Dog Training Journal

[wolf_Q]

Since there's several Pet Talk dogs in classes right now, I thought maybe we could do a "journal" of their progress. I mean like posting details about how your dog did in the class each week. Hey, even if your dog is not in a class...if you are working on some training, go ahead and post your progress also! I'm hoping Nebo's progress will be going up instead of down...:rolleyes:

Ok there's Cincy, Oz, Moki, Nebo...who else is in a class? Isn't Chewy doing a search and rescue class?

[wolf_Q]

Nebo's is an 8 week basic obedience class.

Week 1: No dogs allowed the first day of class....just an intro...

Week 2: The other trainer was there instead of our normal one. I don't think she really likes huskies. Of course, Nebo was not helping. He was incredibly hyper and overactive...he wouldn't hold still....very, very, very jumpy and excited! I think he was thinking it was like the puppy class where the dogs were able to play together...because that's ALL he wanted to do! He was used as an example a few times. The trainer was showing how to stop a dog from jumping up...boy did she choose the right dog! He knew she had a treat in her hand and just couldn't figure out what she wanted him to do to get it! No focus on me. I'm just that thing on the end of the leash making noises at him..lol :rolleyes:

Week 3: After his hyper problem last time, I decided to wear him out first! When I got home from work we played fetch in the back yard until he was panting and walking with the ball back to me instead of running. This week was loose-leash walking. He really is good at this at home, but not at Petsmart or any place excited. He wasn't too bad though until he saw the trainer and she said "Hi Nebo!" lol....paws scrambling all over the slick floors....I'm supposed to be teaching him some of the advanced stuff, so we worked on "stand" while the others worked on "down." He was actually quite good and was able to focus on me (the clicker helps!) We did loose leash walking and "sit" down the isles, and he is great until he sees another dog. I tried to so a little socialization with another dog at the end, but when he goes up to see a dog, it's like "HI! LET ME JUMP ON YOUR HEAD!!" He wants to play with every dog he sees, and gets waaay to excited about it....going to have to work on that, though I'm not sure how....

[Dixieland Dancer]

I take Dusty to class so he can learn to trot and look pretty running around the ring!! :rolleyes: Actually, it is more so I can learn to handle him and stack him in the conformation ring. I do obedience with him but have put competition in that area aside until he gets his Championship.

I discovered it was too conflicting to get him to understand you can't sit in this ring but you have to sit in that ring! He is ready for his novice obedience so we can pick up that title in the spring.

Dixie is learning the next phase of hunting. She got her Junior Hunter title in the fall and will be starting work for her Senior Hunter title in the spring. I don't know if we will ever get to Master Hunter but my husband would love it if we do!

I will need to learn to put video on imagestation so you can all watch her doing what she loves best in the whole world - retrieving ducks!!! Well actually she loves getting her paws rubbed and being with mommy the best but you know what I mean!! ;)

[ParNone]

Oz's First Night of Basic Obedience

We pulled into the training facility parking lot and I hadn't even
gotten the car into park, before Oz started growling at a Cat
wandering the lot. First time he's ever growled at anything. I
think Murph must be instructing him in how to be a good terrier,
when I'm not around.

I had to sign in and write a check for the class and Oz was doing
pretty good just standing there. Then all of a sudden he just
about yanked my arm out of the socket pulling on the leash. I
looked back to see that a man came up behind me and was
letting his dog run right up to Oz enticing him to play. Does the
man do the polite thing and pull his dog back, since he can see
I'm struggling to try and write a check with one hand and control
Oz with the other? Uh no... I even tried putting my body between
Oz and his dog, but that only added to the problem, because
then I had to try and write the check, while trying to keep my
balance with a dog darting between my legs. The first thing
the trainer mentioned when she started class was Not to let
your dog interact with the other dogs. Hope this guy was
listening.

The other dogs in the class are 4 Rotties, Yorkie, Shiba Inu Mix,
Pointer, Lab and Springer Spaniel. The Shiba Inu Mix was the
best one, but I don't think I saw his tail wag once. I think he
was more into pleasing his owner, than really being happy to
be there. I love that Oz's tail wags the whole time we're
training. That's how Murph was in Basic too. He even got voted
Happiest Dog.:)

First command we did was "Easy", to take the treat nicely from
your hand. With Murph and Maddie around, Oz doesn't do this
so great at home, but guess he knows I won't give any of his
treats away to the other dogs in class, so he did this real good.

We then did "Heel", "Sit" and "Come". He wanted to be a lil'
ahead of me in "Heel", so we'll have to work on that this week,
but overall he did real good on all 3 of those. Actually he did
great throughout the class as long as we were doing something.
It was when we were standing around getting instruction for
the next command that we had problems. Everybody else's
dog was more or less laying down or sitting calmly next to their
owner (well except for the springer spaniel, who was barking).
They didn't seem all that animated to be there. Oz however was
wagging his tail and looking all around him and if we stayed in
one place too long would whine. Not a real loud obnoxious
whine, but just loud enough to get across his point that he was
ready to do something... Anything... Somebody throw a ball for
me to fetch or give me some sheep to herd, but this standing
around doing nothing is for a pekinese, not a Collie.

Next comannd was "Settle" and guess who the trainer asked
to use for her example?;). Amazingly he did pretty good. She
said "Settle", put her foot on his leash, then ignored him. He
laid down quietly beside her, within about 30 seconds. So we're
definitely gonna work on that this week. That's gonna be a
good command for him to know.

She also looked at Oz, when she talked about the "Quiet"
command, but used the Springer Spaniel in her example of
what to do. So at least we weren't the most obnoxious dog,
noise wise.:)

I think things went pretty well for our first night. He's a real
good boy as long as you keep his mind occupied.

Par...

