Board and Train Dogs:
Petra Masri performed her Rally and Obedience a little better during our last training session. However, she’s doing lots of sniffing instead of being attentive which required lots of redirection work. Her ability to remain in heel position is very good…when she’s attentive. The scent of deer, rabbit and other wild creatures was very distracting to her. She’s been tolerant of all the other dogs. Her first couple days here she’d get “uppity” when I was preparing the meals. To correct this I ushered her away from the kitchen until the meals were prepared and several dogs in their “rooms” eating. She hasn’t had any tiffs since then.
Bangle Davis actually had a pretty good training session yesterday. A little sniffing and desire to eat some of the fallen pears, but with me for the most part. Her stays were really good and she didn’t lag too much except during our figure 8 work, on the outide.
Bolt Davis performed okay. Not as good as I’d like to see considering we’re going to a show in a couple days. He did a lot of lagging, and had some interest in the fallen pears, too. Otherwise, though, little sniffing and decent performance. His stand/stay continues to be difficult as he wants to wiggle and greet anyone who touches him. After 3-4 tries he gets it right.
Henny Robbins had a pretty good training session. He loves going on his walks. We walked up to the kennel and worked inside for a while. (View the pics at my other website: www.shadymountainpetretreat.com) He has a tendency to lay down during sit/stays, so that was our major concentration.
Private Lessons:
Last Wednesday I was scheduled to visit with Sasha Evans, but nobody was home. Maybe next week…
I had a visit with Goldie Perna and taught her Mr. how to work with all the behaviors she’d learned while here. Apparantly, her Mrs. never transferred the info and hasn’t practiced with her since she picked her up. Not good. The Mrs. is very reticent about engaging in the training and management process, which makes me concerned about how successful the dog will be with bite inhibition and overall obedience. Goldie adores her Mr. and wants nothing more than to be with him all the time, but he works during the day and it’s up to the Mrs. to manage Goldie around her children and their friends. As Goldie has already shown aggression to youngsters, neighbors and other visitors, this can be a major liability. I discussed this with both the Mr. and Mrs., stating that this was not an ideal situation for the dog. However, if they intended to keep her they must use the management tools I gave them. We’ll see…..
My last lesson of the day was with two Toy Poodles (though they were nearly the size of Miniature Poodles); Beau and Buffy Gardner. Both dogs are totally unsocialized and untrained. I spent nearly an hour just sitting there and throwing them small treats. Beau gradually came closer and ate the treats. Buffy never attempted. When their humans came in they climbed all over them. Then I fitted them with Easy Walk harnesses and separated them. Buffy learned to come and sit fairly quickly and also started to walk with me. Beau had the brakes on for most of the work. However, he came more readily for his human companion. Both dogs sat on command fairly well. As we didn’t get much further than this, indoors, I’m meeting with them again next week to teach them to heel outdoors. They are scheduled to come here for a month of board and train in August and I don’t wish to put them in shock with having never been outside prior to coming here as most of the dogs here spend the majority of their time outside — playing in the yard, laying in the shade, playing in the pool, etc. I believe in lots of exercise and social time for dogs.
Kennel Construction:
Still doing drywall.
Production Work:
The film that I provided 3 yellow parakeets for, Birds, directed by Mark Betancort, won the Rosebud Award for top-ten short film at the Rosebud Film Festival.
Board and Train Dogs:
I have started setting up Rally-O courses for Bolt and Bangle Davis. Good thing, as both dogs were initially “put off” by the signage, holders and other paraphenelia. I invested in a full blown show ring course set to acclimate both dogs to the routines. Bolt performed the Honor (down/stay) as I set up the course, then we ran through a couple times with different exercises inserted within. Bangle couldn’t get over the signage and tried to avoid being near them at the beginning. Then she got distracted by the pears on the ground, the leaves on the ground, the sticks on the ground, etc. It was tough to maintain her attention. We were only able to do one successful retrieve exercise.
Petra Masri had a great lesson on Friday as she was the distraction dog for one of my lessons; Simon Allen. At first she was merely excited to be running around outside after several hours in the car. She was very raw on her responses, which shows me that she hasn’t been worked with in some time. She’s also returned to jumping on people. Grrrrrrr!
Private Lessons:
Goldie Perna was picked up on Wednesday by her Mrs. and two of the children. The moment I took her out of the yard I saw a different dog. Not the one that was responding beautifully regardless of distraction or being near trees. A dog who became highly aroused took her place. She was excited to see her family again, but that wasn’t what disturbed me. The fact that she returned to her OCD of jumping on trees and when I tried to redirect her, she jumped at me and nipped my side. This was something she’d never done before. After almost a half hour of working with her Mrs. we were able to transfer most of the communication/training techniques. However, I have my doubts about how much it will all stick as her Mrs. just wasn’t “engaged” in working her. Goldie is a difficult dog, not for a novice owner with children. In fact, I suggested that Goldie be closely watched, even on her training equipment when the children have friends over or when visitors arrive. The dog cannot be trusted when aroused.
Tobias Halperin had a better lesson. He was pushy with his Mrs., but worked well for me. Early morning seems to suit his response behavior better than afternoon. His Mrs. was persistent enough to get some good response out of him. We were able to drop the leash, walk around and do the recall exercises as well. Emma performed quite well with the leash dropped. She did nice long stays and comes. Very reliable.
Simon Allen started his lesson by flopping over. What I have discovered is that we work him just a couple minutes, give him a break and allow him to remain flopped. When he stirs we restart the training. This seems to work very well for him and his responses were crisp and he maintained a longer attention span. We’re now going to two week lesson intervals.
Kennel Construction:
We’re working on the drywall. The indoor suites are lined with the drywall as well as the ceiling just outside of them. I believe it’ll take 3 weekends to complete the downstairs drywall installation. Next weekend we’ll also have a bit of time to work on the exterior chinking; weather permitting.
Production Work:
Nothing scheduled. Good thing as I’ll have 6 dogs in July, making me well over capacity. August is also filled…to capacity. With so many dogs I can’t take a day or two to work productions.
Board and Train Dogs:
Our relatively nice weather the past week meant more time outside. That meant more exercise and longer training sessions.
Goldie Perna continues to improve. I can now walk her by any tree and she barely glances at it. She can also work well with other dogs (only female ones) frollicking around her. She still dislikes male dogs or very dominant female dogs. Unfortunately, she’ll need to remain on some type of leash at all times when meeting up with a new dog…just in case she gets REALLY pushy as she tends to with young dogs who are showing complete submission. Her aggression toward people has not made the same improvememts. As it’s very quiet here with few visitors, there’s not much I can do to practice. However, through her training she has learned that if I use a low tone of voice she’s to stop her growling; redirecting her attention to me, then the smile returns on her face. She has a total lack of trust of most new people, but her behavior can be totally controlled if she has leadership present.
Carley Burns has markedly decreased her jumping. She got me this morning, once, but for the most part, has drastically reduced the behavior. At the beginning of each training session she still pulls a bit, but soon decreases it. Her stays are getting better. I can now walk completely around her at the end of the leash, and even dropped the leash to increase my distance on her stays and comes. Her come is very good. She comes directly to me and sits. In fact, most of the time she will sit as she knows she’ll be rewarded for it. I gave her a pedicure yesterday. It was quite difficult. Just getting her to stop wiggling around is the big thing, never mind she doesn’t like having her feet touched. I got a little off all her nails, but certainly not as short as they should be.
