Today was Harley's first class for 2018. Same trainer as end of last year it is made up of some dogs that have passed CGC bronze and silver all the way to younger and more novice dogs. I have decided to wear a glove on the hand that I dispense treats with, so that if Harley does nip me while taking a treat I am able to handle it not from a place of pain. She doesn't intend to catch me with her teeth but last year I had a few broken skin incidents and it was difficult for me to not move my hand from her when she is taking the treat. This meant that she started snatching. I bought a pull cycling gloave and wore the right hand glove on my left hand so the material "top" is in the inside of my hand and the leather "inner" is on top, where I suffered most of the scrapes and bites last year. So that was a nice improvement for us. I can definitely see that she is maturing, she is responding less to other dogs during the social exercises and is quicker to focus on me. Because I was able to use the food better as a reward, because I wasn't worried about being hurt, her heel work was in a better position and I was happy with it. We still need LOADS of work but there is progress. I decided to trust her in her sit/stay and down/stay and not first only move to the end of the leash and she was as good as always. Both were good. She was happy to go away from me to her mat and very dramatically flopped into a down. It was very funny and I laughed so she bounded back to me. She was the only dog in the class the would be sent away so I am still happy with it. She is such a clown though, it is very hard to not laugh at her. While the trainer worked with everyone individually on sending their dogs away the rest of us could go through the rally course that was set up. It was only the obedience commands but it was such fun. It is the first time we did anything like it. On the slow pace Harley was so good, it was like a wedding march. We had 3 dogs in class who were barking a bit and lunging a little with their owners and where that would have really set her off before she was distracted but easily came back to me. We ended the class with another social circle. After wards Harley stayed to say hello to another dog and after a few play bows and sniffs we went home for a nap. A decent start to the year
Haha! Yes I know what you mean! I was the same today at our class, we have joined the advance class now as the trainer feels Cass needs stretching , when we do the minute wait she looks so dejected, her body language screaming "oh god, I suppose I've got too'' I did giggle which made her break. Never mind, I know she can do it. A lovely post to read, glad it went well for you.
We are still the only labrador in the class. There is a Goldendoodle. But I honestly think that Harley and I are similar in nature. I am very goofy and I am the only trainer who laughs - but seriously she is SO funny and also life is too short - we are not going to graduate to anything so serious that laughing is going to be a hinderance. And we dont bother anyone else.
That’s why I preferred dog dancing. Same intention (I believe) as formal training, ie build a relationship with your dog. But it was more fun than the formal “military-style” training. So important to laugh, I think. Snowie has such a good sense of humour and loves it when we laugh. I make a special effort to smile at Snowie, and he smiles back (you can see it in his eyes and ears). I remember hearing the trainer say to the people in the formal puppy class, “Smile at your dog!” You can imagine how serious and stressed everyone was feeling. Very telling. And so often people are worried their dog always has a serious/mopey/depressed expression. You can imagine the conversation between the dogs in the dog park: My human looks so depressed today. Probably hates leaving me and going out alone. Have you checked his poo?
Okay, so holey moley. I skipped the last two weeks of training classes. One week for a wedding and one for not feeling well. And I arrived at class today to find that we have been moved up to a more advanced class. It is more of a beginner obedience class and less of a canine good citizen class which was what the previous class was focussed on. So more walking at heel than just walking on a loose leash type of thing. As I mentioned in another post I have been working hard on getting eye contact and more focus from Harley for the last week or so and I was thinking of sitting out on this weeks class too so I could work on the focus even more before returning to class. But I realised that I was also being a bit lazy and we ended up going. So we arrive and get sent across the field to a different trainer and the more advanced class. I am still adjusting to the slight shock when I arrive at the group and get told that we are doing a heelwork pattern or something like that and a recall and retrieve. One by one, in front of the whole class. Normally I would be an anxious mess but I thought 'oh well, so be it', I found us a shady spot under a tree, put out Harley's water and blanket and waited for our turn. The new trainer is someone that I have met at the club before and she is firm but very supportive. An as everyone goes I realise that some owners and dogs are working very well at this level and some are struggling with different bits but only one dog was really "wow". It was a lovely, lovely shepard (GSD) type dog, 16 months old and just fantastic. Just incredible to watch the dog move, it was like she was floating over the ground. So incredibly graceful. Focussed beautifully on her owner. Also awesome was that it was a fairly large class and there was another labrador but except for us two labs not one other breed was repeated. There was a very large mastiff, a BC, JRT, long haired Chihuahua and then a couple with 3 mix breed, rescue dogs. I really love that it is such a mix of dogs. We train in a large flat grass field and on the other side was a BIG, rowdy young pup/ 6 monthish class. Oh my word. I took a look at the chaos that was happening on that side and I was just blown away that Harley was not at that stage any more. And then I realised that there was a chance that during our off leash recall an retrieve she may rush over there to meet those dogs and the whole, already hyper class could be turned into a circus of chaos. But when our turn came, not did Harley and I do a reasonable bit of heelwork but she didn't even glance at the dogs about 20m away from her but she did a recall, she did break the stay but she came straight to me. With the retrieve she came belting back with her toy and didn't stop in time and ran into me a bit. She is just the funniest dog. But no one can doubt her enthusiam. I was just so blown away by how far she has really come. There were dogs everywhere and she did what was asked of her. I can not express how I thought that would never happen and how incredibly proud I am of her. And she was so enthusiastic about the tasks. I am sure calm and collected is the order of the day but to have a happy, keen dog is my ideal.
