Site Updates and News
Happy Friday! There are some updates to let you know about, so I’ll get right to it.
— I now have a contact number! It is in the Contact information on the sidebar.
— I have created a new YouTube channel specifically for training videos. The YouTube link on the sidebar has been updated accordingly. FYI: 100 or more subscribers will get me closer to the ability to create a customized URL for the channel. 🙂
— Regarding the dog I assessed recently (Buddy), the family contacted me and informed me that they decided to return him to the rescue for re-homing. I am very happy to report that a family was waiting in the wings for him. It was a very difficult decision for my clients to make, but due to circumstances I am not at liberty to discuss, they did what they believe was in Buddy’s best interests. Because I know the circumstances they were dealing with, I fully support their decision. Now, they are looking for another dog, but they are choosing to go through a breeder. They have asked me to assist them with this process and to train the dog when they find the right one for them.
— Though I did not document this, I was recently called on for help with a 1-year-old Sheltie. The owner has trained him to a certain degree but was having trouble with him becoming overly excited around people and other dogs. I met the owner and the dog yesterday… and I’m very happy to say that this beautiful little boy is not only incredibly smart, but overall, he’s quite obedient. And his owner has an excellent handle on what she’s doing. All she really needed was some tweaking in how she’s conveying what she wants, and she was good to go. Once she got the idea, she was able to put it into practice and enjoy the benefits of her puppy actually getting what she was asking of him. It was beautiful to see the transformation in both human and dog.
— Below is the video I mentioned in the previous post. You will notice that Lacey’s responses to her human are different from her responses to me. If you listen carefully, you will also notice that there are subtle vocal differences between Lacey’s human and me, and that Lacey responds very specifically to those differences.
Have a great day and a great weekend, and thanks for visiting and commenting!
Breaking Boredom
It’s been a week since the assessment visit mentioned in the previous posting. As of this current posting, the family has not contacted either me or the coordinator at DINO Rescue about Buddy. I have made two attempts, so far, to connect with the family, but as yet, they have not responded. A third attempt was made just a short while ago. Whether or not they will respond remains to be seen.
On a different note, Lacey and her human had their training session at the Saddletowne Pet Planet store last night, where we worked on recall, sit, down, sit/stay, down/stay, heel, and ignoring distractions. Lacey did pretty good, but I noticed that she is showing resistance to the lessons: she doesn’t want to work, so she becomes vocal and tries to mouth when touch is used to encourage her to assume a sit or down position. I suggested to her mom that Lacey is bored, and recommended finding ways to make the lessons more interesting so that she wants to be engaged. Lacey is incredibly smart; even the simplest lessons need to be made challenging enough that her inherent curiosity can override the boredom she’s experiencing. Whether that means building a little maze in the yard to work on recall, or keeping her on her toes by constantly changing speed and direction during a heel exercise, the basic lessons need to be conducted in a way that will interest Lacey and give her a sense of accomplishment she will want to repeat. Getting excited when she performs commands correctly, on cue, and even automatically [without being told] also encourages her to keep working. I’ve noticed that when she’s rewarded that way, she doesn’t get vocal or resistant to further work.
I have made a video of last night’s training session. It shows how different Lacey’s responses are when she’s working with her mom and when she’s working with me. When it is ready for sharing, I will post it. I would appreciate your feedback about what you see.
Have a great day!
Happy Dawgs Obedience Training 