Bangle Davis is totally in her terrible teens right now. Her attention span is quite small. I can get maybe 10 minutes of work out of her which includes the fetching of the dumbbell routine. The fetching goes well a couple times, then the smells grab her attention and she takes the dumbbell with her to go sniff. Her stays are getting better, though.
Bolt Davis has had a great couple of days. I’ve been taking him with me when I feed the horses. He’s listening well and does stays outside the fence. When I release him, he remains in the area waiting for me. He doesn’t bark at or chase the horses. He either ignores them or remains wary of them, which is good because Tarzan, my paint, would chase him if he gets the chance. This is a horse who loves chasing dogs. Bolt is also performing his Rally routines well, though we’re still struggling with straight recalls.
Private Lessons:
Simon Allen was in a horrible mood on Saturday. He didn’t want to do anything. Still we got about 15 minutes out of him at the start of the lesson and another 7-10 minutes after he had time out in his crate for 10 minutes. When Simon gets in those moods he just lays down and doesn’t respond. So the lesson for the day was persistence, persevere, remain patient and always win those challenges so that the dog doesn’t get it into his head that he’s the boss.
Tobias and Emma had a pretty good lesson on Saturday. We were able to work outside as the day was still relatively comfortable. Emma has gotten sloppy on her heeling, mostly because her human is allowing it. Otherwise, her stays and comes were very good…off leash. Tobias was challenging, much like Simon Allen. He didn’t want to do anything. I merely kept working him until his responses improved, then turned him over to his human companion. We were able to have him do some long distance stays and comes, though we had to maintain a hold on the long leash to insure we backed up any commands that he decided to refute. With Tobias, it’s not a matter of not understanding the exercises, it’s a matter of “I don’t want to listen to you right now, I’ve got other things I want to do.” Their little sister a JRT named Bambina joined in on our in-house round robin game. She showed that even at 12 years old she wants to learn and receive rewards for doing so. I was able to have her do the sit/stays with the other two and started her on a down.
Kennel Construction:
Well, chinking is hard. It’s not just a matter of slopping on the plaster. It dries quickly so that it must have a continuous moisture application of Isopropyl Alcohol. There are 3 steps: application with a caulking gun, spreading out with a spatula then smoothing out with a curved spatula. We didn’t even complete one lower side of the kennel. This is going to be a long project. On Sunday we stocked the drywall and hung it in one of the suites. It’s a start. At least we’ll have something do do regardless of the weather on the weekends. Chinking if the weather’s nice. Drywall if it isn’t.
Board and Train Dogs:
I’ve made great headway with Goldie Perna regarding her reactive behavior with other dogs. Yesterday she heeled at my side while two young dogs cavorted around us. Goldie was very attentive. When she felt overwhelmed by their behavior, such as when they were directly in front of us, she fell back behind me. We walked 4 yard lengths in this manner. As the yard is an acre and a half, this was quite a bit. I have found that if she begins to snarl all I have to do is a firm touch with a low growl to redirect her. She looks at me then walks away from the dog she’s growling at. We also made headway on her tree jumping. Yesterday we were able to do a sit and down stay right next to a tree and walk by as well wtihout jumping at it. The key was close baiting so that she gave 85% of her attention to the bait instead of the tree. She still glanced at it, but didn’t jump. I was able to make complete circles around her during her sit/stay and step along her right side during her down/stays. Her come, sit and finish are very good.
Carley Burns loves to work, especially when she can do so off leash. I practice this in the fenced yard, but not outside the “secure” zone. Yesterday she performed come, sit and sit/stay with Bangle Davis directly beside her performing at the same time. I would release them, then call them to come and sit again. By the end of that exercise, both young dogs were paying attention to wherever I walked so that they’d be ready for their recall commands. Carley’s excessive barking has markedly decreased. I haven’t applied the bark collar since the initial time a few days ago. She will stop barking when I say, “Quiet.” in a firm tone of voice. This is quite an accomplishment when she’s barking at the horses or when she hears a neighbor’s dog barking, which they do incessantly every evening and early morning.
Bolt and Bangle arrived again, yesterday for a 6 week visit. During this time I’m prepping them both for the show ring; Bolt more so than Bangle as she’s entered her terrible teens (she’s 5 mos. old). The only things Bolt has to improve are his distraction reaction to other dogs, Stand for Exam and to come in straight for a recall. We’ll have 3 matches next month to help with this, plus 4 group classes with Charlottesviile Kennel Club. Both Labs will also go for hikes with me in the woods so that they learn how to remain nearby while in a strange environment off leash. Bangle has been doing this with me since she was a very young pup, but Bolt gets a little nervous in strange places, which will be fine as he’ll stick closer to me. Last week both dogs worked at their home, in the horse stable to acclimate to that environment. Bangle overcame her “what is that big thing?” reaction after the second session. Bolt had initial reactions as it’d been nearly a year since he’d had that distraction, but soon redirected his attention to me for the most part. I was able to release him off leash in the area and have him come to me when called.
Private Lessons:
Nothing since Tuesday. Tomorrow I see Simon Allen, Tobias and Emma Halperin. Sunday I meet two new dogs, Abby and Nitche Sorrell, who will be visiting here for two weeks in August.
Kennel Construction:
Nothing new.
Production Work:
Nothing scheduled. Good thing as I’m overloaded with K9 visitors through August.
Board and Train Dogs:
Both Carly Burns and Goldie Perna are making progress. First of all, they’re great friends. They romp, play and nap together. Goldie is definitely the more assertive one and tends to get along well because Carly doesn’t challenge her at all, just plays with her. Goldie is thrilled to have another dog to play with. It’s helped settle her a lot.
Carly Burns can now perform her stays wtih me walking completely around her. We started the down/stay and she can remain with me at her side for up to 5 seconds. Her heeling has also improved, with only occasional face rubbing and forging at the beginning of a training session. Otherwise, she’s paying attention, especially if she sees a treat in my hand. I’m working on changing the treats to rewards instead of bait, though she does perform better when the treats are bait. She’s still jumping up a bit, but not as much as before. Her excessive barking was getting very bad, so I put a bark collar on her (one that sprays citronella) yesterday and her barking has noticeably decreased. I took it off last night and haven’t had to put it on so far today. We’ll see as the day progresses. Carly is sweet and sensitive, but can be willful if the mood strikes her.
Goldie Perna loves her training sessions. She is super wiggly as I put on her training tools - the Comfort trainer and Easy Walk Harness. I’ve tried working her with just one or the other, and she does well until she comes to a tree that incites her to jump at it. So with both training tools, she’s far easier to redirect as her mind goes blank when that occurs. Though I shouldn’t say Blank, just one track minded — I’ve got to jump on that tree. It’s an obsessive compulsive disorder that Goldie cannot control and the more I try to prevent her from it the more frustrated she gets. So when she’s released from work, I allow her to get it out of her system in the hope that it’ll become less of an obsession. Otherwise, her training is progressing nicely. Her heeling is great. I can walk around her on her sit/stays, she lays down on command with short stays and does nice recall and finish. When she sees another dog she looks at me instead without any display of aggression toward the other dog, unless the other dog displays aggression first.