[Aspen and Misty]

:D Nope Chewy is not doing a search and rescue class. I am training him all by myself :D Of course with the help of a book called Search and Rescue Dogs Traiing the K-9 Hero Second Edition writen by American Rescue Dog Association. Ist a great book and Chewy LOVES haveing a job to do. We will be taking a class in March, although that is a long time.

Ash

[wolf_Q]

Hey Ash go ahead and post when you train Chewy and how he does, etc.! What steps you take to train him would be very interesting! You don't need to be in a class to post, just be training a dog! :D

[Aspen and Misty]

Hee hee Ok. Chewy already Knows Sit, Stay, Down, Shake, Take a Bow, Mark (Where he goes to his mark), Give Me kiss and he sorta knows Bang Bang (Where I shoot him (of course no real guns were used in the making of this trick) and he plays dead). He also sort of knows Dancing

Today We worked on Dancing, where he turns in a circle. Its cute, lol :D

We also worked on Search and Rescue training (S&R).

Ash

[primabella]

mickey isn't in classes but he knows a few tricks. he can sit, stay, give paw, high five, jump up and when i tell him to stay and throw a toy, he knows when to "go". i'm working on him to lie down. i was teaching him "beg" for awhile, but it wasn't sticking, so i decided to switch and maybe go back to it later when he's perfected stay. (he gets distracted easily ;))

[Cincy'sMom]

Cincy started her Therapy Dog class last Monday. The first week we introduced the dogs to the wheel chair and walker and Cincy did great!!! Put her paws up onthe bar of the walker and gave the woman a sweet little kiss. (Cincy isn't usually much of a kisser). We then worked on walking next to another dog without reacting to it, and again Cincy did great! Finally, we practiced walking the length of the room on a loose leash. No problems there either!

The class is actaully sorta big...about 11 dogs! In addition to Cincy, there was 4 labs (2 are retired Service Dogs, one from Guide Dogs of america and I didn't catch the other one) One Doberman, a boxer, a Keeshond, 2 goldens, and a Brittney. We havebeen in classes before with both the brittney and the boxer, and I wish their owners luck! They are sorta hyper dogs, esp. the brittney!!

Week 4, in addition to class, is a field trip (for owners only) to wtch therapy Dogs in action and get a feelfor what they do. By week 5 we have to have a trick to present to the class and I think Cincy and I are going to do a little freestyle for that. Week 6 is her test, and I think she will do fine. My only concern is the reaction to noise, but we are working on that at home and she is doing beter!

[iceyshiver21]

I just started to recondition Annie, for the up and comming show season.

[Crikit]

ooo Tama is in class so I can do this...actually all three of my dogs are doing training of some sort of other at various points during the week. So let's see.

Tama
Week 1 Agility: We were put in to a puppy class to fill a space or two when a couple of the pups were missing, I didn't mind though because he's still a fairly green dog and the puppy class moves at a nice slow pace. We worked on Jumps and the tunnel and the tire, all of which he was fairly good at.

Week 1 Scent Hurdles: Got to the building and took the little boy in, the first that happened was we recieved our dumb bells from the teacher. After a brief introduction we started with teaching him to bring the dumb bell back...that wasn't going so well he just wanted to explore the building and meet the other dogs. We got fenced in because of that and then started to work on his attention skills and just getting him to pay attention to the dumbell. After the first class he was getting the hang of it and when we came home he even picked the dumbell up a few times.

Week 2 agility: Was in the puppy class again did more work with the jumps and other pieces of equipment and introduced the chute...that was interesting had to pick him up and set him in front of it otherwise he wouldn't go through it...we're gonna work on that. After the puppy class we put him in the BA (Beginer's Agility) class in place of Winter who was to experienced for the class. In BA we started to teach the bridge and how to stop on the contact, which is going to take some work, the little boy seems to like running contacts.

Week 2 scent hurdles: didn't go due to concusion.

Week 3 Agility: didn't go due to concusion.

Winter

Week 1 Agility: Put Winter in BA class to fill a couple of empty spots. First week we worked on following the lead hand and did some work on jumps and contact equipment. Because Winter has done the class before she was also used to demonstrate some of the excercises.

Agility (again): Worked on different pieces of equipment by ourselves in the barn, until she lost her mind at having the other dogs around (silly border collie wanted to herd) then did a snookers course with her. Would have made the course in time if it wasn't for the weave poles. Still I was pleased with how she did.

Agility (once again): Worked on teaching her running contacts on the a-frame. Also did some jumps, tunnels and weave poles and worked on sequencing. Used her in a couple of runs in the advanced class as well and was pleasently surprised as she seems to slowly be coming around as far as working with me.

Week 1 Flyball: had the dogs run to us over a lane of jumps, making sure that they didn't slow down until they caught up to us. Also found out what direction they turn most naturally so they know what side of the box to put the ball on for Winter it's the right. Then did a little directional work with the jumps and showed the dogs were the ball was going to be coming from, but didn't let them activate the box by themselves.

Week 2 agility:Ba class put Tama in instead of Winter...all other classes didn't attend due to concusion.

Week 2 Flyball:Didn't Attend due to flyball.

Week 3 agility:Went but wasn't allowed to run so I left the dogs at home.

Week 3 Flyball:Couldn't run with dogs, didn't go.

Smudge

Week 1 agility:Worked on equipment at barn then ran snookers course. Didn't make time for snookers course due to his refusel to go over either the jump or tire...can't remember what one right now. Still happy with how he did.

Agility (again): worked on sequence of jumps just making my handling simplier and figuring out the lines from one piece of equipment to the other.

Week 2 and 3 agility:Didn't go due to concusion.

[lizbud]

Well folks, Moki learned the sit/down/STAY.:D :D :D

We work off leash in the house & I can now walk away &
he will really STAY till I come back and give him the release
word.:D Still working on the Stand command & it's going
very slow.He'll stand & stay if I lift his middle into a stand
position, but cannot get him to go from a "sit" to "stand"
with out a little nudge. I know he's a smart little guy, so I
must not be doing something right.:confused: I'm struggling
with a bad cold, or sinus infection right now, so it's hard to
get much training in. Ever try to do a lesson, holding a kleenex
up to your nose the whole time? It ain't easy. LOL.:D :D :D

Later, Liz & Moki.

