Whew. This has been a tough week of training. I can now do some sit and down stays, which are improving with every practice (except when that old attention hog Chubbs tries to jump in and steal my treat), and I have now moved mostly to outdoor work. I can do heels outside, though not always the first time I have asked, and I can do a pretty good look when there are few distractions.
One area where I am still struggling is going to my bed. I am a little afraid to do this, so Mom had to sit on the bed with me and just praise me for being there. This lasted for a couple of days, and last night, I was finally able to stay on the bed in a sit stay for a few seconds. I use the bed all the time, but staying on it when told is very scary!
Today was a really tough day today because my Mom moved my training plan to the next level: greeting people and walking past dogs! Whew. First, Mom had a friend come over. She kept me on a leash while explaining to her friend (the great Courtney Baxter) that she couldn't pet me until I was sitting. Courtney did a really good job of ignoring me for a couple of minutes while I barked and pulled on the leash. My mom asked me for a sit during this time once or twice, but I couldn't do it. Finally, I did it, and she came toward me!! Yay! I jumped. She stopped and waited for me to sit again. After two or three tries, she was able to pet me while I sat. Once we repeated that three or four times, I was released from the leash and got to enjoy a bunch of petting and kissing. She had great tasting legs and toes! Yum!
Then, I went to the park with my mom's friend Kim Pegram and her dog, Sheldon, who is in her basic manners class. Sheldon was so well-behaved sitting in the shade while I tried to pay attention to my mom. I could only look at her a couple of times, so she made sure to give me lots of distance from Sheldon! I was on one side of a soccer field and he was on the other as we walked past. But I stayed calm and didn't pull on leash, so she rewarded me and ended training. She's always saying that it's important to end on a good note! If she had pushed me harder, I may have had a reaction, which would have been a setback for the training. As it was, I did very well.
I hope I get a break tomorrow! And I hope you are enjoying training with your dog! Love, Bammie
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