Goodness these past couple days have been cold! Simply too cold to keep a dogs like Harley outside for long. Even if he doesn't act cold with windchills like what we have been experiencing I have not kept him outside longer than 10-15 minutes. That said, he is making okay progress. He knows his commands but is still tending to try to get out of work if he thinks he can. I can't tell if it is because he is cold or because he doesn't want to work for whatever reason but he sometimes tries to go to the door instead of Heeling. All other commands he is happy to do. Sometimes Come is a little silly but he does Come and Sit in front of me, even if he bounces a few times on the way.
But that Heel. Once he is walking next to me he is fine. He would heel for miles. It is getting him going. If He thinks he can get out of starting a Heel he will try to. Of course, it never works. I always either convince him to come back and Heel properly or I go get him and bring him back to work. Like I said earlier, once we are going, he is perfect.
I have two theories. One is that he is genuinely cold and doesn't want to walk back down the road to the workout area. This would be understandable as I also am cold so I see where he is coming from. The other possibility is that he is afraid of the horses. He only bolts when I ask him to Heel in their direction. Whatever the reason, we handle it the same way. We insist that he comply with the task we set him to. Even if it just for 10 or 20 feet.
I hope that as it gets warmer we can keep working on his get-up-and-go. We will work on it regardless but warmer temperatures will help solve the mystery of why he tries to go back inside.
In other news, Harley is very good at Placemat. He has now stayed on his mat for 2 hours without getting up or making a mistake! Someone he hadn't met even came into the room, talked to me, and then headed back out without being greeted by a silly boxer boy. He stayed on his mat, whines a little bit, and held his place. I was very proud of him.
Since he knows all of his commands now we are going to focus on cleaning up his commands and seeing if we can't get a better start to the Heel. We have plenty of time so I am not worried. I might even break up the monotony of the farm with a trip into town for him. He is making fine progress right on schedule.
But that Heel. Once he is walking next to me he is fine. He would heel for miles. It is getting him going. If He thinks he can get out of starting a Heel he will try to. Of course, it never works. I always either convince him to come back and Heel properly or I go get him and bring him back to work. Like I said earlier, once we are going, he is perfect.
I have two theories. One is that he is genuinely cold and doesn't want to walk back down the road to the workout area. This would be understandable as I also am cold so I see where he is coming from. The other possibility is that he is afraid of the horses. He only bolts when I ask him to Heel in their direction. Whatever the reason, we handle it the same way. We insist that he comply with the task we set him to. Even if it just for 10 or 20 feet.
I hope that as it gets warmer we can keep working on his get-up-and-go. We will work on it regardless but warmer temperatures will help solve the mystery of why he tries to go back inside.
In other news, Harley is very good at Placemat. He has now stayed on his mat for 2 hours without getting up or making a mistake! Someone he hadn't met even came into the room, talked to me, and then headed back out without being greeted by a silly boxer boy. He stayed on his mat, whines a little bit, and held his place. I was very proud of him.
Since he knows all of his commands now we are going to focus on cleaning up his commands and seeing if we can't get a better start to the Heel. We have plenty of time so I am not worried. I might even break up the monotony of the farm with a trip into town for him. He is making fine progress right on schedule.
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