Margaret has been here a week already (amazing!) so she is well settled in, used to new training strategies, and well-versed in the basics.
Now, I am rewarding less for things she already knows, but asking for more and continuing to pay well for things that are new or harder for her.
Our morning exercise and training routine drew more on play than on food rewards. We went out into the meadow after her bathroom duties were done (still no rock, still healthy and regular BMs!) and practiced recalls, off leash heeling, Sit, Down, and Stay.
Then we did the same inside before going on a pre-breakfast excursion to the beach. We attempted leash walking with a flat collar, as she had been doing well with this at my place, but the road beside the beach was way too distracting and she pulled a lot. Instead of going too far in one direction and letting that reward her for pulling, we did lots of short back and forth walks, zig zags and circles.Whenever she tried to get ahead I changed direction, so a tight leash got her precisely nowhere.
Margaret jumped up on a (thankfully friendly) woman who was passing by and came up on us too fast. At least she only did it once, and was easy to redirect, but still - more work on that ahead!
Back home, when Debbie arrived, we had the chance to work immediately on no jumping. We repeated yesterday's routine, this time at the front door and on the deck, and Margaret was quicker to settle down and less amped up in the first place.
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| Sit |
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| This way! |
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| Rewards for turning away from the visitor |
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| Sit to Say Hi! |
Since Debbie brought shopping bags we also practiced Leave It with interesting new things.
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| Leave It! |
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| Good girl! |
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| Go Say Hi |
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| Margaret touches Debbie's hand to say hi, and turns back to me for her reward. |
Margaret tends to bark at sounds that she thinks are door knocks. So were are working on that when it happens and at other times -- I knock and knock on various surfaces, letting her see where the sound is coming from, until she stops barking.
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| This is not what it looks like. I am not counter surfing, I am learning about knocking noises. |
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| Knock knock, who's there? |
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| No-one! Weird! It sure sounded like a door knock! |
After a nap, Margaret and The Moose played in the meadow for a bit and we did some recalls, calling her from play with the Moose, as well as some calming exercises -- including Sit Stay and Down Stay.
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| Margaret COME!!! |
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| Sit Stay - more distraction, longer distance. |
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| Good girl! |
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| Let's GO! On to the next practice. |
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| Down Stay |
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| Challenging at first, but then she aced it! |
Next - some leash walking practice in a Freedom Harness.
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| Delivering treats where I want her to be - by my leg. |
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| Let's Go - loose leash walking |
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| Distracted by smells |
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| Using movement to make things more interesting |
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| Changing direction to keep focus |
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| Not bad - but could do better |
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| What a difference a different reward makes! |
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| Margaret showed me what she wanted - she tried to pick up a pine cone, so I used it for a reward! |
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| Suddenly - focus! |
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| Happy attention. |
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| Perfect leash walking! |
Next we had a session with a Golden Retriever, Lilly, who was previously reactive to other dogs - now she is doing really well around other dogs, even at close distances.
This was a great opportunity for Margaret to practice being calm and connected to me on leash around a new dog.
I fitted Margaret beforehand with a Freedom Harness, which has two leash attachment points, so we could use the back ring for sniffing and rambling, and the front one for training. We also used the front and back together with a double clip leash for extra control.
Margaret behaved beautifully, paying attention to me, ignoring Lilly, and walking very nicely with me. I was very happy with her performance - it more than made up for her lapses earlier this morning!
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| Moose and Margaret pretend to be dogs in a dog park so Lilly can practice |
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| Practicing pass by's |
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| Playing follow the leader |
Margaret, Lilly and The Moose all ended up going on a gentle hike together in the sun, around the meadow, along a wide trail, down to the creek and then again through the meadow, with a detour to the Forest Agility area on the way back.
Margaret enjoyed trying out the obstacles and remained focused and calm throughout the activities.
Back in the meadow, she and Lilly got very close together, waiting for their turn for cheese treats!
Margaret worked hard as always - she loves to work! - and is now having a well-earned nap at my feet.
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