I have a HUGE play training break-through to report. Last Saturday, Lilly’s new friend Katie (a baby Borzoi) came over to play. It’s only their second meeting, but Lilly actually played
and was SUPER sweet to Katie, with only the tiniest hint of the usual border-collie bossy thing. It felt like a miracle. …
I experimented this week with Lilly’s play training. As I’ve mentioned, she usually does not play in front of other dogs, including Ginko at times. She has, however, learned that some
things simply do not interest him. And, in those cases, she’ll play fetch (or whatever) in front of Ginko. Sticks, for example, allude him. He does not get the point, so if he steals the ball, which
he often does, then Lilly finds a stick to play with instead. To see if I could combine a toy in which Ginko heretofore hasn’t shown interest with Give Me a Break …
This week’s class was at a new dog park that’s pretty far north. Due to the holiday, the group was likely small, but we stayed away. That particular dog park isn’t one of Lilly’s best
locations. We often end up working outside the pen on a somewhat busy perimeter path. And, it’s a pretty long drive to simply stand on the sidelines and play Look Puppies, where Lilly gets rewarded
for calmly being near and watching dogs (some of whom are wild). …
It was a busy weekend. We had a training date with Betsy and Pitsch. We met and went for a walk with a neighbor and her new puppy, and we ventured to our Sunday class with Gigi, despite
the threat of snow. …
It’s a miracle. For the first time in what feels like forever, it did NOT snow on a Sunday. So, Lilly and I went to our group pet obedience class with Gigi. Maybe it was the sunshine.
Maybe it was the squirrels in the trees. But, we had a great day. I mean GREAT! …
Three words: It snowed AGAIN. That means no class AGAIN. Lilly and I feel cooped up this winter. It’s driving us both batty. So, I have just a couple things to report. …
Lilly had another training date with Pitsch last Saturday. She did well playing and doing flatwork with him nearby. She might have even been a tad less bossy than last time. Maybe it
helped that they were playing with his frisbee and not her ball. Things were going so well, in fact, we decided to try a little agility on our home course. Bad idea. …
It snowed a LOT on Sunday, so we did not go to class. Maybe it’s the long winter. Maybe it’s because Tom was traveling last week, so I had a whole week of single puppy-mom-hood. But,
truth be told, I’m a bit stuck. …
Lilly and I had our first training date this weekend with another team using Leslie McDevitt’s “Control Unleashed” book as a training strategy. Here’s how it went. …
We ventured to a new pedestrian- and super-dog-friendly shopping district for this week’s class. Let’s just say it was an exercise in constant Sudden Environmental Changes (visual,
auditory, and otherwise).
…
