After missing the first few weeks
of D.O.G.S of Victoria’s 12 Week Basic Obedience Course – we have finally
begun!! I was on such a high after yesterday’s lesson that I just couldn’t
resist sharing it with you all!
Cooper is now 7 months old and is
doing amazingly (most of the time).
Although there are still a couple of things
that we need to work on – hence the training;
- Pulling on the lead – especially when seeing other dogs. I can’t wait to be able to take him for a good walk with my girlfriends and not worry about the constant tugging and pulling.
- Over excitement when seeing other dogs. When we let him off lead in the park, he will charge at some of the dogs – although it is in a very playful manner some dogs can find this to be very threatening.
- Not always coming when called. This to me is one of the most important commands – your dog should come when called every single time.
We had a one hour catch up lesson
before the class as we had missed the first three weeks due to Coopers desexing
and other commitments. Henry the pug also joined us for the catch up lesson as
he had been off with Kennel Cough. We learnt how to heal, come, stay, drop,
give, and all these fun fancy turns. It’s like doing a routine.
The second hour was the actual
group class with about 11 dogs – all different breeds; weimeraner, pointer,
spoodle, cavoodle, kelpie, the list goes on! Cooper was surprisingly more
submissive with the other dogs then I had anticipated, which we were happy
about. As a group we practiced the routine and spoke about lots of behavioural
issues people were having with their dogs. As expected, Cooper did get a little distracted doing the
routine with all the dogs around him, but at least we were able to learnt to
correct this with the help of the trainer. Sandra (the trainer) has given us
some seriously good take home tips to help with this.
The bonding experience you share
with your pooch during training is really incredible. It is a time when you
really assert yourself as the pack leader. Jase and I felt like proud parents
at the end of it! Our boy did so well and played so nicely with all the other
dogs.
And when we got home Cooper did
not move from this position for hours!!!
Hello. Have you heard of a leash called 'Gentle Leader'
ReplyDeleteThis idea worked for our long haired Jack Russel. When placed correctly it somehow calms the animal, we also used this Gentle leader at bath time for Tilly
Yes and we use one!! They are the best!! Cooper is a different dog with a gentle leader on - but he still tries to walk slightly ahead and pulls when he sees another dog. Without the gentle leader - he pulls almost all the time.
DeleteHi!
ReplyDeleteOur Cavoodle 9 month olds have been using the gentle leaders since they were little...it definitely helps a lot - but they too still pull!!
Maybe we need to do the same training as you, as our pups also are not great at coming back to us on command.
Thanks for you updates, and sharing info Mel.
Cheers
You're welcome Hayley. I definitely recommend doing Sandra's class- she is brilliant. We're about to head there now and I can't wait. It makes such a difference each time. Please be sure to keep now posted on how you go with your Cavoodle.
DeleteHi there. In regards to the Call Back command, ive actually read a book and it says to rate their treats from the their most to their least fav. By knowing that, u can then use it according to the difficulty of the Trick/Command you're trying to get them to do. Boiled Chicken breast works like a charm when i train my Jack Russell doing the Call Back.
ReplyDeleteGreat- thanks for the tip- I will definitely have to try that one!!!
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