[Cincy'sMom]

Cincy had her second clas tonight and did very well! They worked on stays, which she does very well with. Greeting people and other dogs properly...no issues there. then they had to get up on a chair and sit nxt to a wheelcahir and get petted. Finally they had to sit at the door while someo ne knocked and came in the room. she really does so well!

The Brittany (Charlie) in her class doesn't always do as well. Tonight his owner put him in a stay, started to walk away, and not only did he get up, but he walked over to the wheelchair, and "marked" it! I felt bad for her, but I wanted to laugh, cause that is so Charlie!

[Aspen and Misty]

i taught Chewy that when I sneeze he gets me a Tissue :D


Ash

ps: We are working on a new trick...can't wait to see if he can do it :D

[lizbud]

Smokey surprised me in class this afternoon by doing all
the things he would not do correctly at home. He did the
Stand/Stay from a Sit perfectly on the 2nd try & every time
thereafter. He is excellent on Recall. Comes to me every time.
:D But, in class, he would not do the Down/Stay & at home
he does it very well.I can even go into another room & he will
stay in his down till I come back & release him. All in all he's
doing o.k. I love this little rascal. :D :D :D

[primabella]

today we taught micket to stand on his back legs. he knows it very well, considering we only spent about 2 minutes teaching it. amazing what cookies can motivate a pup to do ;)

we also taught him how to play "where's mickey" a game where he hides under the coffee table and one of us walk around saying, "where's mickey?" he slowly creeps out and once we turn and say "there's mickey!" we'd run after him until he hides under the table again. its great exercise - for the both of us! :D

[ParNone]

Week 2 for Oz

Well the 2 big issues we had last week were heeling and whining.
He did much better at staying in the heeling position this week. <mini yeah!>
He still did the whining thing, if we were stationary too long, but
he did stop, if I said "Quiet" or put him in a "Settle", so definite
improvement there. And when the 4 Rotties got a bit out of
control and were growling and barking at each other, Oz
didn't join in. He totally ignored them. He got some several
"AttaBoys!" for that from me.

For the "Come" command and responding to their name, the
trainer went to each dog to see how they performed with
distractions. Oz was definitely one of the better dogs at those.

One new command this week was "Off" for jumping up. The
trainer went to each dog to entice them to jump up. We
had our foot on the leash, so that the dog would get a
correction as soon as they jumped up and we would say "Off"
at the same time as the leash correction was happening.
She wasn't having much luck getting the dogs to jump up.
Well except for Oz and the Yorkie. That Oz, he definitely thinks
he's a terrier.:)

Another new command was "Sit Stay". We were without a
doubt the worst ones at this. Oz just doesn't see much point
in that staying in one place thing, doing nothing. He's not
hyper, like Murph use to be, with warp-speed movement,
but he does always seem to need to be moving or doing
something. This is definitely gonna be our main focus before
next class.

All in all I think we're doing real good. The trainer is spending a
lot more time with the Aussie (who I mistook for a Springer
Spaniel last week), the Yorkie and the Pointer and doesn't spend
much time with me and Oz, so I think that's a good sign.

Par...

[Crikit]

Well Tama went to agility on Tuesday and did great. He went through the chute just fine with no problems at all and he just burst through the weaves. We're having some problems with the A-frame but I'm sure he'll get it in time it's just going to take a little bit of time, just like the teeter. This week with the teeter we were trying to teach him to go to the end and ride it down, I'm just going to have to work on it some more.

Then tonight I started a clicker class which should be really good for him. He's already got the idea that click means treat. And we're working on attention and to go to a pillow, I'm just going to have to teach him what to do with the box and decide on what kind of treat I'm going to get him to do.

Yesterday we went to the barn and Smudge and Winter ran the course great considering that I wasn't feeling up to running so I just kind of jogged along instead of running like I usually do...that really through Winter off but it worked because she had to pay more attention to me...if that works I might try it more often.

[wolf_Q]

4th class:

He was actually being pretty good for this class. He was listening quite well. Then the trainer tried to put a treat on his paw and have him "leave it." Now, he knows this, and he does it at home just fine...lol...he wouldn't stop pawing and licking her hand...hmm....Later thouigh, when I had him do it, he did great. He doesn't seem to listen to others very well. He knew the "stand/stay" at home, and he was doing really crappy at this for class too. At least he was doing stand ok....

We did loose leash walking, and he was OK at this until he'd see another dog...every time he sees another dog he goes wild tugging on his leash and jumping at them...Ugh...

At the end, the trainer was handing out our coupons and when she went to give on to me Nebo jumped up and took it from her hand. lol :rolleyes:

[ParNone]

hi wolfq!

Just wanted to tell you this was a great idea. I love reading
everybody's progress and trials each week. Makes the
struggles less frustrating to see that everybody's going
through the same thing, even though the actual commands
we're excelling or struggling at differs.

Par...

PS: That Nebo is such a character... Must be hard not to chuckle
at his antics.:)

[AdoreMyDogs]

Kersey is in her 4th obedience class right now. We actually started a new (and cheaper) school just to try it out and it's OK. I LOVE her old school, but it's just too expensive to take her threw as many classes as I want to. The new instructor is not as much fun, but it's about 50 miles closer and $150 cheaper! In just a few weeks we'll be graduating and I'll then be heading to the advanced class, with an instructor whom I have met and like alot.

