Last Day of Basic Obedience 7.16.2014

I don't mean to brag....but Misha was the best dog in this class. =)

She passed with flying colors.
I am not sure if my schedule will allow for advanced obedience training, but it's something to consider as Misha has made such improvement!

Misha passed with flying colors when the trainer tested each dog with heeling, forward, halt, trainer touching Misha (head, torso, tail), and having the dog come back to owner. I was skeptical about the trainer being able to approach Misha and touching her - Misha didn't even hesitate, and came to me when called.

Finally, we demonstrated to the class what a 'Figure 8' drill should looks like. Basically, you put chairs a few feet apart from each other and make figure eights around them. The chairs are suppose to represent people and they are to teach the dog to be by your side no matter how close in proximity they may come to an object or a person. We needed no training =). Misha showed the class how it was done. 

We will continue to practice the following exercises:

Figure 8
Stand
Down (we really need to work on this one)
Back up and Call
Distance (come on command with distance)
Back up and call + the 2 finishes (heel and swing)
Sit stay
Down Stay
Sit when halting (while walking or jogging- requires specific footwork (right foot then left foot "and sit"))
Among other things!!

Attached is a link a video of a demonstration of both finishes. I'm not so worried about Misha doing the finishes correctly; I am more impressed with the fact that she was so focused on the trainer and focused on what the trainer wanted from her.
More to come!

Progress!

I am so proud of Misha. This week was a great week!

Not only was the training session amazing, but we also attended her first agility course!

On Wednesday, there weren't that many dogs in the training class for some reason but Misha reacted no different in the new calmness. She is never reactive to the other dogs and has always been focused on me and what I want her to do. The trainer used her a lot to demonstrate the next task at hand. Misha was ready to work! She was excited, happy, and focused on the handler, whether me or the trainer. 

One of the commands that Misha is having the most trouble with is 'stand.' I believe she may be confusing it with 'sit' as she sits as soon as she hears the 's' sound. I have to work on being quicker and clearer with my words. 

This week's homework is as follows:

1. Master the heeling forward halt (stand)..hmm, maybe I should use 'Halt' instead?

2. Once in the halt position, touch the dog's body in three spots (head, middle, end)

3. Practice walking away from the dog and calling for her to come, practice getting further and further away

4. Finishes - heel and swing (these are challenging as it requires the dog to either make a full circle around you and sit to your left or to make a small circle next to you before sitting to your left (hard to explain))

5. DOWN stay and Sit stay (and walk around your dog, come back to them and heel them off)

Misha will get these, I'm sure. She has half of them practically mastered. 

SATURDAY July 12th: AGILITY TRAINING!!!

Welcome to Blazing Paws Agility Training. 

I am so thankful I found this place. The trainer, Leslie Granville-Smith, is probably one of the best I have seen. She first had us do basic obedience to see where our relationship is with our dog - everyone did so well she said this is probably the best class she's had, ever. 

Then, she had us all stand in a circle with a toy for our dogs. "PLAY!" The point of this was for her to see our interaction with our dog in a fun setting. Why? Because agility is all about fun and focus for the dogs and if the dog isn't having fun, there's no point (love this train of thought - all about the dog). After the exercise, the toys were put in the middle of the room and one by one she wanted to see how each dog/handler team interacted with all the toys. Misha did well, but didn't interact with all of them, only the ones she liked. Leslie saw which dogs were so focused on the handler, which ones made their own choice, and which ones had such a bond with their owners that no matter which toy they were presented with, they played. Why? because it wasn't about playing with the toy, it was about interacting with the handler. This is something I have to work on to build that bond - where Misha wants to interact with me and not with what I am offering. 

