Even though it was week 4 of our obedience class, last night there was yet another new face, a little dark chocolate pit bull puppy - a real cutie; coincidentally enough her name is also Sadie. Yes, we now have a Bella and two Sadie’s in class. But it gets even better than that, I finally said something to them about my Bella that I have at home and the other Bella’s mom said “that’s funny because I also have a Sadie at home” and the other Sadie’s mom said “Oh my god I also have a Bella”! What are the odds!? All three of us have our own pair of Sadie and Bella’s!
Anyway after we all had a good laugh, Trainer Guy started the class. As usual we began with some heeling patterns and then moved into reviewing the “loose your dog” game for the few people who missed the first night of class. After “loose your dog” we practiced our “sit stay” and “down stay”. This past week during practice I’ve been taking Sadie’s squeaky toy and tossing it around her while making her “stay” to help reinforce the fact that she is to stay no matter what, she’s been doing a really good job with this. When I did this in class Trainer Guy was also obviously pleased and said “wow look at you go!”. Sadie still needs some work on staying while people are walking around her though, because she did break position when Trainer guy tried to walk around behind her. Her “down stay” went very well however, and she stayed in place even when he waked by. Actually the whole class did really well on the “stay” exercises overall, Trainer Guy doesn’t usually give out too many compliments, especially to the whole class but last night he did, he said that we were all performing this exercise better than his intermediate students!
We also reviewed the “stand for examination” command. Honestly I really didn’t put too much work into it last week, but this week I have kind of a “monkey see, monkey do” idea where if I ask Sadie and Bella to “stand” if Bella does and she gets the treat I’m hoping Sadie will get the idea and pick it up herself.
The new exercise we worked on last night is the “recall”. Sadie is actually really good at this, but it’s nothing new to her. Ever since I started having races with her and Bella (whichever gets to me first get’s the treat), they both usually come running pretty quickly when I call them. Actually Sadie did this so well in class last night, that Trainer Guy even accused me of baiting her with a treat, even though I didn’t even have any treats with me!
Somehow last night either before we left for class or sometime during class – maybe while we were playing tug? – Sadie got a cut on her nose. Even though it was no bigger than a grain of rice, unfortunately she got blood all over my sleeve and pant leg! I didn’t even realize it until I got home, and of course I was wearing light colored jeans and a light grey sweater. Hopefully it will wash out! Other than that though, I’d say we had a pretty good night.
Anyway we have two weeks of class left and I admit that I’ll be sad to see it end. She’s done very well and we’ve had a lot of fun! The next intermediate class begins sometime in February but I also start school again on the 14th, so we may have to wait until after I finish that in April before we can pick back up with her classes. Either way, we will continue our adventures in training sooner or later (I’m hoping for sooner).
Friday, January 28, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
Another Bella!
Well we are three weeks into beginning obedience and Sadie is still doing very well. Earlier this week she had some issues with her front leg so I was unsure if we were going to make last nights class. My back up plan was to ask Trainer Guy if I could substitute Bella for one class. She is past the beginners level but the socialization would be good for her.
Fortunately though, yesterday Sadie showed no signs of lameness. It's a good thing otherwise class would have been awful confusing with my Bella there. Coincidentally another lady showed up with a little Pit Bull also named Bella. She's a little smaller and her coloring is more of a red/brown and white but still we had another "bully" named Bella! As it was every time Trainer Guy would say "get Bella" or "watch Bella" I caught myself looking down at the end of my leash but then I remembered I was there with Sadie not Bella!
As usual we began class with some heeling exercises. Forward, fast, slow, left, right, about turn and halt. Sadie's sits are really showing signs of improvement. Only about 50-60% of the time she kicks out to the side but the other 40-50% of the time she is sitting in perfect position. Her response time has also improved greatly.
The stay went well until some kids decided to walk in the gate behind her on the sit stay which caused her to break position. But she's only been at this for a week so that is to be expected. She also broke her down stay when Trainer Guy walked up right behind her. Clearly we need to work on this, I need to start working her "stay" in busier locations to teach her to stay put no matter what or who is around.
