Day Two!

On Monday I went back out to the kennel, this time to take pictures as well as work with the dogs! I had a great time and I am very excited about the progress in some of the dogs. This time I brought my own treats and my clicker. The dogs that I introduced the clicker to took to it like a charm, which was exciting for me because I've never had much experience with clicker training. Now that I've given it a serious effort, I'm definitely sold! It is fun for me to learn new training techniques alongside these dogs. And there is such a variety in this group that I don't think I will ever run out of new challenges to conquer.

Anyway, on to the dogs!

Black Bandit, the lab, was very unsure of himself and very insecure when he got out of the kennel. However, I took it slower with him than I did last week, and didn’t try getting too far away from the kennel too quickly. As long as I didn’t try to go anywhere and allowed him to lean against me for belly rubs, he was calm, but always looking back at the kennel. To get him farther away from the kennel, I simply backed up three or four feet and encouraged him to follow me for more petting. He remained calm and not fearful as long as I didn’t try to rush him. He refused to take treats the whole time. He really is a very friendly dog, but quite clingy. I wonder if he might suffer from separation anxiety. I don’t know whether I will be able to really help him gain confidence; I think the best thing for him will be to have a home and family where he can be comfortable and secure. Even so, it will be important for Bandit to be exposed to new situations frequently so that he can gain confidence.

 

Little Bandit, the small mixed breed, was much less overwhelmed than last week. He paid attention to me and I was able to work on leash walking with him – unlike last week, he was happy to get treats as a reward for walking nicely. He even warmed up to me enough to snuggle up to me for belly rubs.

 Rem was very excited to get out again, and it took him a little while to calm down. He wanted to sniff a lot (he’s a hound, after all), but this time he was more interested in my treats. Instead of walking around with him, I stood in one spot and rewarded him for paying attention to me. I decided that it would be a good time to introduce him to the clicker. Whenever he looked at me, I clicked and gave a treat. Quickly, he started seeking me out and paying attention to me. At that point I started walking around with him, rewarding loose-leash walking, calm behavior, and paying attention to me. By the time I walked him back to the kennel, he was calm and walking very nicely on the leash.

Charlie, the shepherd mix, was far more focused than last week, and he showed me that he is just a pretty awesome puppy. He was walking very nicely on the leash and focused on me very well, so after a couple of minutes of walking practice I worked on teaching him “down.”  He picked that up pretty quickly. I think he is more of a puppy than an adult dog, which is a good thing in terms of training. He is very open to learning new things, and of all the dogs, I think he is the most ready to be adopted.

Paco showed an amazing change from last week, when he simply shut down and hid from me. Part of it was diagnosing the problem – he was afraid of the leash/collar. He had probably never been on a leash before. Once we realized that, it was easy to work with him. He was still very nervous when the collar was on him, but I fed him treats to encourage him to walk around a little bit with me. I also allowed him to sniff and walk around on his own free will, to encourage him to become more comfortable when on leash. I avoided putting any tension on the leash. Then he found a bone in the grass and completely forgot the leash was on! I lured him around with the bone and he was quite happy to follow me around, regardless of the leash. It turns out that he is just as snuggly as his brother, Paulee!

Sadie, the shepherd mix, was still having trouble focusing and was a little wild child at first. However, she liked the new treats I brought and it was enough to keep her attention on me for the most part.  By the end of our session she was very calm and walking fairly nicely on the leash.

Ruby, the Rottweiler mix, was much better behaved than last week. She still wanted to pull me around and sniff, but I managed to get her focused enough on the treats to do a bit of leash training.

Pluto, the blind dog, was a very good dog and caught on to the clicker really quickly. I think it is really good for him to have sound cues to tell him he is doing the right thing.  After a few repetitions of click-treat, he got the message and looked for the treat after hearing the click. This was a really nice change from last week, because when I wanted to reward behaviors without the clicker, it was hard for him to find the treat and so the timing of the reward was always too late. I started working on nose touch with him (his nose to my palm) – he didn't really get it, but since I've never actually taught a nose touch before even with a non-blind dog, I'm not too concerned about the lack of progress, haha. I hate to play favorites, but of all the dogs I think I am most excited to work with Pluto. Not only is he a very interesting challenge, being blind, but he is also very eager to work and has a great attitude.