Monday I signed her up in the new class, but it was actually the 4th week, so I came in late. It's an 8 week course and we are starting off-lead healing. Kersey's doing very well. In class, when we did about turns and left turnes, Kersey's attention was not quite as it should have been, but she is back in the swing of things now. I train her for 10 minutes every day and she has it down well now. We are also working on "finishes", when she must move into the heal position, and the methods are different then we were used to and she didn't know what to do while in class, but she now does finishes very well.

I am also starting her in tracking this spring, and starting next Sat or Sunday (date not yet set) I will be joining a SAR group for training. I just spoke with the instructor of the SAR group and she gave me some pointers on how to train Kersey to use her nose instead of visual ques. One of the things we will be working on is taking her without Graham to the park to train with her. I will be doing some baited track training in short grass to begin with, then I will move to a field with long grasses once I get her using her nose, instead of her eyes. I will also trade in her flouresent colored tennis balls, to jute and/or hemp balls, which blend in with the earth so much better!

One other pointer that both the advanced class instructor, and the SAR/tracking instructor advised that I work on, is making Kersey actually hand me her tennis balls, instead of spit them at my feet, which she always does. I have one of those "Chuck-It" tennis ball throwers, and I always used it to pick up the tennis ball, and Kersey quickly learned to drop it at my feet, but now I am in the process of "untraining her" to do that, and to hand it to me. I make her present it to me, but it requires a bit of persuasion still. I only just started making her hand me her toys in my hand, without me having to bend down. She is doing well with it, and is just starting to realize that the game is over unless she hands me the ball. It's a bit more gross because the ball is always wet with slobber, but I pretend like it's the most wonderful thing when she actually hands it to me :)

Monday is our 2nd class at this new school, and we will be doing more off-lead healing. Kerse still tends to get just a tad too far ahead of me while healing, but after our class on Monday, she should do fine I think.

I just recentlly registered Kersey with the Mixed Breed Dog Clubs of America (MBDCA), and that will enable us to show her in obedience and tracking. We are by no means ready to do either, but I will at the very least furthering her obedience. Hopefully she'll like the tracking and SAR work that we are due to start soon.

[Logan]

You guys are such an inspiration!!! :) Even though we aren't in any training classes, I love reading everything that you are all reporting.

Lilly's report is:

Sit, "gimme five" and "where's my treat?". That's about the extent of our training, forever, I fear!!! LOL!!! :D

[Dixieland Dancer]

I am getting ready to advance Dusty into the Open class of obedience work. This is the Intermediate level. He is still competing at the Novice level but we are starting the next level. All of this is off lead work now. He is learning now to retrieve a dumb bell and return it to me and to drop on recall. When he reaches the age of 2 in May I will add retrieving the dumb bell over the high jump and the broad jump!

His healing off lead is wonderful even when we do turns if there are no distractions so I am going to concentrate on getting him to do it when there is distractions.

I received the materials for getting certified as a professional trainer and have found many helpful hints that I am going to apply to both of my Goldens!

[Cincy'sMom]

Leslie-

Where did you get the info to regisiter Kersey? I have thought about doing that for both Sadie and Cincy since we will prob. start competeing in Freestyle this summer. I'm not sure if it is neccesary, but would atleast like to look into it.

Thanks!
Amy

[AdoreMyDogs]

Originally posted by Cincy'sMom
Leslie-

Where did you get the info to regisiter Kersey? I have thought about doing that for both Sadie and Cincy since we will prob. start competeing in Freestyle this summer. I'm not sure if it is neccesary, but would atleast like to look into it.

Thanks!
Amy

MBDCA (http://www.mbdca.org/)
The obedience club that I now belong to told me about it.

[Cincy'sMom]

Thanks Leslie!

[Cincy'sMom]

I was Cincy's class night again, and as usual, she did REALLY well!! We worked on all the usual stuff, leave it, walking, greeting, etc. but added distractions ( someone running by and a loud noise) "go see", which is encouraging the dog to lead the way to visit someone, and staying in another room with a "stranger" I have been really nervous as to how Cincy would do with the noise, but she barely reacted. I think we can pass this test!!! Only 3 weeks to go!!!

[Dakota's Mommy]

Go CINCY, I know you can do it, just show that mother of yours, LOL! I miss you girl and your sister too. Can't wait to see you in a little over a month or so, but be good for now. If not before on the computer, we'll have another one on one talk when I'm home at the end of March just like we did last June. Again, I really miss you girls and can't wait to see you. Be good for your mommy! Love, Aunt Christy

[lizbud]

Once again, Moki surprised me by doing things in class
that he had trouble remembering at home.:rolleyes: We
practiced extra hard last night & we did our lessons before
his supper instead of after. I think it made a difference for
him. The Instructor is offering the CDC test next week for
any of us who feel our pups are ready for it. I'll have to really
consider if I think Moki's ready for it yet.:D

[Aspen and Misty]

Hee hee. Today I taught Chewy Speak and Dig.. LOL


Ash :D :D :D :D :D :D

[wolf_Q]

Tonight I decided to try Nebo's commands with hand signals only. He did a lot better then I thought he would! I was able to to get him to do sit, down, shake, speak, stand, and stay all without saying a word! I did use a clicker though...he LOVES the clicker...

It's funny, he was upstairs eating his dinner....I was downstairs watching tv...had the clicker in my hand from earlier, and without thinking, I clicked it....this dog RUNS down the stairs, runs to me, and just stops and sits right in front of me! LOL. :rolleyes: Needless to say, I had to go get him a treat! No click goes un-rewarded!

I don't use the clicker that often, just when learning new things...and I think doing the tricks with hand signals only was enough to qualify! :D He's great at doing his tricks without a treat....as long as there's no distractions! That's why he sucks in class--distracted so easily!

I also gave him a bath at the grooming shop on Monday. He's so much better at that now! The first time I took him there he whined and bawled like I was killing him....now he'll be a good boy for me! He'll stand when I tell him, go in the kennel, etc. He whines a little when he's impatient, but nothing like before!