The new exercise for the week is the dreaded "stand". This took me weeks of work to teach Bella! But when she did finally get it was like a light bulb moment and she has done it perfectly ever since. I'm hoping to use this to my advantage, I have a few ideas on ways to have Bella help me teach this one to Sadie.
Fortunately though, yesterday Sadie showed no signs of lameness. It's a good thing otherwise class would have been awful confusing with my Bella there. Coincidentally another lady showed up with a little Pit Bull also named Bella. She's a little smaller and her coloring is more of a red/brown and white but still we had another "bully" named Bella! As it was every time Trainer Guy would say "get Bella" or "watch Bella" I caught myself looking down at the end of my leash but then I remembered I was there with Sadie not Bella!
As usual we began class with some heeling exercises. Forward, fast, slow, left, right, about turn and halt. Sadie's sits are really showing signs of improvement. Only about 50-60% of the time she kicks out to the side but the other 40-50% of the time she is sitting in perfect position. Her response time has also improved greatly.
The stay went well until some kids decided to walk in the gate behind her on the sit stay which caused her to break position. But she's only been at this for a week so that is to be expected. She also broke her down stay when Trainer Guy walked up right behind her. Clearly we need to work on this, I need to start working her "stay" in busier locations to teach her to stay put no matter what or who is around.
The new exercise for the week is the dreaded "stand". This took me weeks of work to teach Bella! But when she did finally get it was like a light bulb moment and she has done it perfectly ever since. I'm hoping to use this to my advantage, I have a few ideas on ways to have Bella help me teach this one to Sadie.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
So far so good
This week's obedience class was another success. The class has grown since Trainer Guy decided that instead of doing two small classes per week, he combined the Monday night beginners obedience with our Thursday night class. We have added a St. Bernard pup (I say pup but she's easily 120lbs +!), a GSD and and Irish Setter. Unfortunately, Princess the Pit Bull was a no show, though Trainer Guy sounded like he had been in contact with the owner and they were planning on coming - hopefully she will be back next week!
We began the class by warming up with "loose your dog", an exercise that teaches the dog to watch and follow with you wherever you go. Basically you just move around in any direction and as long as your dog stays within your reach you are doing great, if they loose focus and start to wander off you give them a quick pop on the leash to get them back. Occasionally Sadie looses focus to see what other dogs are doing but for only having done this twice she does very well.
After "loose your dog" we began to work our heeling patterns. It appears that our practice last week has paid off as her "sits" are getting better. This week she was much quicker and though she sometimes still kicks out to the side, most of her sits are pretty close to the correct position. I have been working her along a wall or fence but I think this week I'll see if we can wean ourselves away and get straight sits consistently without it. Other than that though she seems very attentive and moves very well throughout the pattern.
Our new exercise for the week is the "sit stay" and "down stay". Trainer guy likes to teach this in baby steps, beginning with the handler giving the command and stepping directly in front of the dog. Over time you are to gradually increase the distance between dog and handler as well as the length of time in the position. Sadie already knows "sit" "down" and for the most part "stay" so I hope she will progress through the steps pretty quickly. The only issue she had with this was with the finish, once we complete our time we are to return to heel position by walking around behind the dog, on the first attempt at this she tried to get up and walk with me, but I just put her back in position and told her to stay and after that she seemed to get the idea.
Between each exercise we are told to "release your dogs and praise 'em up" at which point we are to play with them like crazy and make the training a very fun and positive thing. Sadie is very driven and LOVES her squeaky toy so this part of class is great for her and I. Bella did play with me but I still haven't found a toy that she is interested in so I had to work her with treats alone. Of course Sadie will work for food but she is also more than happy to work for her squeaky!
She also seems to be benefiting from the one on one time she and I are spending together as I am noticing that she is becoming more affectionate with me. Not that I ever neglected her, and not that she never wanted/showed affection before but I would have never described her as a "cuddler". But lately she has been more willing to crawl up on the couch or bed with me and curl up right beside me, the way that Bella does. It kinda makes me feel bad, like we were missing something before.