That is a WONDEFUL post, I can hear your delight in Harley, well done to you both!! Thank you for sharing your joyful experience with us.
We have had some disruptions to our training with me needing to miss a few classes due to work and health, and then last week, preparing for CGC. Because of CGC tests on Friday I thought I may skip this week's obedience class too but Harley was bouncing around the house and zooming around the yard so I thought we would go. And I am so glad we did! Often there are more than one class on the main field of the club at the same time, and in the beginning it bothered me because the less mature and settled dogs would be quite rowdy on their side. But to be honest it has been, other than a little distracting, not a bother at all. And last week, when preparing for CGC, we were on the one side of the field and I could see my regular obedience class training on the other. And the stuff they were doing looked like such fun! There were low foot step (stools) involved and other different activities. So I was also keen to go, if Harley seemed up to it. And she was all bright eyed and bushy tailed. So we went. And it was such a fun class! Please forgive me if I get the terminology wrong. The trainer is sending notes to us so that we can work on the exercises at home (how organised is that?) but until then I will just explain. To say that Harls had fun in the class was an understatement. She never sighs louder than when we walk up and down down heel work. So working at things that look like fun tricks to her makes her a very happy pup. We started with getting our dogs to do a spin, first left and then right. Having them finish in front but not a strict finish. It is about fluidity and the dogs feeling comfortable in their own bodies while learning the unnatural obedience positions. We strained the spins with treats - all the training is positive reinforcement. And then add a verbal cue. After practicing it stationary we walked the length of the field, walking and asking for the spin. With doing it while walking the dogs end up more at heel position than anything else. The trainer commented that with techniques like this, we are stimulating both the dogs brain and our brain and unlike working up and down in strict heel position, which may mean we are repeating errors, we are showing the dogs where we would like them in position to our bodies. (Or something like that but it sounded like a good idea to me). Then we did some work helping the dogs learn the unnatural position of walking with their heads up in heel position. The trainer is very strict about how unfair it is to expect a dog to walk like that if we haven't prepared for it but doing it little but often at home. The way she wanted to encourage the dogs was by having them come between our legs, facing the same diection as we were, and then we gave treats from our tummy area, and lower, depending on the dog. Harley thought this was awesome, she was tucked up really tight against my tummy and getting her treats. This way to helping the dog understand the head position prevents the dog jumping up and allows them to get really snug with us, in a safe and fun way. We practiced it for a short time, with instructions to practice short time but often at home. Next was getting the dog to understand pivoting as we move. For this we had a low foot stool and the dogs put their paws up from a position in front of us but this exercise was about treating for havng paws up and any willingness to move their hind legs as we moved around the stool. Every movement was rewarded. Harley was so focussed and did very well. you could see she was still figuring out how her back legs could move like that. Final exercise was starting to get the dogs to move backwards. Treats just under the chin so that they move back for the treat while adding the verbal cue. Again, Harley was very keen to try to figure this out. Anything that uses her brain and involves praise and treats and she is super engaged. The class flew by and I really enjoyed it. Even though we are not planning on any competition, except maybe Rally, this still gives us something to work at.
Brilliant read, @Harley Quinn , you two are really on a roll. It sounds like a great class. I really love it when Cass has that really engaged and how-do-I-work-this out look on her face! Interesting to read the trainers take on how we ask them to use their bodies unnaturally at times, and how to get over this. And this bit I am conscious sometimes of doing just that at training class and have tried to concentrate my mind on rewarding her more accurately.
The class I now go to sounds a bit like yours . Having slogged through the bronze and silver of the kennel club I feel they need to rethink their classes. Inky and I have learned much more in this new environment.