So now I have a squeaky clean (and a LOT less furry!) husky ready for a class tomorrow! I'm hoping he'll do ok!

[wolf_Q]

Ahhhhhh!! :mad:

Nebo was such a BUTTHOLE tonight! This was by far the worst he's been during this class, and even the puppy class.

He was so WILD!! I've never, ever, seen him this wild. I exercised him before class too!

Loose-leash walking? NO way! No he'd rather pull and jerk at everything and everybody who walked by...why not jump on EVERYONE, especially the trainer!

Focus on me? "What?? There's a person on the end of the leash? With treats? I don't care, I just wanna attack that dog!" He was even barking at the other dogs, which he never does! When we were practicing stay, the trainer was bouncing a ball as a distraction....I couldn't EVEN get him to do down, even with the treat RIGHT in front of his nose...he would not look at me!

He was super-bitey, not taking treats nicely at all. This didn't make me very happy, as my hand were already killing me...I always get these really painful rashes on them from work.

He does NOT know how to go up nicely to a dog AT ALL. He has no idea how to just come up to a dog and SNIFF it...no, it's "act insane and jump on it's head!" UGH.

We did "come" and thats the one thing he did right all night! He ran to me and sat just fine....actually, I think that's part of the reason he was so wild! After being able to RUN, that's all he wanted to do the rest of the nigh! Too bad he doesn't listen to come at home!

Ahh...ok...I'm just not in a good mood right now, very, very, frustrated with this dog...and I practiced every day too.....:( I know he's still a puppy, and I can't *wait* for him to *mature*!! I know there's good days and bad days.......this was a bad day....:(

[ParNone]

Not worry wolfq, you're not alone. I was working on Sitting
when you stop, while Heeling last night. Oz normally does this
real good, but he just refused to Sit, even for a treat. Acted like
he didn't even know what the word was. Once he was sitting
though, he did Stay fine, which he wouldn't do last week.
I finally had to stop for the night, because I was getting so
frustrated. I hope things go better for us in class tonight,
otherwise I'll be adding embarassment to the frustration level.

Par...

[ParNone]

Week 3

Oz jumped into the back of my SUV tonight, all on his own. Yeah!
I've been worrying about this, because he's really getting too
heavy for me to lift. I'm still lifting him down out of the car, but
that's a whole lot easier than lifting up.

Well we had problems with Sit tonight in class. The trainer said
we needed to regress back to step 1, which I guess we'll do,
but I think I may have figured out the problem. I think I'm bored
with Heel and Sit, hence he is too. I noticed tonight my voice
isn't as excited, when we're doing those. I compared that to how
I sounded, when we learned a new trick tonight in class, Twist,
where the dog turns in a circle. Oz got it like *that*, faster than
any other dog in the class, and I realized I sounded really
animated, when he did the trick. I also thought about the other
things he does really good, like Come and I always sound really
excited on that too.

So I'm gonna have to get excited about Heel and Sit and Stay
this week and see if that makes a difference.

Par...

[Cincy'sMom]

Cincy didn't have her regular class this week, instead the owners got to tag along a therapy dog visit to a local nursing home. it was rally neat seeinghow the people reacted to having the dogs visit. In our group there was an Irish wolfhound, 3 Portugese Water Dogs and an Australian Shepherd. Wow was the Irish Wolfhousn impressive...37 1/2 in. at the shoulders and 185 lbs!!! Sweet dog too!!

Next week is trick week!!!

[primabella]

i decided to write up how my training with mickey and his agility is doing. enjoy :rolleyes: :p

i really want mickey to get started on frisbee but i think mastering the catching with a regular tennis ball should be done first. we've been practicing that for a few days. i've taught him to bring it back and drop it. he's really good at it. as for the frisbee my mom bought, it was REALLY cheap and cracked when mickey stepped on it. :eek: got me so mad. so we still have to use my dad's huge frisbee. i make him chase it and try to catch it. he does pretty good.

i also think he's a great jumper so i got him started in jumping over things. i don't have any equipment so i took two laundry baskets and set them up on opposite sides and put two shoeboxes in the middle. when i say "over" he jumps. i hope he improves a lot and i can gradually add more boxes on top. :D

[lizbud]

Moki did really well at class last night. He graduated & got
his certificate for the advanced puppy class.:D We did the
"get it" or retreive trick with his squeeky football. Moki seems
to get really reved up for his classes & even wants to continue
"learning stuff' when we get home. Must be the yummy treats.

Just found out last night that Moki's instructor will be leaving
PetsMart training program. She was the area supervisor/ lead
trainer for all the other store's training staff. (she taught the
trainers) She & her husband have bought like 30 acres and
plan on building a house & a dog training business on site.
It will be here in Indy, so Moki & I can continue lessons any
time we want. Happy about that. You can check out her site
at http://www.caninesinaction.com She's a wonderful trainer
whose specialty is Obedience & Agility, if any Indiana folks want
to check it out. Nope, I don't get any $ for saying so.:D She's
just very talented with animal training.:)

[AdoreMyDogs]

Since my last report, I have had two obedience classes with Kersey. I am very proud of her. She is doing so well. Two Monday's ago, we did mostly on-lead healing/down/figure 8's/sit-stay/down-stay/stand for exam, recalls, etc. I have been working daily with her and she is almost 100% off lead now. She heals great off lead but we have to work on figure 8's, as she tends to lag behind just at tad. At this point, we have enough training to start working towards her CD legs, but I am going to start her in the advanced/open class just to perfect her positioning, so as to increase our points when we are judged.

Kind of neat news...I had been trying to find tracking and/or SAR training for Kersey since I adopted her, and I finally found a group here in Michigan and was invited to their Yahoo group, and this past Sunday I had my first formal training in SAR. We did what's called "puppy runaways", and we did some baited tracks. I also followed a more advanced handler and his GSD on a 1 mile foottrack threw rough, wooded terrain where there was a volunteer victim. It was great fun, but pretty exhausting. Tonight I have a one on one training with an advanced instructor. And tomorrow I am going to another meeting for more socialization and some more low-level training like puppy runaways and some more baited tracks.