We began the class by warming up with "loose your dog", an exercise that teaches the dog to watch and follow with you wherever you go. Basically you just move around in any direction and as long as your dog stays within your reach you are doing great, if they loose focus and start to wander off you give them a quick pop on the leash to get them back. Occasionally Sadie looses focus to see what other dogs are doing but for only having done this twice she does very well.
After "loose your dog" we began to work our heeling patterns. It appears that our practice last week has paid off as her "sits" are getting better. This week she was much quicker and though she sometimes still kicks out to the side, most of her sits are pretty close to the correct position. I have been working her along a wall or fence but I think this week I'll see if we can wean ourselves away and get straight sits consistently without it. Other than that though she seems very attentive and moves very well throughout the pattern.
Our new exercise for the week is the "sit stay" and "down stay". Trainer guy likes to teach this in baby steps, beginning with the handler giving the command and stepping directly in front of the dog. Over time you are to gradually increase the distance between dog and handler as well as the length of time in the position. Sadie already knows "sit" "down" and for the most part "stay" so I hope she will progress through the steps pretty quickly. The only issue she had with this was with the finish, once we complete our time we are to return to heel position by walking around behind the dog, on the first attempt at this she tried to get up and walk with me, but I just put her back in position and told her to stay and after that she seemed to get the idea.
Between each exercise we are told to "release your dogs and praise 'em up" at which point we are to play with them like crazy and make the training a very fun and positive thing. Sadie is very driven and LOVES her squeaky toy so this part of class is great for her and I. Bella did play with me but I still haven't found a toy that she is interested in so I had to work her with treats alone. Of course Sadie will work for food but she is also more than happy to work for her squeaky!
She also seems to be benefiting from the one on one time she and I are spending together as I am noticing that she is becoming more affectionate with me. Not that I ever neglected her, and not that she never wanted/showed affection before but I would have never described her as a "cuddler". But lately she has been more willing to crawl up on the couch or bed with me and curl up right beside me, the way that Bella does. It kinda makes me feel bad, like we were missing something before.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Who says you cant teach an old dog new tricks?
Last night Sadie attended her first obedience class with Dog Trainer Guy. Initially she had a case of the "first day of school" jitters, and she seemed a bit intimidated by Trainer Guy (I don't blame her I was too until I got to know him better) but after we got all registered and checked in I took her to walk around the yard a bit to let her get used to it and she settled down pretty quickly.
There were a total of four dogs in class which doesn't bother me any, I prefer smaller classes.There was a beautiful husky pup who looked to be about 6 months old. His owners have done a fantastic job training him thus far and he seems like a very smart little guy! There is also a younger looking Australian Shepherd, maybe a little less than a year old. Very quiet but overall appears to be a very well behaved little dog. And then there is the naughty kid in class. Her name is Princess and she is a very muscular, very solid looking little Pit Bull, either black and white or dark blue and white (wast night time so it was hard to tell). She's really not naughty, just a handful of a dog who seemingly has clueless owners. I am very happy at lest that they made the effort to bring her to class and are trying to teach her some manners. If they stick to it, Trainer guy will whip them all into shape in no time!
We got a bit of a late start because when Princess came charging into the yard Trainer guy had to make them go out and adjust her collar a bit better and give them a few pointers on how to introduce her into the class. She definitely doesn't seem aggressive, she just has a very intense high energy that could get her into big trouble with another dog. I had to laugh a bit when the lady owner said that she wanted her daughter to be the one to work the dog in class. Trainer guy told her 'no way' and instead told the lady that she and/or one of the men she came with had to work with Princess for now until she's more under control.
At one point Trainer guy even had to take Princesses leash to get her to calm down and gain some control. Within 5 minutes though he had her under control to show the owner that it is possible, they just need to be firm and consistent with such a strong and intense dog. Princess did continue to give her owners some trouble throughout the class, but Trainer Guy stuck with them and kept on them about how to correct her and get her to focus to do what she was being asked. I really hope they stick with it and don't give up on her. She seemed very smart and caught on quickly when she was given clear direction on what she was being asked to do.
