Day Two: Taking Obedience Up A Notch . . .and a taste of what's to come

Today was another busy day. We started by getting our dogs out for a potty break. Abbot was excited to see us, get outside, and get some kibble. We took advantage of the time outside to get a family picture by the 4 Paws sign.

Today we learned about corrections. A lot of corrections can be completed non-verbally, by a slight tug on the leash that places pressure on the dog's nose which s/he does not like. We learned that we should always use the same word to designate an undesired behavior: No. Pretty simple, and that's how the dogs like it! We practiced having the dogs stay-- which is an "implied" command. They should stay in the position we put them in until given a new command. However, since we are new pack leaders, they are going to see if we know they are supposed to do that. Just like kids with a new babysitter. :) So we started by putting them in a "sit" and walking circles around them. After a full circle, we told them "good" and treated them. Then we extended it to two circles, and then went counter-clockwise and so forth. Abbot was sooooo good at this! He seems to already respect Mike and I, which is not expected already. Here's Mike doing his circles around Abbot.

Abbot and Si are also bonding well. Si really loves Abbot and gets excited every time he sees him. One thing we need to do to facilitate their bond is to "make fireworks go off" whenever they are together. This can mean bringing out the high-value treats, like Puperoni. It can mean showering Abbot with treats and petting when Si is around and dialing that back quite a bit when Si is not around. This will not always need to be so extreme, but for the first few months, it's a good technique for helping their bond increase.

We also learned some introductory material on behavior marking. This is to train the dog to address any undesirable behaviors of the child. Si may not be having seizures for training, but he is having a good amount of undesirable behaviors. So mom  is pretty excited for this. When he whines, makes ugly sounds or says "No!" we are to mark the behavior with a treat for Abbot. Later in the week, we will see Abbot start to perk up and be ready to work when he hears those sounds. Then we can decide what we want Abbot to do when he hears that sound, such as nuzzle or put his head in Si's lap.

Si is a very busy child, and this does not change for training. Today he spent a lot of time out on the playground or in the indoor play area. He is making friends with lots of the kids. Here he is drawing a chalk "Olaf" with his new friend Ava.

When he is willing to sit in the classroom area, he loves to sit with Abbot. Today he showed Abbot how to color with a marker.

We still have a TON to learn, but Abbot and Mike are picking things up super-quickly. And Mike is a great teacher, so I am learning, even if I have to step away here and there. (Today I had a 1.5 hour work teleconference.) I have no more work scheduled for the rest of our time here, so I am excited to be FREE to learn. Thanks to all for your support and prayers. We will keep you updated!