Candy, you just recentlly told me what tremendous work SAR was...you were RIGHT ON! It is very labor and time intensive. I enjoy it very much, and it seems like Kersey enjoys it as well, but it's too soon to tell if this is going to be the job for her. Between training her in obedience and our 3-4 day a week training sessions in SAR/tracking, I have little time left. Poor Graham, he has been left out with all the work I am putting into Kersey. When I get home from training Kersey, I have been taking Graham on obedience training sessions, just to keep him happy. He is already trained threw advanced, and some open training, but he enjoys the one on one with me, and I enjoy the one on one with him.

[wolf_Q]

Went to another one of Nebo's classes last night.

The way he acted this time vs. last time was like night and day!

I think the fact that only 3 other dogs showed up helped...I don't know why so many other dogs weren't there, they always are, and the weather was fine. I don't mind though! lol

After last week I had really been working on STAY. Especially stay with distractions! Distractions are his problem! He was definitely the *best* at stay this week....we did a new excersize with stay....Made them sit, then walked around them. Most of the dogs kept getting up and moving around to look at the owner, and Nebo kept his eye on me, but luckily he stayed in his position.

We worked on "swing" (getting the dog to come by your side) and he rather sucked at it, but it was a new thing, I'll have to work on it. We did come, and he was GREAT at that. Of course, he also knew that I had a hunk of chicken in my hand! :p Um yeah, that helps a lot! lol And I ended up with my finger bleeding just a little bit as we were walking away...he bit at my hand, thinking it was chicken....

He did pretty good at loosh leash walking, though he doesn't quite understand the concept of "heel." I have one of those nice leashes that has another handle near the dog.....it's just *so* much easier to hold onto that vs. having him walk there on his own! :o

He still gets super excited about seeing other dogs, and it's hard to calm him down and not have him jump at them! I tried to let him sniff another dog in class and make it so he couldn't jump by stepping on his leash.......the dog was a border collie mix, and she was nipping at his face, so that didn't work out....

Hey, I have a question though. When working on STAY, when is the best time to do the click?

[ParNone]

Week 4

I've come to the conclusion that Oz is the smartest dog in the
class. He's just hindered by, as we say in the computer biz,
Operator Error. They had us doing for the first time a left
u-turn on heel. I thought I understood what they wanted,
but they said "you're turning too wide". So we try again. Uh nope,
still wrong. Had me stop and watch everybody else. Lightbulb!
We nailed it then. I also noticed that when we're doing official
heeling, Oz is always just a lil' ahead of me and the other dogs
are in the heel position better. However, when we're just
casually walking around, he's the only dog that doesn't pull.
Just walks real nicely beside me. I dunno my body language
or something must be different, when we're under the gun to
perform.

As usual, he was the only dog that enthusiatically jumped up,
when the trainers came over to greet him. The one said to
me that she's never seen such an exhuberant personality in
a Collie. Hummmmm. I'm not sure if that was a compliment
or not, but guess there are worse things then having a dog
that loves people so much as him.

Then we worked on how well he responds to his name with
distractions. By this time I was somewhat flustered, so he didn't
respond at all and I realized I was saying his name differently,
when under the microscope of the trainer. Again, operator error.

Sit Stay went amazingly well, but I'd been working this week
with Oz to stay still, while I tried that balancing a treat on his
nose trick. I think that really helped.

Finally we get to some stuff Oz excels at. We nailed Come, even
finishing with a Sit in front of me. Then Oz really shined, when
we did "Twist". The other dogs were having to be slowly led
with a treat to turn in a circle. I'd just have to say "Twist" and
twirl my finger above him in the direction I wanted him to turn
and he spun lightening quick. He was also the only dog that
was already able to turn in the opposite direction. We really
didn't get that to work on, until this week. We actually got some
major praise from the trainers for the first time. Man if we could
just stick to tricks, where I'm more relaxed, we'd be killin'em.:)

New command this week was "Give". They gave us a rawhide
treat for this. The whole time they're giving instructions on,
putting the rawhide in the dog's mouth then saying "Give"
and having the dog drop it, Oz is barking and going nuts trying
to get the rawhide from me. Buuutttt when we finally try it
ourselves, he takes it in his mouth once and after that refuses
to have anything to do with it. So I couldn't work on "Give",
because I couldn't get him to "Take It". Argh!

Ah well, lots of things to work on for next week.

Par...

[Cincy'sMom]

Monday night was Cincy's trick night! She demonstarted her favorite things...the song "Jump" the card game "Crazy 8's" (by running figure 8's through my legs) and the movie "Twister" (by spinning in circles). A lot fo epople just did basic tricks...sit shake, lay down, etc. There is an 8 yr old yellow lab, that put all her toys in the basket (and inthe order her mom told her!) The boxer, was supposed to catch the ball, but everytime, let it hit him in the mouth and just sat there :) The best effort I thought, was a the Dobie/Rott mix that played dead...he had a reaction to his vacinnnations and had a huge lump on his back, but did his trick anyway. He is such a good boy!!!

Next week is outr last week..test time!!! Wish us luck!!

[AdoreMyDogs]

I have to teach Kersey how to bark on command for SAR...this may be tricky, as I have only heard her bark a handful of times since I have had her. When the mailman comes, he walks across the grass and he walks close to the house, and I know that she will bark at him if she sees him...so I praised her and said, "GOOD BARK" in a very happy, excited voice so hopefully there are enough more opportunities to praise her on the rare occation when she barks. Now Graham is a different story....we call him "Barky" because he has a bit of a problem with barking. He simply LOVES the sound of his own voice, and will use it, even if it's 2:00 AM on a weeknight!