Anyway the focus of last nights class (other than Princess) was mainly working on the basics of heeling patterns. Forward, halt, sit, fast, slow, left, right, about turn, etc...Honestly I was really expecting Sadie to pull on me and act like an excited nut at first, especially with Princesses high energy in the yard. But to my surprise she stayed with me in an almost perfect heel position through every exercise! Actually it's a perfect class for Princess because none of the dogs seemed to even react to her at all. Anyway I had previously worked with Sadie on this stuff a little bit, but it has been more than a year since I really drilled her on any of it. Really the only thing we found that she needs work on is the sit when we come to a halt. She has a tendency to be very slow to sit and also to kick her butt out to the left and sit very crookedly, or to sit and then stand up when I'm not watching. I did get um... reprimanded twice because I moved forward without her being in a seated position. I have to be a bit more careful about watching her. I think a small part of her problem is also the fact that since it has been very cold weather, her knee has been giving her a bit of trouble. I will keep an eye on this and keep it in mind as we progress through the class.
Overall for her first class I am extremely pleased and proud of how well she did! I have high hopes for my old girl! I want to start by getting her CGC certified and then from there who knows? Maybe she will eventually even make it into some rally or obedience trials!
There were a total of four dogs in class which doesn't bother me any, I prefer smaller classes.There was a beautiful husky pup who looked to be about 6 months old. His owners have done a fantastic job training him thus far and he seems like a very smart little guy! There is also a younger looking Australian Shepherd, maybe a little less than a year old. Very quiet but overall appears to be a very well behaved little dog. And then there is the naughty kid in class. Her name is Princess and she is a very muscular, very solid looking little Pit Bull, either black and white or dark blue and white (wast night time so it was hard to tell). She's really not naughty, just a handful of a dog who seemingly has clueless owners. I am very happy at lest that they made the effort to bring her to class and are trying to teach her some manners. If they stick to it, Trainer guy will whip them all into shape in no time!
We got a bit of a late start because when Princess came charging into the yard Trainer guy had to make them go out and adjust her collar a bit better and give them a few pointers on how to introduce her into the class. She definitely doesn't seem aggressive, she just has a very intense high energy that could get her into big trouble with another dog. I had to laugh a bit when the lady owner said that she wanted her daughter to be the one to work the dog in class. Trainer guy told her 'no way' and instead told the lady that she and/or one of the men she came with had to work with Princess for now until she's more under control.
At one point Trainer guy even had to take Princesses leash to get her to calm down and gain some control. Within 5 minutes though he had her under control to show the owner that it is possible, they just need to be firm and consistent with such a strong and intense dog. Princess did continue to give her owners some trouble throughout the class, but Trainer Guy stuck with them and kept on them about how to correct her and get her to focus to do what she was being asked. I really hope they stick with it and don't give up on her. She seemed very smart and caught on quickly when she was given clear direction on what she was being asked to do.
Anyway the focus of last nights class (other than Princess) was mainly working on the basics of heeling patterns. Forward, halt, sit, fast, slow, left, right, about turn, etc...Honestly I was really expecting Sadie to pull on me and act like an excited nut at first, especially with Princesses high energy in the yard. But to my surprise she stayed with me in an almost perfect heel position through every exercise! Actually it's a perfect class for Princess because none of the dogs seemed to even react to her at all. Anyway I had previously worked with Sadie on this stuff a little bit, but it has been more than a year since I really drilled her on any of it. Really the only thing we found that she needs work on is the sit when we come to a halt. She has a tendency to be very slow to sit and also to kick her butt out to the left and sit very crookedly, or to sit and then stand up when I'm not watching. I did get um... reprimanded twice because I moved forward without her being in a seated position. I have to be a bit more careful about watching her. I think a small part of her problem is also the fact that since it has been very cold weather, her knee has been giving her a bit of trouble. I will keep an eye on this and keep it in mind as we progress through the class.
Overall for her first class I am extremely pleased and proud of how well she did! I have high hopes for my old girl! I want to start by getting her CGC certified and then from there who knows? Maybe she will eventually even make it into some rally or obedience trials!
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