The One With All the Training
Since I had the weekend off from dog training, I decided to do more dog training. I had a fleeting vision of reading at the beach, but I put myself in check and stayed home to get stuff done instead.
Yesterday, Muggsy had a long day of training. I took him to one of my boss' dog classes and had him sitting on the deck at the Starbucks with all the other dogs and people. He let my boss and another trainer pet him, but I wouldn't let anyone else come near him. However, he was in some close situations with people going by and he handled them all very well. We walked around a parking lot and practiced some commands. My boss said he's a perfect demo dog because he does everything perfectly, except the things that scare him. I guess that's something. We also went to the pet store and got a caricature done. It wasn't very good, but it was fun. Then, we went to lunch and he sat on the deck with me again. It was pretty stressful, but the more experiences like this he has that are positive, the better he will get. But he's still stressed the whole time. My boss said she didn't see any changes because of the medication either. I have my followup appointment in two weeks.
The Santa Anas have hit here, the only two weeks where it's hot near the beach. It's been in the 80s the last two days and everyone is complaining. I honestly don't think that people from Southern California can survive anywhere else. If it's colder than 60 and hotter than 70, the complaining never stops. I enjoy it because even when it gets hot, it's not as hot as Dallas, and even when it gets cold, it's not as cold as Kansas. :)
Today, I've done an indoor session with the dogs, short sessions for all three. I taught Muggsy and Fenway targeting, and Chubbs is really getting shake. I also worked on down-stays and, for Muggsy, getting off the bed on command. Later this evening, I'm going to do an outdoor session where we practice come, directionals and wait, which I discovered this week that Chubbs remembers from class. I took all three of them for a walk by myself Friday, which isn't easy. At the curb, I don't want them running out in the street. Since Chubbs was in the lead, when they would get the curb, I would call out Chubbs, wait! and he would stop until I said OK. Sometimes he amazes me at how smart he is.
Other times, like today, he goes after a bone that Muggsy has, and I can't figure out what keeps his head from collapsing inward. :)
On a non-training note, Ross and I bought a crock pot a couple weeks ago, and it's so great. We bought a cookbook with tons of recipes in it, and it's practically all we use. Just throw stuff in a pot in the morning and it's cooked when you get home from work. Balanced meals, too. It's great. Ross has a fantasy draft tonight, so we made chili this morning that we can have for dinner. Very little effort required, but I had to stop helping because onions make my eyes burn so badly that I can't keep them open. Who knew? Guess that's why I never cook with onions. It's been four hours, and my eyes still hurt.
OK, that's it. I had to get my computer stuff done before Ross' draft. Have a good rest of the weekend.
Yesterday, Muggsy had a long day of training. I took him to one of my boss' dog classes and had him sitting on the deck at the Starbucks with all the other dogs and people. He let my boss and another trainer pet him, but I wouldn't let anyone else come near him. However, he was in some close situations with people going by and he handled them all very well. We walked around a parking lot and practiced some commands. My boss said he's a perfect demo dog because he does everything perfectly, except the things that scare him. I guess that's something. We also went to the pet store and got a caricature done. It wasn't very good, but it was fun. Then, we went to lunch and he sat on the deck with me again. It was pretty stressful, but the more experiences like this he has that are positive, the better he will get. But he's still stressed the whole time. My boss said she didn't see any changes because of the medication either. I have my followup appointment in two weeks.
The Santa Anas have hit here, the only two weeks where it's hot near the beach. It's been in the 80s the last two days and everyone is complaining. I honestly don't think that people from Southern California can survive anywhere else. If it's colder than 60 and hotter than 70, the complaining never stops. I enjoy it because even when it gets hot, it's not as hot as Dallas, and even when it gets cold, it's not as cold as Kansas. :)
Today, I've done an indoor session with the dogs, short sessions for all three. I taught Muggsy and Fenway targeting, and Chubbs is really getting shake. I also worked on down-stays and, for Muggsy, getting off the bed on command. Later this evening, I'm going to do an outdoor session where we practice come, directionals and wait, which I discovered this week that Chubbs remembers from class. I took all three of them for a walk by myself Friday, which isn't easy. At the curb, I don't want them running out in the street. Since Chubbs was in the lead, when they would get the curb, I would call out Chubbs, wait! and he would stop until I said OK. Sometimes he amazes me at how smart he is.
Other times, like today, he goes after a bone that Muggsy has, and I can't figure out what keeps his head from collapsing inward. :)
On a non-training note, Ross and I bought a crock pot a couple weeks ago, and it's so great. We bought a cookbook with tons of recipes in it, and it's practically all we use. Just throw stuff in a pot in the morning and it's cooked when you get home from work. Balanced meals, too. It's great. Ross has a fantasy draft tonight, so we made chili this morning that we can have for dinner. Very little effort required, but I had to stop helping because onions make my eyes burn so badly that I can't keep them open. Who knew? Guess that's why I never cook with onions. It's been four hours, and my eyes still hurt.
OK, that's it. I had to get my computer stuff done before Ross' draft. Have a good rest of the weekend.
posted by Rachel at
2:42 PM
2 Comments:
Sounds like a great weekend! Very productive. I'm impressed that Muggsy did so well out and about. I just have to say again that those are two very lucky dogs!
By
Monica, at 7:34 AM
Aww, thanks.
By
Rachel, at 9:05 AM
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