Dog Training: Week 4

We attended our fourth training class last night. We reviewed the commands from last week and demonstrated our progress. Once again, Pete froze and wouldn't participate. She wouldn't even take a treat. Annabelle did very well. She gets a little distracted, but actually does really well.

Pete still hasn't done the "down" command. The instructor, Robert, said to catch her doing it and reward her. I guess it's reverse psychology. This past week, we tried to practice the "leave it" command. Anytime we would catch the girls barking, we would say, "leave it" and once we had their attention, give them a treat. I think they're slowly getting it.

We went out in the store again to practice loose leash walking. Pete didn't participate and yelped when Robert tried to get her to walk. He went and got Anne and Justin to see if Pete would follow them around, but that didn't work either. I even took the leash off her and walked around the corner. After a few seconds, I peeked around the corner and she was still sitting where I left her. I also tried to coax her with a tennis ball, but she was having no part of walking in that store.

We returned to the classroom and started working on "wait". This command is good when you are going through doors (like the doors at Petsmart) and another person or dog is also walking through. To avoid leash aggression, it's best to wait until the other person/dog walks through before proceeding. You tell your dog to "wait" and he/she is supposed to stop walking for a few moments. When you take your first step, the dog is supposed to continue with you. Annabelle did very well with "wait." Once again, Pete wouldn't walk.

Every week while we're listening to Robert discuss training, Pete sits in my lap. She seems to relax there and not shake. I don't want this to be stressful for her, so I'm glad to do it. I cuddle her and rub her and she appreciates this. I've tried to give her treats while holding her, but she isn't interested. She made LOTS of progress last night - she took a treat from me and actually ate it! Previously, she's taken treats, but immediately spit them out. Robert has even tried to get her to take treats from him, but she wouldn't. I was so shocked that she ate my treats. She wouldn't do anything like sit, stay, or wait, but she would take the treat and that's a big deal right now. She even took a treat from Robert and ate it! He was very pleased.

Now if we can just get Pete to walk, we'll have made a lot of progress.

I should also mention that Annabelle has started going in the crate at home. We got two crates a couple of months ago and began trying to crate train them. We put the dog bed in one crate and lots of blankets and towels in the other. Pete immediately went in the bed crate, but wouldn't go near the other one. Anne wouldn't go near either crate. The weather was stormy one day last week and I walked in the kitchen (where the dogs stay) and found both dogs in the bed crate. I was so proud. Since then, we've seen Anne get in the bed crate alone several times. Last night, we bought another bed and put it in the second crate. Annabelle went in there for a little while and got comfy. Pete and Annabelle have made lots of progress this week! Justin and I are so proud of our girls.