Private Lessons:
I visited with Simon Allen yesterday. That little man keeps growing so fast! He has entered pre-adolescence and is a challenge for his human companions. He’s at an age when he should either be watched or is safely tucked somewhere that he can’t get into trouble. While he was here he got so much exercise that when he came in the house he plopped down and slept soundly. At home his “sisters” are too old to want to play with him the way he needs so he gets into trouble. His humans have beautiful gardens that are ripe for mischief. They also have a large home that makes it difficult to keep an eye on him so he goes off and finds things to occupy his time. At his age, restriction and structure are the key. He performed his obedience behaviors very nicely for us, and has made continuing strides on his long stays and nice heeling.
Tobias and Emma Halperin had a short lesson yesterday due to their human companion not feeling well. However, in that short time I noticed that they’d regressed on a few things. Namely, their down on command and long stays. Tobias continues to be obnoxious when someone arrives–jumping up and barking. I also learned that one of them chewed a couch pillow when left alone for a short time. They believe it was Emma; who tends to have some separation anxiety. We worked on tandem round robin games with come, sit, stay, and down. Their little JRT, Bambina, joined in with the fun and she learned to do a short sit/stay. I believe that much of their misbehavior stems from their humans being too permissive with them. Tobias needs more structure and consistency.
Kennel Construction:
The staining is done. As the chinking tools just arrived, this weekend will be devoted to that. Who knows what else will be done. Depends on the weather and amount of time it takes to chink.
Production Work:
Nothing scheduled. However, I was notified that one of the productions I worked on, a short film titled, Birds, won the Rosebud Award for top ten short films at the Rosebud Film Festival. I provided 3 yellow parakeets for that film.
Board and Train Dogs:
Simon had a slightly better training session than the previous one the day before. His only issue this time was distractions. Every noise he heard had to be investigated, meaning if I told him to sit or down, he was looking elsewhere. However, his heeling was pretty good as were his come and sits and stays. He’s adjusted to the Easy Walk harness for the most part. Since the arrival of Carly Burns, a German Shorthair Pointer, he’s been in heaven. They’re having a great time together, especially in the wading pool. (See pics at Shadymountainpetretreat.com)
Carly Burns arrived on Friday. She’s a 7 mos. old German Shorthair Pointer. She’s petit, fine boned and super sweet. Her main behavioral issues is jumping up and barking at “unknowns.” I had met her a little over a month ago and we started on heel and sit on the Comfort Trainer and the come and sit off leash indoors. She actually performs both fairly well off leash within the fenced yard. She didn’t get much practice from her humans on the head halter so she’s still acclimating to it and not being attentive unless I put food directly under her nose. She doesn’t like being left alone at night in her suite, but quickly quiets when I leave, especially if I leave an interactive treat toy.
Goldie Perna, a bulldog/lab mix, has done pretty well since her arrival on Thursday. I still don’t allow her freedom with the other dogs, but she does get many hours of free time in the big play yard. She loves to work on leash and behaves very nicely while being trained. She’s eager to learn new things. We have accomplished the down on command and begun movement on her sit/stay. She’s very good in her suite - even enjoys being in it, especially when I leave a food filled bone or toy.
Private Lessons:
Yesterday’s work with Bolt Davis wasn’t exactly a private lesson. We went to our first obedience trial run-through in Fredericksburg. There were hardly any dogs there, which was a blessing as Bolt has become very reactive when he sees other dogs. He’s not being aggressive, he justs wants to greet them, exuberantly. Once he greets someone he’s fine; however, that isn’t allowed in the show ring, so he’s got to learn to pay attention to me regardless of all the new friends around him. Besides the grueling drive, which he did well on since he loves to travel, we figured out quite a few things both with handling and his training level. Handling… I need to have him perform his finish to the left, use verbal cue for Come. Training.. we need to work on lagging, improve his stand/stay and of course make him more reliable on a straight come and sit. Overall, he performed pretty well in the ring and even did his long stays. We’ve got lots of work to do before his run-throughs next month in Richmond. Luckily, I’ll be picking up Bolt and Bangle tomorrow for a 6 week visit, allowing me to work him daily.
Kennel Construction:
The staining is completed. Since the tools for applying the chinking haven’t yet arrived, we’ll be working on exterior trim today.
Board and Train Dogs:
Yesterday a new visitor arrived: Goldie Perna. She’s a Bulldog/Lab mix. Her temperament is quite a conglomeration of the two breeds, though I must say it’s not the best of both. With me she’s sweet, attentive and playful. With others, such as my husband who tried to befriend her, she fear growled. She has bitten people and shows aggression to other dogs. Though I’d love to allow her to play with other dogs it’ll be a long process of teaching her self control. Meanwhile, she’ll remain separated from them. We did make some headway yesterday evening. I worked her in the vacinity of another dog. She snarled, but when she went to “move in” I was able to successfully redirect her attention back to me. The snarling stopped and every time she glanced at the other dog, she immediately brought her attention back to me. I was surprised at how quickly she redirected. She wasn’t even wearing a head halter, just the Easy Walk harness! I think she’ll progress pretty well. One other thing…she was wearing two collars on her arrival. One was extremely tight and had no means of slipping over her head. As it wasn’t the tag bearing collar, I cut it off. She seemed very happy that it no longer choked her. She seems to like her suite and is comfortable on her bed. I gave her an Everlasting treat ball, with treats and she loves it.
Simon Allen didn’t perform as well yesterday. I believe he’s still acclimating to the Easy Walk harness. He didn’t mouth or get testy; he lay down every chance he got. The harness did allow me to control him a bit better without pulling on his neck. He will soon get a larger neck collar as his is getting to small. He’s growing like a daisy! I say daisy instead of weed, because he’s so sweet and beautiful. As he learns to contain his potty he’s getting more indoor priveledges and is enjoying them. Hopefully, today’s training session goes a bit better as he acclimates to the harness.
Private Lessons:
Nothing going on till tomorrow.
Kennel Construction:
Nothing new.
Other:
Tomorrow Bolt Davis attends his first dog show run-throughs. We’ll see how prepared he is. We have the rest of June and most of July to prepare for his first match July 27 in Warrenton.
Board and Train Dogs:
Today Simon Allen performed everything beautifully. When he got tired he mouthed the leash a bit, but I was able to get him to stop fairly quickly. During his sit/stay I dropped the leash and walked around him a little more than 6 feet away. I was able to make complete circles around him on his down/stays. We also worked on the Finish to the left, which he has about 50%—when he’s paying attention nicely, that is. I introduced him to the Easy Walk Harness. Unfortunately, he was already tired so we didn’t work on it much. We’ll do more tomorrow. However, with his good progress, I don’t see why he can’t go home on the 15th. provided I meet with him a couple times per week to continue his forward progression. I know his mommy and daddy miss him very much.
Bolt Davis had a rough couple days. The night before last he (and I) were up all night throwing up (I was cleaning it up). As he did more yesterday morning I contacted his vet. She said to fast him until this morning and give him an antacid. It has worked. No more vomiting and a happier dog–and happier human as there’s less mess to clean. We worked on Rally and Obedience this morning. He didn’t wish to perform his long stays, but did do everything else, albeit a bit of lagging during heeling.
