Well, I did finally get around to posting after a couple weeks of lazing around. I know, I know, I should be the poster person for the forgetful. But hey, better late than never, right?
The biggest event in the past few weeks is Trent's graduation from his Novice Obedience class last Thursday :) He did well, and the training instructor commented on his nice "down", long stays, "finish/heel", and off leash heeling. His "stand, stay" was also excellent. He was more focused than I expected, and I was really pleased with his off leash heeling, especially with other dogs and people around. He did sniff the ground a bit, but we're definitely getting here... at least he didn't run off!
Obedience school is closed for the holiday season, but once the weather's better, we plan to start an Advanced Obedience + Agility class, and before that, have Trent evaluated for a CGC. We spoke to his training instructor, who's also a CGC evaluator, about it and she told us to go for it. I have to admit, I'm worried that Trent and I aren't going to pass the first time, because of how excitable he is, but the trainer apparently thinks it'll be a breeze for Trent, so let's hope I don't mess things up!
We did some extra work with heeling and paying attention around other dogs tonight. One of our neighbors were walking their dog, and Trent all but hauled me over to say "hi". Luckily, the dog was one of those calm, placid dogs (who, actually, didn't care for other dogs in general), and we tried heeling next to them. I probably looked a bit silly, talking in my "happy voice" and getting Trent to focus his attention on me rather than the dog, but a few minutes later we were doing great. He was heeling along, almost completely ignoring the dog next to us, and didn't pull once. I think we're getting better at this.
Goals
- long stand, stay
- more working under distractions
- continue with our training so he doesn't forget everything this winter
- lots more off leash heeling
- practice out of sight extended stays
I also ought to buy Trent a "big boy" collar soon. My 80 lb puppy is outgrowing his nylon one!
