Best Behavior
Nearly everyone was on their best behavior for class.
The surface reactive dog, Phoebe, actually went on the buja board! There was much cheering and treats for her. She needs more work, but she’s come such a long way! Buja board was the highlight of Quick’s night, as usual. He even sat up on his hind legs to get a treat while he was on it! He’s such a good boy.
Quick was a dream. He did perfectly with verbal release- the best in the class, if I may say so myself!!! It goes to show that training for two minutes a day before breakfast really does make a difference for dogs. We worked on the beginning of send-aheads, sending the dog to the side to a bait bag or toy. I released him to Mr. Squeaky, then gave him his treats from our treat bag.
He’s very easily distracted though. A full-fledged agility class was going on in the next ring, and he wanted to see! I had some difficulty keeping his attention, but we managed.
We were introduced to our first jump! He did great with the bar on the ground at first, then at six inches. I don’t want him to start off knocking bars. We’re taking it slow and steady. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and Quick and I have a long time to learn this.
The trainer had a good point- begin your dog with wings, so when it sees them it won’t worry! I intend to follow her advice and get a winged jump for my home course, to go with my non-winged. Even just one of each will help my dog in the future.
Out of control dogs continued to frustrate me tonight. Another dog in class is very dog-rude, and he kept scampering away from his handler and coming to bother Quick, who didn’t really like having his ears chewed by a dog that wasn’t his friend! Thankfully I am fast and got to Quick and tugged him away before things got hairy, so to speak. But really. Someone socialize that dog, please? It’s not just my dog he bothers, either. He is rude to every dog he meets! I know Quick’s no angel, but I keep Quick close to me for just that reason. Am I being too sensitive?
Next week is the last agility night! I’m going to really miss it… I think I need to start looking for a new class!
You go , Quick! I know Mom is proud!
I have a dog who I like to think is very friendly. She likes to meet every dog we encounter–tail wagging, play bowing– at dog shows/training class/in stores, and most humans–but every dog/human does not want to greet her. She has been known to run around during training class and greet or try to play with the other dogs. Other times she is right with me and on every cue. She is still a little young. I work with her on distractions and recall, but she still might run-a-muck when she feels like it. It embarrasses me b/c I do not want her to be a bother to other dogs/owners. My first trainer taught me doggie etiquette, esp. in the Agility /Therapy Dog arena, so I try to be cognizant of her every move when we are in public and practice good manners. My trainers have given me several training ideas and drills to do to reinforce her focus on me. Maybe the trainer could help that dog owner with some training ideas/drills to keep the dog focused on it’s owner/handler. Maybe you all could have doggie etiquette training one day, or small etiquette tidbits at the beginning of every class… it does surprise me though how many dog owners seem to let obedience slide and focus more on specific skill training. I have seen plenty of unruly dogs at dogs shows and agility trials. I firmly believe obedience/proper socialization is the foundation of any other training you want to do with your dog. And it also surprises me how many dog owners just want a pet and do not even do any basic obedience training/socialization with their dog! HAPPY TRAINING! Patti
But you do care about her, and you’re trying to make her a good canine citizen! a lot of times that makes all the difference to me. Sadly, it occasionally seems this handler doesn’t care a whole lot.
Doggie etiquette would be awesome!
Thanks for commenting! 🙂 Happy training to you, too!