Bangle Davis had a pretty good lesson. She’s making improvements on her retrieve exercise. Now she’ll bring it, sit and then give me the dumbell. She did quite a bit of sniffing during her work, though, and I had to redirect her attention back to me through verbal tones and turns. She did the best job ever on her stand/stay. She remained in the same spot without my touching her at all for at least 20 seconds.
Private Lessons:
Monday morning I met an enormous puppy–Boo. He’s half Golden Retreiver and halft GSD. I think there’s something else in him too as he’s only 7mos. old and weighs 95 pounds. And, he’s not overweight. Just very large boned. I can’t imagine how much larger he’ll get as he’s still got 2 more months of rapid growth going on. As most adolescent dogs without appropriate guidance, he was mouthy, jumpy and obstinate. The heat had a huge effect on him and we didn’t get much more than 10 minutes of work out of him. During that time he learned to target and heel and sit on leash. He’s open to learning, but has a short attention span. Unfortunately, he is not allowed in the house, and with this horrible heat of late, it’s been tough on him.
Tuesday I met with Tobias and Emma Halperin. We worked indoors on their off leash obedience and also worked on their tandem responses through the round robin game. They did pretty well on that, though Emma was far more responsive than Tobias. I was able to drop Tobias’ leash during his stays and a little during his heeling. Emma doesn’t really need a leash at all anymore. In fact, I know she’d prefer no Easy Walk Harness, too.
Kennel Construction:
Nothing new.
Production Work:
Nothing scheduled.
Board and Train Dogs:
Frannie Haycraft went home yesterday. We had a nice lesson with her human companions prior to her leaving. When she first saw them she could hardly believe that someone had returned for her. She’s been in many homes in her 8 mos of life and most people she never sees again. She’s a really nice, sweet and cute dog, but has a high energy level that most families cannot deal with. While here, she ran and played a lot so she had become very calm and eager to learn. She showed off well for her humans, performing her stays, comes, sit, down and heel. She’s still a bit sniffy on the heel, mostly because she doesn’t like wearing the comfort trainer, but without the training tool she’ll return to pulling. We were able to drop the leash on her stays and comes. She had made 3 weeks of training progress in the 16 days of her visit. Way above average.
Bolt and Bangle Davis have been reticent about going outside during these hot days. I get them out just enough to avoid Bangle having indoor “accidents.” This morning Bolt worked well on his obedience and Rally routines. I could hardly get Bangle to concentrate on her retrieving and a little obedience. Either the ground had too many great smells, or it was too hot to move forward. I did get a nice Stand/Stay out of her though. She stood still for several seconds without my having to touch her.
Simon Allen is also reticent to work outside. We did get some time with him this morning. Morning seems to be his best time for concentrating. He performed his stays with me walking around him on the end of the leash (6′ distant). He’s starting to pull a bit on the leash if he gets distracted so the next lesson we’ll begin with the Easy Walk Harness training. He also tried mouthing the leash today. A quick verbal reprimand stopped him, but he’s definitely getting “testy” as he becomes a pre-adolescent. Yesterday I felt his teeth scrape the back of my calf as I was in the yard with all the dogs. It’s how the dogs play with each other, but Simon needs to learn that humans don’t play in that manner. He is consistently going out through the dog door and down the stairs to do his potty business. As this takes some effort, especially in the heat, I believe he understands that he’s not to relieve himself indoors.
Private Lessons:
Nothing in the past few days.
Kennel Construction:
As of today the staining of the siding will be complete. We won’t be able to do the chinking until the tools arrive, as the chinking material has proven very difficult to work with otherwise. The interior of the kennel has been prepped for drywall which will be installed next weekend. At least the work will be indoors and somewhat cooler than the oven conditions today. Luckily, Shady Mountain has a nice breeze breaking up the humidity somewhat.
Board and Train Dogs:
Simon Allen continues to improve his disposition and desire to perform. He’s a very sweet dog and prefers to remain within touching distance of me when we play in the yard. I think he’s a little worried about being bowled over by other dogs playing near him; even though he’s as tall as they are. He hasn’t had any indoor accidents since his second day here. He always makes the effort to go through the dog door and do his business in the yard. He doesn’t go far, however. It’s basically just near the bottom of the stairs to the back deck. He goes to bed at 9:30-10pm and I let him out at 5:45am-6am. He’s in no rush to potty. His obedience training is very good. He heels pretty nicely, using his clip-on collar. He only pulls when distracted or fearful of something. His sit/stays are great. I can walk all the way around him on the end of the leash. Most pups his age can’t perform such great sit/stays. We have begun his down/stays. He can perform that as I walk behind him, but not yet in front of him. His come and sit is always on target and he can also perform the Finish to the left–when closely baited. A couple times each day I let him play with the water coming out of the hose. He certainly loves it and it helps cool him off in this hot weather.
Frannie Haycraft loves her training sessions. If I don’t get to her until later in the day she’s poking at me telling me that I forgot something. As it’s been very hot during the day I’ve put off most of the training sessions until evening when it cools off a bit. Frannie is performing great sit and down stays. I even dropped the leash on the last training session while walking around her. Her come and sits are also pretty good. I can see that she might get distracted easily, though, and would not drop her leash if she’s not safely contained when exposed to distractions. She’s still a bit fussy during the heel as the Comfort Trainer is itchy to her face. Without it she still pulls way too much, so she has to wear it while training.
Bolt and Bangle Davis had a vet appointment today so I took advantage of the outing and we worked through the distractions. As Bolt has learned that the vet’s office is a place for a free-for-all it took some work to regain his attention. Bangle simply behaved throughout, even when the vet took her into the lab to draw blood. Bangle accepts everything with equanimity and good humour. Bolt gets anxious and reactive when faced with distractions. He’s an “all or none” dog–extremely energetic or out cold. Bangle is more laid back and watchful.
Private Lessons:
Yesterday I met with Sasha Evans and Goldie Perna.
Sasha Evans had her first walk without a Comfort Trainer. We used the Easy Walk harness, hoping to phase out the need for the head halter. She did pretty well, for the most part, but did give her human companion a little more work to regain attention when distracted. She also didn’t respond as quickly. It’ll take some time to accomplish the reduction of training tools, mostly because she has learned that her human is permissive instead of consistent.
Goldie Perna actually performed quite well. I convinced her human companions to leave the basket muzzle at home, especially since she was wearing a head halter and Easy Walk harness. The dog already has power steering with these tools and any distraction can easily be redirected. I convinced the Mrs. that it’s of extreme importance to partake in the training so that Goldie views her as more of a leader and less as her followerer (her meaning the dog’s follower which is where she stands at this time). Goldie loves her Mr. and their training sessions together. I’m sure she’ll miss him when she comes to stay here for a couple weeks. Both of her humans were surprised that Goldie didn’t show aggression to me when I walked in the door, instead she greeted me with a sit and a smile. This shows that we made lots of progress a week ago when she and her Mr. came to visit for a lesson.
Today’s visit with Emma and Tobias Halperin was mixed. Emma performed fantastically. Tobias didn’t wish to work at all. Granted, it was hot outside and both dogs definitely felt the heat. But even when we returned indoors and worked, Tobias just wouldn’t respond without being “made” to do something. Emma was so good I was able to work with her with her leash dragging most of the time. She had occasional movements out of a stay, but a stern vocal tone was sufficient to put her back into position. Tobias didn’t care about vocal tones. He just wanted to do his own thing. Once he performed a solid sit/stay and come we stopped the session.
