This week’s class took place at a different dog park at the very north edge of Boulder. It’s a nice, pretty new one with 3 fenced areas (one for big dogs, one for not-so-big dogs, one
for small dogs). Our group used the not-so-big one since it was empty. Lilly did grumble once at a dog that blew off his recall and began bounding around, but the real wake-up call was her LEAVE IT
work. Those duck treats were just too much for her. …
This week’s Sunday class took place in and around Whole Pets, a specialty pet store located (of course) near Whole Foods. I had hoped to tell you that all this relaxation training paid
off, but I can’t. There was too much noise and movement for Lilly’s delicate sensibilities. During the hour-long class, she relaxed for maybe 15 minutes of it. Mostly, she just freaked out and blew
me off. …
A couple interesting things happened this week, including a dog barreling straight at Lilly in class. Here’s the full update. …
One of the challenges of training a dog to run agility is teaching her that having something move beneath her is fun (or at least fine). Since Lilly still won’t do a full-height teeter,
I’m certainly no expert. However, I thought these tips on training that motion is OK around the house might help. …
The biggest lesson I learned from Lilly this week is that you can’t assume any behavior is rock-solid on every single day. It’s all too easy to get complacent or to take our brilliant
dogs for granted. We cut back on treats. We verbally fuss on them less. We assume that they are the same minute to minute, day to day. And, that’s simply not the case. …
My grandmother’s house, which for all the usual purposes was my “childhood home,” had a round traffic pattern. As a kid, I could run from kitchen to front room to hall to den to
kitchen. When you’re little, that’s some serious fun. Well, my current house also has a couple of round-running spots. I’ve started using the carpeted one upstairs to practice high-speed heeling (and
frankly to burn off some energy). …
There is one truth that rings clear when training Lilly. If what I’m asking makes sense, she catches on very quickly. Sometimes, it’s just 3-5 clicks. Sometimes, it’s just 10 minutes. And, she’s totally on board. Other times, I’m clearly doing something wrong, and she simply doesn’t get it.
Since it’s been 3 months since Lilly started taking an anti-depressant, I can probably stop naming Friday’s entry with a number. So suffice it to say that Fridays will continue to be a
big picture update on our progress and the week’s work. …
As a kid, I was a pretty good student. My work as a writer also means I spend a lot of time learning new things. I thought maybe my study tactics might help others sort through the many
ideas in Leslie McDevitt’s book. So, here it goes. …
I’m feeling fairly overwhelmed by all the things I should be training Lilly to do as part of our new behavior modification plan. Each little shaping event only takes a few minutes, but
it feels like a lot some days. This week, I tried a new coping strategy, where I only try to do 1-2 things other than the Relaxation Protocol. Here’s how things went. …
