pretty pouty about it because it meant she couldn't sneak onto the arm chair anymore (hope springs) but she did hold it on her mat all through dinnertime.
Tomorrow is a very busy day for me so she will get a bit of a break during the middle of the day but she will get her morning and evening workouts and lots of play time while I am working. For now she is trying to ooze into Ace's bed with him because hers is boring and his has a friend in it. Luckily Ace is enjoying her attention and so I feel like this will become an actual game soon. Josie is such a soft-natured Golden Retriever girl. She is here for one week of on-leash obedience. She is willing to please and enjoys praise but she is also a bit of a wimpy kid who startles easily and so keeping her on task and not distracted by the thing that startled her can be a challenge.
Today we spent time reviewing Heel/Autosit and Implied Stay and then we introduced Down and Come. She retained her basic training well and she liked the new stuff as well. I think she will be a quick study and the big challenge for her folks will be to make it her way of life so that she is responsive even when distracted. Lots of positive experiences in new places will help with her shyness. Tomorrow we are challenging her a little more and working on her basic commands. We will also introduce Placemat. For now she is having fun finding all of Ace's toys and pestering him with them. |
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