Kennel Construction:
The staining of the exterior logs is half done. We should finish it this weekend. Hopefully, we also get to the chinking this weekend.
Production Work:
Nothing scheduled.
Board and Train Dogs:
Everybody was very successful today.
Frannie Haycraft has finally accomplished the down/stay with walk around. She’s relaxing into position and patiently waiting for her next command. She’s still doing lots of sniffing, though, so the head halter is still a necessity. Everything else is very good. She’s come and sit, readily. Her sit/stays are solid with 6′ distance and movement. Her heeling is great when she’s not sniffing. Her behavior is improving as well. She’s trying hard to not jump up but it’s such a natural movement for her that it’s tough to control. She’ll even jump on the door though she can see perfectly well out the window if looking outside. I consider it an accomplishment to see her reduce her jumping on me. Her barking only occurs when she sees something that she can’t specify. Otherwise, she’ll quickly stop. Her eating is still good though I’ve reduced the amount of Innova due to her having some loose stool. She’s currently at 50/50 on her food switch. She has developed a good friendship with Simon Allen, a 3 mos old English Mastiff who arrived last week. Initially she bullied him. Now she plays with him and protects him from the other dogs. They don’t like being separated, even during mealtimes. However, they’re fine with it at night when Simon sleeps in his crate.
Simon Allen has made huge strides in the short time he’s been here. I haven’t had him try to mouth me the past two days. He also doesn’t bite at his leash, at all. I’m working him off his neck collar as he’s doing quite well responding to verbal tones and cues. If he begins pulling I’ll definitely go to an Easy Walk harness to control his front end a bit more. Meanwhile, he’s learned to heel, sit/stay, down and come and sit. I’ve actually been able to walk all the way around him during his sit/stay. His attention span is short due to his age and breed, but he accomplishes a whole lot in a short period of time. He has had some accidents indoors. However, most of the time when he is taken outside and told to Potty, he does so fairly quickly.
Bolt Davis was spectacular today. It was very hot and he still showed tons of enthusiasm and worked well. As I’m preparing him for Rally-O we’ve been working through the exercises. One we started today was to back up in heel position. Prior to today we’d only done the cue with me facing him. So this exercise was totally new. Well, Bolt identified it immediately and performed beautifully, many times over. We’re also working hard on a Stand/Stay. He tends to move a bit as I’m returning to heel position.
Bangle Davis performed well for a short period of time. As she’s now a teen her attention tends to wander. We do most of our work off leash so I’m having to use a lot of verbal “reminders” to get her back on track. Her retrieving was less than spectacular today. I got 2 good ones out of her. We’ve begun a slight pause between the Ready-the throw and the send. She’s pretty consistent with always returning the dumbbell into my upturned palm. She’s also quite wiggly with the Stand/Stay. Today was the first day I was able to have her perform it without my having to be touching her while she stayed. It’s progress!
Private Lessons:
Yesterday I met with Tobias and Emma Halperin. I concentrated on working with one of their human companions who has not been able to work with them previously. It was mostly a matter of teaching handling skills, while also making certain the dogs would respond to him. Both have their stubborn streaks in different ways. Emma gets sloppy and Tobias defiant in that he ignores the cues.
Kennel Construction:
This weekend we’re caulking and staining the siding. It’s a beautiful pecan color. If we finish staining this weekend, we’ll be chinking next weekend. The plan from there is to have the fencing for the outdoor suites installed and the following weekend, drywall.
Production Work:
I’ve seen the finished product of the Maddie’s Fund commercial. It came out quite good. The entire project was filmed digitally which made it easy to edit and post.
Board and Train Dogs:
Frannie Haycraft is doing very nicely. She still hasn’t totally mastered the down/stay, but has accomplished the sit/stay with a walk around–provided I target her closely. She loves her training sessions and playing in the yard with the other dogs. Her resource guarding behavior has disappeared. Yesterday was the first day she barked. She saw my husband walking by the yard as I was working with her. I was able to successfully redirect her attention back to me using vocal tones and targeting, with rewards, of course.
Private Lessons:
I saw Emma and Tobias Halperin yesterday in their new home. They’ve adjusted nicely. Tobias is still leaking when excited. He can’t control that. They back tracked a little on their training, but we quickly brought them up to par again. Emma was near perfect on everything. Tobias was challenging at first, especially of his human companion. After I worked with him he settled into an attentive mode for about 20 minutes, which is good for him.
Simon Allen has increased his mouthiness with his humans. He plays off their inability to successfully correct and redirect. He is a stubborn and challenging male Mastiff who already seeks to achieve leadership status, at a mere 4 mos. of age. He spent a long time fussing about the head halter. When he finally settled I removed it and we worked on come, sit and heel using his regular neck collar. We also had issues with his biting at the leash–more so with his humans than with me as I successfully redirected him. He doesn’t wish to be controlled in any manner. The past few days his owners have been considering bringing him here for bootcamp. I suggested a long stay of 4-6 weeks, as his behavior requires some intense consistency. Otherwise, I should visit with them twice per week, instead of once every 10 days, as the behavior is perpetuating.
Yesterday I visited with Sasha Evans. She performed well, for the most part. Her owner is back to repeated commands and not following through, as well as not using a low, gruff tone with corrections. She tries instead to treat her like a young child instead of the older adolescent Sasha actually is. As Sasha is assertive, persistent and intelligent, she has easily circumvented her owner’s platitudes.
Kennel Construction:
Nothing new. Hopefully this weeked remains rain free and we can stain and chink the siding.
Board and Train Dogs:
As Tobias and Emma Halperin are going home today, I just completed their spa treatments–much to their chagrin. They weren’t at all happy with being bathed and getting their teeth brushed. In fact, it was quite difficult. And I thought doing their nails was a challenge! I was able to halfway coax Tobias into the raised tub, but Emma would have nothing to do with it. They did get their baths and they did get their ears cleaned. Once I had them safe in their bedroom I did the best I could on ever moving dental patients. They should be dry and ready to work when their human companions arrive. The past few days of training have gone well for them. Both are performing their stays, comes and heeling quite well, even with some minor distractions. We’ll see how well they perform with the major distraction of their owners…
Frannie Haycraft arrived a few days ago. She’s a Sheltie/Beagle mix. Very sweet, but with some major issues. Upon arrival she was quite stressed and couldn’t decide if she wanted attention or to resource guard her bed. By the end of the day she decided attention was far more enjoyable, as she received none when she resource guarded. Frannie has a bad jumping up problem and wants to be in everyone else’s business. While I was bathing Tobias and Emma, she jumped on the raised tub and stuck her nose in every chance she could. She didn’t mind the water at all. She merely wished to be the center of attention instead of on the fringes. She is quite intelligent and is learning her obedience routines very quickly. She has been heeling well, sit/stay with some movement, down, come and sit and the finish. All this in just a few days! I might be starting her off leash work in a week. Though her jumping up has reduced it’s by no means extinguished. Still a long way to go with that.
Next Thursday Bolt and Bangle Davis will be arriving for an extended visit. Frannie will enjoy playing with them.