I have two extremes...Graham the extreme barker, and we are always correcting him and telling him to SHUT IT, and Kersey the almost never barker, who needs to learn how to bark on command! Anyone have any ideas on how to teach a dog to bark?

[Cincy'sMom]

I have always ehard, to teach a dog to "Speak" you reward and praise when they do. For dogs tlike Kersey (and Sadie and Cincy) who don't bark a lot anyway, that makes it more difficult. We have not been too successful yet, but in trying to teach our girls to speak, we create stimulus that cause them to bark. For example, they will bark in response to a knock on the door, so we knock on an end table and then reward them for barking. Or maybe you could get a neighbor to help by coming over and knocking?

This is really something we have worked too much on this...why teach quite dogs to be loud? :) ( except in your case, where you need the behavior, for SAR) I think if we kept at this, it should work though.

Good luck!!

[AdoreMyDogs]

Originally posted by Cincy'sMom
I have always ehard, to teach a dog to "Speak" you reward and praise when they do. For dogs tlike Kersey (and Sadie and Cincy) who don't bark a lot anyway, that makes it more difficult. We have not been too successful yet, but in trying to teach our girls to speak, we create stimulus that cause them to bark. For example, they will bark in response to a knock on the door, so we knock on an end table and then reward them for barking. Or maybe you could get a neighbor to help by coming over and knocking?

This is really something we have worked too much on this...why teach quite dogs to be loud? :) ( except in your case, where you need the behavior, for SAR) I think if we kept at this, it should work though.

Good luck!!

I think the normal reaction for a dog is to bark when someone comes and knocks on the door or rings the doorbell...but Kersey just starts wiggeling her big, goofey bum and waiting happily for whoever it is to come on in :) She is NOT much of a guard dog. Graham barks his head off, but Kersey just dances and wags and HOPES that she'll get more visitors :eek:

I have been going outside with Graham and Kersey and when they play, once in a while (very rarely, actually), Kersey will let out a single bark. I have started going out with them waiting for that bark but it's SO hard to praise her for barking while Graham is barking non stop, I have to yell "GOOD BARK" threw Graham's nusence barking and I just hope that eventually she'll connect barking with good...and I can start to get her to do it on command. I just don't want Graham thinking that his constant barking is good, because it's NOT!

Hopefully I'll get there :)

[wolf_Q]

Nebo is a *very* quiet dog also. He knows how to speak on command now, and he'll howl if we howl with him...that's about the only time you'll hear him make a peep. He doesn't bark "at" things...like, he'll get excited for the door..people..dogs...but he just gets excited, doesn't bark. Now Reggie on the other hand....I need an off switch for him!

The way I taught him was I barked my head off trying to get a reaction out of him. He looked at me like I was an idiot for a while, but he finally made one little woof...click/treat...eventually he caught on. I looked like a complete idiot while doing it, but it worked. :)

[wolf_Q]

Nebo's 7th class tonight....he graduates next week. :(

He wasn't bad, wasn't good. He was just Nebo. :rolleyes:

He was OK at loose leash walking....kinda sucks at "heel" still. Still tries to play with EVERY dog he sees. Still tries to jump when people come up to pet him (especially the trainer, he enjoys embarassing me)

Did well at "stay" though not quiet as perfectly as last time. Had to correct him a few times. He discovered the other side of the store...with all the birds and fish! I hadn't taken him over there yet. He was FASCINATED, it was hilarious. Couldn't keep his eyes off those pretty birdies!

I really do think he just enjoys embarassing me. We tried to warm up with the "Name Game" and whenever I try to get him to look at me he starts doing "speak!" :rolleyes:

Still working on the "swing" command...I think I've better figured out how to get him into the position, but that light bulb hasn't gone off in his head yet...doesn't quite get it.

We practiced "wait" with walking, and he did *excellent* at this with me. He's known that command since he was a pup. Then the teacher took him for a walk and tried to get him to do...he's insane, jumping at her....shall I say he likes to embarass me one more time??

Of course it didn't help that I kept having people interrupt me to pet him. Nebo stop being so darn cute already, we're supposed to be working here!

This was originally going to be him in the Basic Class doing the Advanced stuff. Not happening. He's not ready for the CGC. :( Guess I'm going to have to take the Advanced class too. Bleh.

I'm not sure if he'll EVER be ready for the CGC.....*sigh*

[AdoreMyDogs]

Originally posted by wolf_Q

I'm not sure if he'll EVER be ready for the CGC.....*sigh*

Yes he will! He's still so young, just keep at it and eventually he'll get there!

[Sevens]

So, last night was Bailey's first night in obedience class. She was borderline for puppy class because of her age, so they decided to put us in the next class up, basic obedience.

There was only 9 people who could make it because it was snowing. I would say Bailey wasn't the most well behaved dog in the class. The trainer kinda indicated that "some dogs will need more work than others" and looked straight at Bailey. Bailey is definitely like Nebo "HI...I WANT TO JUMP ON YOUR HEAD!!!" when she's around other doggies...lol

Plus, I brought the wrong treats. I brought little crunchy ones when I should be bringing something soft.

Bailey doesn't even really know her name since we only got her less than a week ago. The trainer showed us a nice trick to get her to start knowing her name. The trainer took a treat, held it over the bridge of her nose and said Bailey's name. When Bailey looked the trainer in the eyes, she was given the treat.

We got a ton of homework to do. Work on sits, downs, something called the "30 minute down", and getting her to know her name. Bailey can do a really good sit. And they showed us loose leash walking too...I wonder if they are overloading us on the first night:confused: Did any of your trainers go over so much on the first night?

