My Latest Update

I am back living with my co-foster Mom, Eleanor. Today, she presented me with a list of exercises we are going to do to help me learn better. I don’t quite get this. I think I am learning a lot! I know I am making tremendous progress, because everyone tells me so. I am very good about taking my paws off the counter if I am told to and I even resist the urge to put them on the counter to begin with…most of the time. I understand that funny sound humans make when I have transgressed (like my new vocabulary word?) and I stop doing whatever naughty thing I was doing – grabbing a shoe or nibbling on a dog bed, for example. I walk very nicely on leash. I get into my crate when asked, especially when it is meal time or when it is bedtime and I know I am getting a cookie. I use the dog door. If I have to “do my business,” no one has to tell me and I run right outside. I never, ever mess in the house.

But Eleanor says that I need to learn skills like paying attention and sitting. (I hate to sit!) Eleanor had a long chat with the obedience trainer she works with every Monday. I go and watch and I must say that Ozma (the barky Sheltie) and Soleil (a GSP my age who is my best friend) really have to watch her. Eleanor says they are “competition dogs.” I am not sure what that means, but it is really hard for me to understand how they manage to pay such close attention. I mean there is so much to see and watch and I have to watch my back with so much going on!

So, here is the list, just as Eleanor wrote it. I don’t pretend to understand what it means exactly. But I guess I will know more as we work on these “skills.”

1) Stand still with Kelly (that’s me!) on leash. Let her wander around. Do NOT say anything. Be patient. Click or praise when she looks up at the human of her own accord. Give the treat, even if she then looks away. Reward any eye contact. Use small pieces of high value treats like steak, chicken, cheese, etc. Do this exercise frequently in a variety of places, not just at home.

2) 2) Stand still as above and say Kelly’s name. When she responds, click or praise and give her the treat. Kelly is responding well to her name at home or in the back yard, but needs to understand it in busier situations. Do this, only once she starts offering more eye contact in new places.

3) 3) Teach Kelly to “touch.” She can touch a hand or a target. Start by putting a lid or tile on the floor. When she noses it, click or praise and give her a treat. Once she is nosing it on her own, add in a command, like “touch.” Same process for a hand – just hold a hand out and when she noses it, reward. Eventually, put it on command.

4) 4) Sit down on the floor. Put legs out in front, slightly bent. Put a treat under legs. When Kelly goes under to get it, then click or praise and give the treat. The ultimate goal is to have her crawl under the legs to a treat on the other side. Once she is comfortable doing this, she can start to be told “down” and praised. This may take time. “Sit” can be added in, if she start to crawl out and achieves a sit or near sit position.

Wow, sounds like a lot to learn. Eleanor says I am actively looking around at places like Top Dog Obedience School now, instead of just looking stressed. I heard her and her friends remarking that while my tail is down, it is not down all the time and it is not tucked. So, she feels I can start to learn commands. And my new family will be able to continue. Wow, I never knew there was so much for a girl to learn!

Kelly