June is completely booked with visitors and July half filled already.
Private Lessons:
I’ve done a couple private lessons with Bolt and Bangle Davis in order to begin their prep for the show ring. Bolt is heading for Rally-O and Bangle for Obedience as well as Rally-O. If Bolt ever gets over his heavy issues with the presence of other dogs he might do some obedience, too. Bangle, however, has no issues with other dogs and at the tender age of 5 mos. can work and be attentive in the presence of other canines. I’ve begun working the two of them in tandem as well. Who knows? I might even get them to perform in Brace classes.
Kennel Construction:
The siding is completed!!! While we decide on the exterior stain color, the interior is being prepped for the blown in insulation for the ceiling and then the drywall installation. I believe the kennel might be operational by the end of the summer. \
Production Work:
Nothing scheduled.
Board and Train Dogs:
I’ve finally been able to complete Emma’s toenail trim. Through coaxing, treats and lots of patience I was able to trim all of her nails. She, like Tobias, really hates having her feet touched and held. Though she didn’t like it she remained good natured throughout the process. She and Tobias can now perform their stays as I walk completely around them. Tobias still pulls a bit when we begin heeling. Emma doesn’t pull at all. She’s very watchful. Both come and sit nicely. Neither have jumped on me in 3 days! Nice progress.
Bolt and Bangle Davis were delivered home yesterday. Several times Bolt tried to get back into my vehicle. It’s not just that he wished to return here. He merely loves riding in the vehicle. As his invisible fence collar wasn’t available he didn’t respect the yard boundaries and Bangle likes to follow, so I set up an X-pen temperary pen, using 3 X-pens together. This way when nobody can watch them they can both enjoy the outdoors safely. Their lessons are coming along nicely. Bangle responds very well to voice fluctuations and words. Bolt just wants to do anything to earn treats and will throw the tricks at me if I try to straighten a sit or heel position. Part of this is due to his owners sending him straight to heel position on a recall command. After 4 months of work I’m still trying to undue that damage.
Private Lessons:
Nothing new to report.
Kennel Construction:
The rain on Sunday prevented our completing the siding. As we’ve got a nice weekend forecast for this coming weekend we hope to complete the finat two upper walls of siding. Who knows? We might even begin the interior drywall.
Production Work:
Wow, what a week. I am so tired. Both Tuesday and Wednesday productions ran until 3am in the morning. I returned by 5:30am, exhausted from the drive. The work was fairly simple. The first night we filmed in Weber’s Pet Supermarket in Fairfax, VA. BTW, that is a NICE pet shop. They carry only the good healthy food, treats and toys. Every scene entailed the dog to be held by the actress. Good thing Jordan Davenport, the JRT canine actress, is only 9 pounds. The second night we filmed at Town and Country Animal Hospital in Fairfax, VA. A very nice state of the art facility. On this night we had a snag. One of the scenes required Jordan to speak on command. However, Jordan was uncomfortable with the situation and would only huff, whine or speak very quietly. She was on a metal exam table, one person holding her leash and another (portraying a vet) touching her. On the floor she barked great. On the table we were only able to get maybe 4 takes that would work. However, that’s plenty to choose from and the client, Maddy’s Fund, was happy. Jordan’s other scenes included wagging her tail, on command, and being examined, held, placed down, and having to look at her trainer. Jordan had no problem working for treats. She’s very food motivated. The filming was done digitally. It was very interesting to see as each scene was immediately downloaded into a computer editing program and the producer/director was able to create the commercial immediately. No more waiting for film to be developed then splicing it all together, frame by frame. Digital filmmaking offers immediate results and high resolution.
Board and Train Dogs:
The last training sessions showed marked improvement for Tobias Halperin. He can now perform his stays pretty well. I can walk all the way around him on his sit/stay at the end of the leash. He’ll remain in place on the down/stay as well. His recalls are always quick and straight. His heeling is much improved, too. He’s still a little uncomfortable with the Comfort Trainer, rubbing his face now and then, but not as much as when he first started. The last training session we also worked on the Finish to the left. He picked up on it fairly quickly. Though his jumping up has decreased, I still get paw prints on my jeans once or twice a day. His barking has also decreased to doing so only when somebody drives up, or when he wishes to go out. I continue to keep him separated from Bolt and Bangle Davis because he gets nippy with them. Yesterday I made great strides with his feet. At the beginning he didn’t like his feet being touched, never mind having his nails clipped (which needed it badly). After working on touching his paws every training session, I was able to clip the dew claws on each front foot and the two middle nails on each front foot, without his even mouthing me.
Emmie Halperin hasn’t progressed as quickly as Tobias. She’s very sensitive, so we go slowly. Her heeling is VERY good on the Easy Walk harness. Her stays aren’t as good. While she’ll readily sit or lay down she doesn’t wish to remain for long, so I’m still closely baiting her throughout her stays. Her come and sit are great. She prefers to finish to the right, which is fine, but might confuse her human companions at home to do it two different ways with their dogs. I was able to trim her front foot nails a couple days ago. She, too, is sensitive about the subject, like her brother, but I just take my time and give her lots of treats along the way.
Bangle Davis is doing well with her retrieving game. She’ll now go into heel position, chase down the dumbbell when sent, return with it held properly in her mouth and put it in my hand. A couple times she actually sat in front of me before putting it in my hand. Her heeling has been very rough lately as she’s an adolescent and everything is a distraction. She can perform her sit and down stays as I walk around—on most days. Bangle has had a couple accidents in the house. This morning she pooped, but that was my fault as I didn’t let her out in a timely fashion. The good thing was that her poop was healthy and solid which is a big improvement considering the intestinal issues she’s had since purchased from her breeder, Belquest Kennels.
Bolt Davis is performing beautifully. Once we can find a Rally-O class he’ll be ready to show. He needs more distraction proofing, but otherwise performs all the exercises with a flourish. He really loves working. Even more, he loves riding in the car. It was tough to get him out of it yesterday, so I allowed him to remain as I worked his sister, Bangle.
Private Lessons:
Nothing to report
Kennel Construction:
The siding was completed on the back wall. Rain came on Sunday and prevented us from finishing the siding. The only remaining walls are the sides on the upper level and the shed roofs are very slick as they are made of metal.
Production Work:
The McKeeson Medical Conference went pretty well on Friday evening. Though we arrived fairly late due to high traffic volume, we had fifteen minutes to acclimate and learn the pattern. She performed very well in front of a crowd of thousands with lots of speaker noise. She had to do the performance twice in two different rooms so that meant retraining the pattern in a new location after her first performance. The hotel we worked at was the Gaylord Hotel and Conference Center on the National Waterfront. It was brand new; open for only a month. What a grand place! It had a glass wall at least 5 stories high looking over the Potomac River. The center court had a recreation of downtown Williamsburg (though it looked more like Old Town Alexandria to me), with shops, restaurants and brick sidewalks. Marble columns, carpeted hallways and chandeliers adorned most of the conference center. Princess was in heaven. She was admired, received loads of freeze dried liver and had lots of attention.
This evening I meet Jordan Davenport (a JRT) and her human companion, Deanne Davenport for the Maddy’s Fund production in Fair Oaks area at Weber’s Pet Store. The call time is 8pm, so we’ll be sure to be working into the wee hours of the morning. Wednesday evening it’s in Fairfax and Town and Country Vet Clinic, same hours.