[Cincy'sMom]

Originally posted by wolf_Q



I'm not sure if he'll EVER be ready for the CGC.....*sigh*

I know that feeling!!! We were soooo hesitant to take Cincy through the Advanced family class because it had a test at the end...sort of a watered down version of the CGC...to our surprise, she seemed to do better in the class the Sadie. Now she is taking the CGC next Monday and I haven't even tried that with Sadie yet!!! For whatever reason, things really just started clicking for Cincy right around her 1st birthday. Nebo will get there too...don't give up!!! :)

[ParNone]

Oz graduated from Obedience class, Thurs Night. Yeah! Well it’s not really pass or fail. Everybody passes, but it still feels like an accomplishment. At the end of the class we had to take our dog through an obstacle course with everybody watching. Argh! I was really nervous, but I had a talk with Oz before it was our turn about not embarrassing me too bad and he did really great. He sailed over jumps; stayed in a sit on one side of a gate, until I called him through it, to me; laid down inside a hoop; heeled next to me while walking on ladders and lattice; sat next to a liver treat without trying to eat it; and did one spectacular spin at the end. The only obstacle we had trouble with was sitting on a box. We heeled up to it and with one step he was past the box. It took us a couple of tries, but he finally sat on the box for me, probably wondering at the silliness of what humans ask of dogs. Ah well wait'll he sees what he's got to do for dog agility class, which we're going to do next.

[Cincy'sMom]

Congrats on finishing your odience class Oz! I'm sure you'll have a blast in agility :)

Now that Cincy's TDI class is over, I'm not sure what we are going to do next. We are taking both girls to Freestyle everyweek, but we are actaully signed up for a class in that. I'd like to take Sadie through TDI sometime soon, and I'm debating about Competetion Obdience with Cincy or doing Advanced Agiltiy again, with both girls, when the weather gets warmer and we can work on the outdoor course. Decisions, decisions...

[Kfamr]

Nelly knows the word "NO!" perfectly LOL. or "HEY!"

[ParNone]

hi Cincy's mom!

I've been majorily impressed with you and AdoreMyDogs
passing the TDI test. I've been seriously considering this
for Oz too, but he's so energetic right now, I was thinking
dog agility might be best, until he matures and calms down
a lil' How old is Cincy?

Par...

[primabella]

congrats oz :)

mickey has learned to lie down and he knows wave again. he was having trouble with it for awhile. i was trying to get him to roll over but he'll try and then stop once he's on his back. like he's too fat :p lol

[ParNone]

hi prima!

yeh I tried roll over and sitting up and begging with Oz and he
just didn't seem to be able to do those. Akward for him with
his long legs, I suppose. So for right now, I stick to tricks that
are more natural for him to do. Like spinning in a circle, figure
eight through my legs, waving and catching treats in the air.
And I just recently started on Paws Up, cuz I want to eventually
teach him to turn the lights off for me. My family thinks I'm nuts.:)

Par...

[Cincy'sMom]

Par,

Cincy is 17 months old. For the first year, she was a handful! She was very food motivated, until we got outside...would pull on a leash like you wouldn't believe!!! Nothing seemed to work with her....but we kept trying and kept working with her, and suddently, around her 1st birthday things starting clicking. it was about this time we had her in Advanced Family Manners, a "Pre-req" for any further classes. (She had alread taken Puppy K and Puppy 2). She did great in that class, and we went right into agiligy after that, which she and Sadie both loved. Cincy now has a calmer disposition then Sadie, which is why I decided to take her first through the TDI class. Sadie ( 2 1/2 yrs) listens well, and I know she would past the test, but she just loves people so much she wants to jump on everyone and her tongue baths are a bit overwhelming. (Cincy gives sweet kisses, Sadie gives baths!) She has improved greatly in this though and I hope to get her inthe TDI class this spring.
Cincy was one ofthe youngest dogs in her TDI class...they have to be 1 yr before they can be certified. Two of the dogs int he class were already 8 yrs old!

Good luck which ever way you decided to go!!!

Amy

[Cincy'sMom]

Well,we are back in class again! This time with Spot. We didn't really know what training he had previuosly, but it seemed like some, so we put in inthe "Advanced Manner"Class, the Pre-req for any Competion level class, and one both the girls took last year.

He is doing well! He is good with come and sit, and walkingon a leash ( most of the time) Stay is getting better, and he is finally starting to pick up on lay down.

Guess who is in his class? Ellie!! (one of the puppies Leslie (AdoreMyDogs) fostered last winter) She is getting so big and is such a cutie!!! She also does very well in class, although she still likes to jump alot :) Last week, I knew something was very familiar abut her and about two hours after we got home, I said "Oh my gosh, Ellie!" Which sorta confused Ralph, but then I explained. This week I had to ask forsure, and yep, That's Ellie!

3 more weeks of class and then the test!!!

[lizbud]

That's really amazing that you met Ellie, Leslie's former foster
dog at training class. Small world huh? That is one of the two
dogs that you helped Leslie get to a shelter in Ohio right? I'm
very happy to know that she's landed in a home that considers
training important. That's so neat.:D

Congrats to Spot on doing well in his classes so far. Isn't it
surprising the little things you can pick up on (personality wise)
from your dog in a training class situation? So different than a
home enviroment. Keep up the good work Spot.:D :D

[Cincy'sMom]

Originally posted by lizbud
That's really amazing that you met Ellie, Leslie's former foster
dog at training class. Small world huh? That is one of the two
dogs that you helped Leslie get to a shelter in Ohio right? I'm
very happy to know that she's landed in a home that considers
training important. That's so neat.:D

Congrats to Spot on doing well in his classes so far. Isn't it
surprising the little things you can pick up on (personality wise)
from your dog in a training class situation? So different than a
home enviroment. Keep up the good work Spot.:D :D


Actually, this is one of the two puppies she fostered for the Michigan Humane Society before Christmas. The other two were older dogs that we got into a shelter.

This is Ellie:
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid59/pf05ee1f6a0b0ca85e4adc43c9797756c/fc5caa2a.jpg