Lastly, the trainer wanted us to stand in the middle of the room, sans dog, and recall our pet. I saw Leslie going to the dogs, grabbing their leash, and waiting for the owner recall. I panicked a little. I thought "oh no, Misha is going to growl as soon as she approaches." I tried to calm my nerves. Leslie approached us and grabbed Misha by the collar. Misha did step back and go into her 'flight' mode, but very quickly calmed down. She did not growl, but instead looked away at all times, ears back. She allowed Leslie to grab a hold of her collar and was ok seeing me walk away. When I called her name, Misha ran to me so fast - and Leslie loved that. The worst part was over. Although not entirely with flying colors, Misha had passed the stranger approach. 

Moving on to the obstacles, we started off small. Misha did fantastic! She was enjoying jumping, standing on things (except for the obstacles that moved) and going...through...the tunnel!!! This was HUGE for me and when she finally did it, I was overwhelmed with joy, excitement, and pride. The tunnel had to be collapsed to it's smallest form before Misha could trust it. But after her third try, she was blazing through it! She got the message right away and quickly entered the tunnel several times to meet me at the end of it. 

What a great day! We had so much fun, bonded so well, and we are looking forward to the next class.

She is progressing. I can see our future is bright.

http://www.blazingpawsagility.com 

It was the worst of times, it was the best of times….in that order.

Day starts out well with a volunteer orientation for Canine Assisted Therapy, Inc.
After the meeting I asked if Misha could stop by the office and meet the nice people of this organization. She did; and growled at every single one of them for about 10 minutes.
She took treats from all of them, but still growled and even eliminated a bit on their rug (sorry!).
After about 15 minutes she was doing okay, but not great. She was still uncomfortable and looking for a way out. I led her to the room where they do the evaluations and began to play a game of "chase" with her. She loved it and had fun. I hope she remembers that part the next time she comes in the facility. Still, she was uncomfortable and wasn't trusting of the people.

Training was at 7:30pm as per usual and that went PHENOMENALLY well! Immediately, she went up to the trainer, who's apparently now her best friend. The trainer was very pleased and gave her a few treats. She believes the way to Misha's heart is through food. Of course, she's right. She suggested to have Misha receive "special" treats that only come from strangers. For example, Misha will never receive house food from me. Instead, the stranger can give her a small piece of hotdog, or even cheese. The trainer said to have new people only, (first time encounters) give her these special treats. Perhaps, Misha will catch on that every new person is there to give her goodies she doesn't otherwise get.
At the end of the class, Misha was getting treats from several strangers in the class and she willingly went up to them, tail high and wagging, ears perked, begging for treats.
This showed me that feeding her before class had nothing to do with her comfort level in class. She just needed to see the same people several times to be comfortable.

This Week's Homework

1. Keep practicing Leave It command
2. Time the 'stay'
3. Practice 'stay' and going around the dog - the dog cannot move while you are circling her
4. If possible, practice having strangers come to the house
5. Practice heeling and walking at different paces
6. SIT on command as soon as you stop walking (at any pace)
7. Practice "wait"
8. Something else I can't remember =(

Until next week.

A Second Visit from the Neighbor

Today is a good day.
Why? Because not only did Misha stay for a whole 2 minutes for the 'stay' exercise, but she also did VERY well when the neighbor came inside for a visit.
My hypothesis was right, Buddy was encouraging all the barking yesterday. This time, my boyfriend took Rusty and Buddy for a walk while the neighbor came and knocked on the door for Misha's exercise.
The first knock, and Misha didn't even move. She looked at the door with a confused stare, looked at me, and then sat down. I texted Erica to 'knock louder.' She did and this time Misha did the motion of wanting to bark but never did. I immedietly told her to 'sit - stay' and she did!
Erica came in, greeted me, and sat down on the couch.

As soon as she sat down, Misha came to greet her. (I know that wasn't the exercise - the exercise was to have Misha wait until she was invited to greet the person. Why? because not everyone that comes over wants to pet your dog). However, for my purpose, I wanted to see if Misha would seek the attention of Erica. To my surprise, she did! Never did she bark at her - instead, she went up to her and allowed Erica to pet her all over. In fact, Misha even placed her head on Erica's arm when Erica stopped petting her.
So yes, today was a good day.