Class # 1 for Finn

[tatsxxx11]

That class sounds great! Wow, they sure are expecting a lot more from the students than many Puppy K classes I'm familiar with which still seem to focus primarily on socialization and a few very basic commands, like "come" and "sit." Finn is so young, and like toddlers, their attention span is limited and they tire easily. For practicing at home, I'd start with short sessions. Once you lose their attention, forget it, nothing sinks in! You might try exposing him to some not so scary stairs to begin with, a few broad steps, such as the entrance to your house, then gradually add more steps as he becomes more confident. I did that with Star. I placed her maybe 3 or 4 steps before the landing and with her leash and collar on, walked down with her, taking it slowly.. of course, lots of praise and a treat would follow. Each day I increased it another step or two. Before long she was zoooooming down! But be very careful if your stairs aren't carpeted! As for the sitting after the come...do you mean the "finish?" I believe there are two techniques. One is where the dog comes, stands or sits and when you say "finish," he/she will come around the right side of you and sit to the left. I think you're talking about them doing immediately doing a little spin around right at your left side? I taught Star the first techniquie by hiding a small piece of kibble/treat between two fingers of my right hand, holding it right under her nose and then guiding it around my right side and back till she came all the way around to the left. I had another treat in my left hand. When she completed the turn I gave the "sit" command and rewarded. Make sure you encourage Finn to sit as close to you as possible before rewarding. Ugh, hard to explain! I think you might try the same tech. in teaching him to do the turn around (a little spin) at your left side without going around the back of you. After he comes, and is directly facing you, (encourage him to come right to your feet) guide him around in a tight circle to your left with a treat in hand then, after he's made the turn and is tight by your side, give the command to sit and then reward. If Star sat too far out, I would slap the side of my thigh and say "close" and she slowly learned to wiggle over and lean right up against me. Of course, just as in the pesky "down," you may need to use a little manual manipulation till they get the idea! I definitely think you need to give that command a name, as opposed to the simple "come" becasue sometimes you will want to differentiate between the two. We were taught that to be "finish." But I guess any word would do. I hope I made some sense...it's hard to explain without a demo Good luck, Finn!