A Busy Day of Dog Training

Usually around the holidays and into January, my business slows down. It's understandable. No really wants to pay for dog training after spending money on Christmas gifts. But this season, there were a few people who perhaps felt that having a well behaved dog WAS a gift in itself.

So on Saturday, I started my day at 8:30 and finished up a little after 4. Then it was a trip to the park with hubby and kids and Maddie, dinner at CPK and then yes, embarrassing to admit, but I think I was passed out before 9. I think the kids lasted longer than I did.

Anyway, my first morning appointment was with 6 month old George, an absolutely huge and gorgeous German Shepherd. He is the type of dog you would need to pet, need to look at, need to ask the owner about. He just draws in your attention with his happy, puppy face but his big body that doesn't match his age. George is still very much a puppy, always wanting to mouth his owner's hand, nip at his legs, try to engage him in play even while he is supposed to be working. When it all comes together for this boy, he will be spectacular to watch work. He needs to work on his Heel, he is stubborn on his automatic Sit, but I was pleasantly surprised at his long distance Stay. Here he is below working on his Heel.

After George, I met with a new client and her little Terrier, Stanley. Stanley is 14 pounds of adorable. Lucky he's so cute because he's eaten into the walls, scratched up the front door and chases the cat mercilessly. He's sweet, lovable and playful and you may ask yourself, how much work could a 14 pound dog be? I actually think the smaller dogs are often more difficult to work with than the larger ones. When we took Stanley out on a walk, it was apparent right away that he doesn't realize his owner is walking HIM, he's on his own agenda and his owner is simply the one who holds the leash. People don't realize how important he walk is... that if you can get a dog to pay attention to you on a walk, around distractions with a loose leash, the dog's respect for you changes and everything else falls into place.  I was tempted to put a training collar on him right away, but for now, we are using the owner's harness, and we'll see how it goes. Now how cute is that face?

I met Lola next, a Boxer with anxiety and fear about all sorts of household noises - a tissue box, a paper bag crumpling up, the sound of a binder closing or the silverware drawer being shut. As expected, she was panting a lot after meeting me, showing signs of nervousness but she was also friendly and was kissing me and allowing me to pet her within the first few minutes. She had been through training before, but the owners said that despite using a prong collar, they had difficulty walking her. She often grabbed the leash with her front paws (gotta love Boxers), jumped up and scratched the owners and they had to use a harness handle to get her under control again. I expected Lola to be highly anxious outside, but she actually proved to be very sensitive to any pull on the leash, and then became very dominant. Sure enough, she would rear up on her back legs, grab the leash with her front paws and then bite the leash. Um yeah, try to get that away from her. But the second time she did it, I managed to hold the leash higher than she could reach and probably for the first time, she didn't win the battle. Lola will be a challenge, but I'm always up for a challenge.

My last client of the day was Bruce, and it was our third session. Bruce has been doing very well, but I knew we needed to work on some household issues. He's great on leash, but when the owner wants to put him outside or in his pen, he won't come. Sure enough, we tried and he ran off, over the couch, under the table, around the chairs. We couldn't catch him... at first. But persistence pays off. I finally got him and put a leash on him. I made him come to me several times. Then we dropped the leash and asked him to come. He did. Then we took off the leash and asked him to come. He did. We worked on a few other things - leaving front door open and making sure he stayed inside, heeling on a light line (the precursor to off-leash work), long distance downs. We finished up by testing his come again inside the house. Once he figured out that the owner was willing to get the leash if he didn't listen, he followed through with his commands. Bruce is actually a joy to work with - so handsome (it's how he gets away with things) and willing to please, but he is only 8 months old and is still prone to want to play and goof off instead of listen. I'm very pleased with his progress so far!

Looks like January will be a busy month. And my kids and husband will have to get used to me passing out early on Saturdays!