Last Thursday was witness to the easiest day of obedience class Dutch and I will have. Primarily, it was a discussion class and everyone left their dogs home. My classmates and I had our first lesson and were allowed a mutual gripe session. We all have different kinds of dogs, problems and goals.
Our instructor is experienced in obedience training Dalmatians. From what I know about Dals, she must be as persistent as they are because the breed is known for over-the-top energy and medium trainability. She described her first dog as "crazy". It took her three years to get a 6-year-old dog to the point where she could compete for a CD "companion dog" title. The dog must have been one tough nut to crack.
I introduced myself and tried to mumble through the "17 champions" part. There are some types of training, even if you are experienced, that cannot be done at home. Dutch needs to be in an environment where he isn't comfortable and where his surroundings are not predictable.
We were sent home with homework. A few of the highlights include taking food gently, watch me, off, walking backwards, and a little trick called "touch".
The #1 requirement was having extremely delicious treats. Dutch is a good citizen most of the time when taking food from my hand. I don't know if that will hold true through something "extremely delicious". Generally my dogs are sensitive about what it takes to hurt a human. I can coat my hands in peanut butter and six or seven food-lustful dogs will all lick my hands at once, without biting me or each other. It tickles.
For our practice session, Dutch thought the "watch me" exercise was interesting primarily because there was food involved. Check.
Walking backwards was no major obstacle because I teach them to walk backwards into a stack which is a show stance. Check.
"Touch" proved a little more difficult. It involves having the dog lift his front legs off the ground and bump the bottom of your hand for a treat. I spent a lot of time getting the dog to keep all four of his legs on the ground so he was understandably confused when I wanted him to bump my hand. I don't know if this is an important exercise in the long run but we'll keep working on it. Check.
After we were done, Dutch continued to sit and stare at me. I hope he was thinking, in the way dogs can think, about practicing, or at least the treats. I got his attention which was entirely the point. Check.
Thursday is our first class with dogs. I'll have to see if any of my fooling around over the last week will stick with Dutch when he has a lot more distractions.
Previous entries:
Part 1:
Armed with Dutch charm