Bonkers for Sadie: Who says you cant teach an old dog new tricks?

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!

2 comments:

JenJanuary 7, 2011 at 4:08 PM
:) I love the green color of this blog! Welcome to the blog world, Sadie! I'm looking forward to reading more about your training!

If she does, indeed, have hip dysplasia and is hurting, like we talked about, that could be a contributing factor to the way she sits in class. There may not be much you can do about it. Kansas sits that way whenever she is hurting bad, keeping all of her weight in her left leg and favoring the right.
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CrystalJanuary 7, 2011 at 4:12 PM
I'll definately keep it in mind. Hopefully in the coming months I can get her x-rayed just to see what is going on so I will know what we are dealing with and how we need to modify. Obvously if she does have major issues it will limit her capibilities but we could at least aim for the CGC and even novice Rally and Obedience as there is no jumping involved in either class.
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Novice Obedience Exercise Descriptions

Heel on Leash: Dog and Handler work as a team, the leash must be loose and held in a natural position. Orders for this exercise are: "Forward", "Halt", "Right turn", "Left turn", "About turn", "Slow" "Normal" and "Fast".

Stand for Examination: The dog stands in position before and during the examination without displaying resentment. Handler is instructed to "stand your dog and leave when you are ready", after positioning the dog the handler stands with dog in heel position, give the command/signal to stay and walk straight forward approximately 6 feet and then turn and face the dog. The judge will approach the dog from the front, using the fingers and palm of one hand, the judge will touch the dogs head, body and hindquarters. Judge will then give the command "back to your dog", handler returns to heel position. The dog must remain still until judge has said "exercise finished".

Recall: The dog must stay where left unitl called by handler and then must respond promptly when the handler commands or signals them to come. On order from the judge the handler will give the command/signal for the dog to stay in the sit position. Handler will then wakl forward to the other side of the ring with arms hanging naturally. On the judges order handler will command or signal the dog to come. Dog must come at brisk pace and sit stright, centered directly in front of handler. On judges order handler will give the dog the command/signal to finish. Dog must move quickly to heel position and sit.

Finish: Dog is directed to "swing" it's hind end around to the left to come to the heel position and then sit, or "heel" around to the right and behind the handler and come to the heel position and then sit.

Sit/Stay & Down/Stay (Group Exercises): The dog must remain in either the seated position or the down position, whichever is required by the particular exercise. The dogs will line up in catalog order along one side of the ring. The leash is removed and placed with the handlers armband behind the dog. Handlers are instructed to "sit your dog" or "down your dog", and then "leave your dog". The handler will walk across to the other side of the ring and stand in a natural position across from the dog until the judge orders them to "return to your dog". Any dog that leaves the place where it was left during the first group exercise will be given an "NQ" and excused from the remaining group exercise.