It is always an annoyance when our internet goes down but I especially hate it when it happens early in the Board and Train when owners are antsy about how their dogs are doing.
Mufasa is doing great. He wants so badly to get the answer right and he does stress out when he needs a correction. He has such a good little heart and wants desperately to be a good boy. However, he has a lot of fears he is trying to get over while he learns. Anything new to him is frightening. Horses trotting around, leaves blowing in a sudden gust of wind, a tool box on the ground, etc, all send him into a desperate scrabble to get away but he is getting easier to calm down. A Thundershirt will likely help him a great deal if his owners are interested in trying one.
When there aren't scary things he is really doing well. His Heel/Autosit is pretty spot on, unless something startles him. His Recall (the Come command) is so sweet. He slowly melts over to me and smooshes his head into my chest as if we hadn't seen eachother on months. His Implied Stay is getting there. He tries to scoot around and always face me but he is getting better about staying put.
Just today did he start understanding Down. He is pretty slow with it and sometimes feigns deafness but he understands it and that is the hard part.
Likely will try Placemat tomorrow and see how he goes. Typically shy dogs like him LOVE placemat because it is a safe place where they know what to do and don't really need to worry.
He is a good boy who is doing well with the training. He just needs a lot of socialization and that job will continue when he goes home to his family.