Obedience Classes

Every Thursday we take Trent to Salem (1 1/4 - 1 1/2 hour drive depending on traffic) for obedience classes with his breeder (breeder's daughter, more specifically). We graduated from puppy classes there and yesterday was our 7th week of novice obedience class.

On a scale of 1-10, I'd say Trent and I were at an 8 or 8.5. We could have done better, and I was lucky that Trent made up for my faults by being such a quick learner.

At the beginning of class, he got to say "hi" to two gorgeous black sable German shepherds in the class, and I think he had it quite bad for one of them. He also sniffed noses with his littermates Ulla and Sally.

During class, we practiced "heel" with the leashes looped around our shoulders - which means no touching the leash in preparation for off leash heels. Trent did excellent, whether we were doing about turns, changing paces, walking in tight circles, or walking across the room through a huge crowd of other people and their dogs. He sat down and stayed the moment he was told to, despite being a few inches away from two or three other dogs. At one point, he did try to go over to the rest of the human family, who were sitting off to the side watching, but I got his attention back quickly. His automatic sits are near perfect, and without any tension on the leash, too.

His "down" from six feet away is perfect, and in class we learned a sit from a down when I am 6 feet away. It took one or two times, but he caught on quickly, though once he did a "crooked/lazy" sit and I had to start over and ask him again. His "finish/heel" is getting much better (going from a sitting position in front of me to a sitting position to my left in a starting heel position on command). I stopped using the food lures and just slightly guided him with the leash, and he did great.

We then learned the "stand, stay", which is something that would be really helpful when I'm giving him a bath/trying to dry him or when I'm trying to get him into a stack. I was surprised by how well he did - only tried to sink back into a "sit" once, but when I put him back into a "stand", and told him to "stay", he kept that position and enjoyed the treats and praise I gave him. Only a few moments into learning the command, he did a 30-45 second "stand, stay" without any treats.

But, it was his "stay" that made me the most proud. We put the dogs in a circle around the room and put them in a "sit, stay", walked two circles around the room, past them once and ignoring them, and then did the same with a "down, stay", and Trent didn't budge. He is very used to following after me and is a bit of a velcro dog, so I was sure this would be especially hard for him. Out of sight stays are one thing, but seeing me walk by other dogs and completely ignoring him is another. His 5-10 minute "sit, stay" and "down, stay" with many distractions such as food bowls, squeaky toys, and people is amazing. He really understands the concept of "stay" as well as the fact that "sit" means "sit", not "go down anytime you feel like it, and maybe scratch your ear while you're at it". Granted, Trent did get up when the dog next to him broke his stay and went over to sniff him, but I really couldn't blame Trent for that. His self control hasn't gotten that far yet - but we're working on it!

I made sure to give him a big, meaty bone as a reward :)

Goals for the Week
- 2-3 minute "stand, stay"
- improve on "finish/heel"
- 10 minute in and out of sight "down, stay" and "sit, stay" + many distractions
- "sit" from "down" 6 feet away
- "down" at increasing distances
- continue heeling with more changes of pace and tight circles
- continue off leash heeling
- continue to work on recall
- continue to work on impulse control