Board and Train Dogs:
Yesterday Bolt and Bangle Davis joined the pack. They’re staying until Monday. Bolt has his first Rally-O class on Saturday and his owner didn’t wish him to miss it as she’s very busy this weekend, so I’ll be taking him to his classes. I’m hoping that the classes will help him acclimate to working around other dogs better. He already understands the Rally moves as I’ve been practicing them with him for over a year, just for something new to do during his training sessions. He performs nicely, with nice attentiveness. He should be ready for the show ring by fall. Once Bolt saw my vehicle hatch open he jumped right in and there was no getting him out until we arrived at the pet retreat. I think he likes it here. Bangle was also excited to get in her crate for the trip. I heard her snoring as we reached Amherst. I think she likes it here, too.
Tobias and Emmie are making some progress, though Tobias doesn’t like Bolt a whole lot. Bolt is very submissive and Tobias has been taking advantage of that. As Henny had put Tobias in “his place” when Tobias got obnoctious, Tobias is now nipping at Bolt, so I’ve started to them separated. During yesterday’s training Tobias has achieved the down and a short sit/stay with my moving around a bit. His heeling is improving as well. Emmie is heeling pretty well, but her stays are very short so I closely target her on my hand as I move around her. She can also now perform a brief down/stay. Both respond well to come and sit and both can work near other dogs, though not directly beside them, yet.
Henny Robbins went home yesterday. He immediately went to investigate the whereabouts of his ball and begin playing.
Private Lessons:
Yesterday I met Simon Allen, a 13 week old English Mastiff. He’s a dark brindle; very handsome. He tends to be very mouthy, and “in your face” so that was the first thing I had to address. His human companion, Mrs. Allen is well-educated in canine ownership knowledge and one of the few people I didn’t have to give my nutrition spiel to. As she reads Whole Dog Journal, she already knew about the most appropriate foods for her dogs–Innova, of course. There are two other, older Mastiffs in the household, Nakota and Roxie, both rescues. Nakota is 12 years old! Amazing for an English Mastiff. That goes to show what a good diet will do. Anyway, Simon and his human companion learned how to target and perform the come and sit and heel and sit, off leash inside. Outside Simon was quite distracted, but still performed a bit of come and sit via the Round Robin game. I think the two of them will make great progress.
Kennel Construction:
This weekend is supposed to have some good weather which means we might be able to finish installing the log siding. The insulation passed inspection so the drywall is next on the interior.
Production Work:
Today Princess and I travel to Prince Georges Co., MD to perform in front of a live audience for a Medical Supplies conference. She’s to take the speaker a note both at the 4:30pm conference and the identicle one at 6pm. We’ve been practicing. Last night she took a rolled up piece of paper to someone on cue, so I believe she’s ready.
Board and Train Dogs:
Monday brought two new mixed breed students: Tobias and Emmie. Tobias is a Catahoula Leopard/Hound mix and Emmie is a Pit Bull/Lab mix. The two are very sweet dogs. Emmie is somewhat shy and Tobias is over whelming and noisy. Both have jumping up issues as well as lack of on leash obedience skills. When I visited them at their home last week they both learned to heel and sit. After working with them yesterday, Emmie has also accomplished a short sit/stay and the down. Tobias is still on heel and sit. Though they both go into their bedroom readily, they’re not happy about being left there…at first. After about 30 minutes they settle down, as they have a shank bones filled with goodies to work on.
Henny Robbins will be going home tomorrow. Meanwhile, though, he’s having fun playing with Tobias and Emmie. He doesn’t understant Tobias’ barking, but initiates him into play anyway. Henny is so smart and so nice with the other dogs that come here. He especially loves his hikes in the woods. His smile is ear to ear. We work with the Easy Walk harness, though he does pull some on it. I don’t see the need for his head halter here as there aren’t any major distractions.
Private Lessons:
Bangle Davis did okay at her group class last night. We go to the ones in Charlottesville held by the Charlottesville/Albemarle Kennel Club. It’s small and the members are helpful and nice people. I didn’t work with Bolt Davis, as he was playing with his young human companion and I didn’t wish to interrupt their fun. Bangle lagged a lot on her heeling as she’d been out with her young human companion prior to my taking her to her class. She did perform nice long stays, long distance recalls and has improved on her Stand/Stay.
Kennel Construction:
Nothing new.
Production Work:
This Friday Princess and I go to the Gaylord Hotel and Convention Center to perform in front of a live audience. It’s a couple company meetings where Princess must take the keynote speaker a note. It’s far more complicated than it sounds. We’ll see how that goes…
Next week Jordan Davenport is scheduled for a tv commercial for Maddy’s Fund. The contract has been signed and sent. The production should go pretty well as Jordan is very well prepared.
Board and Train Dogs:
Henny Robbins arrived on May 5 and has been smiling ever since. He has since his arrival. His high intelligence never ceases to amaze me. He can amuse himself with a ball in the following manner: As the large dog play yard is on a hill, he has learned that dropping the ball on the top of the hill will make it roll down. As it rolls down he chases it and brings it back to the top of the hill, squeaking it along the way. He never tires of the game. Whenever I walk into the dog yard, he points out where his Easy Walk is hung on the hook, hoping it’s time for a hike in the woods. When I take him back in to the yard, instead, he hesitates by his harness and reluctantly (I can just picture a little kid, saying Aw Shucks and kicking at the dirt), then following me for some off leash work and treats. He obviously much prefers his hikes, than the off leash training; even though he’s on a leash.
Babies Davis (Tobee and Tawnee) had quite a fright with the big thunderstorm last night. They’d bark and bark in a panic. So I went into their room and sat with them, grooming their knots out. As they are Maltese, with long coats, it was needed anyway. We had done a little hike in the woods that morning and rinsing off their feet wasn’t enough to get out all the debris they had collected along the way. They love their walks in the woods. Along the way we practice the come, sit, sit/stay, twirl, wave and a brief down/stay. We also do a little bit of heeling, but we are off the leash, so I don’t make them perform the heel for very long.
Private Lessons:
Bolt and Bangle Davis continue to improve. I received the “go ahead” to put Bolt in Rally-O competition. He should be ready by Fall. Meanwhile, Bangle has achieved the sit/stay with walk around and a longer down/stay. In class on Tuesday night she did a 5 minute down/stay, with lots of rewards along the way. I am weaning her off the Easy Walk harness and onto a regular flat collar in preparation for the show ring. Bolt works mainly off leash at home and on his flat collar when out in public. However, after working him at Pet Food Discounters yesterday, we might return to the Comfort Trainer while in there the next time. Between loose dogs, kids and people wanting to greet him, he was lunging this way and that; not a situation for leash attached to flat collar.
Macy Quick, a Chihuahua mix, is coming along nicely. She started with the fear reaction of barking at me, rushing around, etc. She doesn’t trust strangers at all and was running her household by exibiting fear and extreme overreaction to being touched. Now she gives a couple barks to alert her owners that someone has arrived and then remains quiet. We achieved this through time-outs whenever she barked excessively. Now she stops barking upon command from her humans. She has also learned to heel, sit and come both inside and in the neighborhood.
