Well Petey is almost done with his stay here. He has made good progress and he has been trying hard. His only real sticky spot that still exists for him is Down and Down/Stay. He is acutely better with Placemat than he is with Down/Stay I think because when he does a Down he really really wants to be on your shoes and Placemat sort of disallows that right away. He will lay down on command and he definitely knows it he will just argue a little before he does it. We still have a few more workouts to get in before he goes home so we are going to try really hard to smooth this out.
The way we have been dealing with his door and greeting manners is to have him out onto Placemat when someone knocks and then requiring him to stay on Place until he is told he can get up. He is pretty close to having this down but he does toil with it simply because he is so enthusiastic. The important thing is that if he steps off of place when the door opens or if he runs up to someone even after the door has shut again, he must be put back onto his mat and made to wait until he is released. While the ultimate goal is to not need his pinch collar for this exercise, as of now it is still useful to be able to correct him for getting up and also to correct him for jumping on or harassing a guest.
Petey is a good boy and he wants to get the right answer but he needs firm handling and clear direction or he will just do what he thinks is best. He is a wonderfully stubborn and houndy boy and that is okay! But his Lab sister, Luby, sure does like being the fastest to get the answer right.
The way we have been dealing with his door and greeting manners is to have him out onto Placemat when someone knocks and then requiring him to stay on Place until he is told he can get up. He is pretty close to having this down but he does toil with it simply because he is so enthusiastic. The important thing is that if he steps off of place when the door opens or if he runs up to someone even after the door has shut again, he must be put back onto his mat and made to wait until he is released. While the ultimate goal is to not need his pinch collar for this exercise, as of now it is still useful to be able to correct him for getting up and also to correct him for jumping on or harassing a guest.
Petey is a good boy and he wants to get the right answer but he needs firm handling and clear direction or he will just do what he thinks is best. He is a wonderfully stubborn and houndy boy and that is okay! But his Lab sister, Luby, sure does like being the fastest to get the answer right.
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