Yesterday I met Tobias and Emmie Halperin. They are mixed breed dogs who were rescued from bad situations of abandonment and abuse. Emmie is a Pit-Bull/Lab mix and Tobias a Catahoula Leopard/hound mix. Emmie was started with the Easy Walk as she’s quite sensitive and eager to learn. Tobias is stubborn and demanding so we started him off with the Comfort Trainer. Both learned to heel and sit during this first lesson as well as sit-for-attention, instead of jumping up for attention. Both dogs will be coming here next week for two weeks of board and train.
Kennel Construction:
The rainy weather has put a damper on progress. The siding still isn’t compelted, nor is the insulation. Hopefully, this weekend we’ll get one or the other completed.
Production:
Next Friday Princess has a job for a company event in DC. She has to carry a note to the keynote speaker on cue for two meetings in a row. It won’t be that tough for her as she already knows how to target. I’ll put the Ally Oop under the podium so she goes directly to touch it, then sit as the keynote speaker takes the note from her.
On May 20-21, Jordan Davenport will be performing in a tv commercial production for Maddy’s Fund. This is a program that funds K9 research projects. We’ll be filming in Fairfax County, VA over two nights. As the call times are 8pm, I’m sure I won’t be wrapping until 3-4am. Jordan’s behaviors will consist of being held, carried and speak on command. I’m sure other things will be involved as well.
Board and Train Dogs:
Jessie and Rosie Matteo are doing very well. Today’s training was fun for them both as they each went on trail hikes and worked with the leash dropped. I knew they had fun because their smiles were ear to ear! On Tuesday evening Jessie and I went to PetSmart where they were having a pet birthday party. There were dogs, cats, people and all sorts of commotion. I couldn’t have picked a better day to take him. Besides working in those extreme distraction conditions, he also greeted lots of dogs and people. Not a single snarl! He wagged his tail and was properly diminutive and accepting. It was great to see his previous snarly behavior turned around so nicely. I was very proud of him.
Private Lessons:
Bolt and Bangle Davis love working. Bolt’s tail never stops wagging and he bobs his head with glee. He especially loves his trick work. Though he didn’t appreciate being put back on the Comfort Trainer I had to do so for his human caretaker to learn how to take him to the vet without his going crazy. Yesterday’s vet trip went far smoother than when she had taken him on his regular buckle collar.
Bangle continues to progress into the perfect little obedience trial dog. Her come, heel and sit is near perfect. Her stays are increasing in time and movement. Today I actually saw the light click on in her head while we play trained the retrieve of a dumbell. As she didn’t get her click until the dumbell was laid into my hand she made certain to go pick it up and place it there with a meaningful push into my palm. It was magnificent. She has a very long attention span for a mere 4 month old pup.
Wednesday I saw Sasha Evans and her human, Ursula. We met at a PetSmart so we could work on her public behavior. She was a little rough at first, wanting to greet strangers exuberantly. After a few minutes she began to pay attention to me and I was able to hand her over to her human companion. Though Sasha would sniff and sometimes go investigate she did okay. If her human handler had been more adamant about her attentiveness the dog would’ve performed better. With Sasha it’s all about being consistent and backing up all commands by making her follow through. When she hears double commands she tunes out the words altogether.
Wednesday I met a new dog. A German Shorthair Pointer named Carley. She’s 5 months old and going through a major fear imprint period. She’s quite wary of strangers and took a while to warm up to me. She’s insidiously worming her wyles with her human companions. I say insidiously because it’s not blatant disobedience, but barely noticeable things like climbing, jumping and mouthing. While most people accept this a puppy behavior I don’t allow it as it turns into misbehavior down the line. Stopping it at the start is easier than curing it once it’s established. I went over these things as well as teaching Carley and her human how to do the heel and sit and sit/wait routines via clicker training and use of the Comfort Trainer. Carley picked up on all these things quickly. I”ll be seeing her in June for boarding and training for 2 weeks.
Saturday I worked with Coco, a 4 month old Maltese. She’s a real sweetie and her humans love her so much. Coco has 3 human sisters who adore her and are trying hard to understand their first dog. Since Coco is starting to venture out on her own the main issue was staying home and learning to accept big dogs who walk by her house. With the help of a neighbor’s Golden Retriever, we worked on teachiing Coco that big dogs were not scary creatures. We also worked on the heel and sit both inside and out using an Easy Walk harness. Coco learned quickly to walk with us. She also learned to ring some chimes to alert her humans when she needed to go outside to potty.
Kennel Construction:
The siding is going up as I write this. It’s looking really beautiful, but is proving to be as much work, if not more, than the metal roof. I think we chose some very difficult materials to work with. The end result is going to be tremendous, though. It’s going to be gorgeous inside and out.
Production Work:
I received an inquiry today for an upcoming production for Maddy’s Fund. It’s based in San Francisco, CA. It’s a foundation that gives grants to pet related research. They want one dog for a two day shoot. The producer was referred to me via another producer with whom I have worked. Referrels are great. It’s slated for mid-May. He liked Rhett, a Teripoo, but the client will make the final decision.
Hi Folks. Sorry it’s been so long. I was waiting for something to write about.
Board and Train Dogs:
Jessie and Rosie Matteo are here until May 1. Jessie is getting intense socialization and distraction proofing. He has shown an irritable reaction to new dogs and I need to nip it in the bud. As he’s still a youngster he should readily overcome the behavior. His human companion also mentioned his chasing cars. However, regardless of where or when I take him to shopping centers and other places he’s shown no inclination to chase cars. It might have something to do with his human walking him on a flexi leash instead of a regular leash and keeping him under command. I won’t allow meandering while in a shopping center or other public place, so that might be the difference. Jessie performed well at PetSmart last Monday. Performed everything quite well with little reaction to distractions. It was a different story when we attended the dog training group lessons on Tuesday. As there were lots of dogs–barking, lunging, etc.- he had far stronger reactions. Not aggressive, however, just the “I want to play with that dog” type. We worked for 40 minutes until he started watching me more than the dogs.
Rosie was quite distracted in PetSmart. She gets very nervous when she sees new people and places. We’ll continue to do the field trips with her until she begins to relax more. Her heeling, as usual, wasn’t great, but her stays and recalls were fine.
Private Lessons:
Wednesday is a big day in Northern Virginia. It started with Stars and Tiffany Loomis. Stars is working on his Novice behaviors for upcoming shows. Tiffany is working on both Open and Utility behaviors. Both performed well. Stars tended to lag a bit, but closer targeting helped. Tiffs played when she worked on her scent articles, and lagged a bit, but otherwise performed well.
Sasha Evans also did well. We worked mainly in the back yard and in her human’s quarters. The main issue is still in-house bad behavior. It is totally due to her human not being consistent and not showing the tough love that Sasha requires.
Candy Douffas went on a long walk so we could see what she did when passing yards that had watch dogs–i.e. dogs who ran the fence, barking. Candy would bounce around barking, but her tail was high and happy. She really wanted to greet the dogs, but felt frustrated about it. As we can’t just allow this, we worked on walking by without recognizing her behavior, just making her heel (on her Comfort Trainer), then doing sits and stays on either sides of her reaction zones. As she performed well outside her reaction zones, we took tiny steps within those zones. We made a bit of progress.
Kennel Construction:
Nothing new.