3.25.2009

Dexter's First Group class

Dexter had his first group class last night. I was nervous that he wouldn't be able to maintain focus for an hour, would fuss or zone or etc while it was not his turn, would run off while off-leash, etc... Well I shouldn't have been so worried, my little guy did GREAT last night. If anything, being there with the other dogs motivated him to maintain BETTER focus and to run faster :) It was awesome. He did his contacts (low) fast and confidently, performed the chute (which I haven't practiced much), and overall charmed our group members.

I can't wait for our next class next Tuesday!

3.19.2009

More clicker tricks

For Fada's next clicker trick I wanted something that made her move. For no particular reason, I decided to have her crawl under a stool. It required action on her part, which is was different than Sad Puppy.

I started clicking for looking at, stepping towards it, etc. Then I "upped the ante", asking for more interaction with the stool until she got it!

Please note these are five seperate training sessions over two days. I can NOT train her too long at once or she just gives up. It is very important that she succeeds.

3.17.2009

First lessons

Since Fada had very little previous training when she came to live with me at 9 mos. old, we started with tricks! I love using a clicker to teach tricks. It challenges the imagination and the dogs always seem to enjoy it.

One of the first tricks I taught was "Sad puppy". Fada already offered a "down" readily, so I wanted to do something she would get fairly quickly.

And yes, more than one person has suggested that the puppy doesn't look very "sad" with the tail wagging.

3.12.2009

Introducing Fada!


Okay, so Lianne and Dexter have completely embarrassed me into finally posting. I'm Lianne's mother, Lisa. I have a wire haired Portuguese Podengo Pequeno, Fada.

Fada will be 3 years old in May. She came to live with me just about two years ago at 9 mos. of age. She had not has any training at that point, so I started slowly with teaching some clicker tricks, then worked our way into basic agility training.

In the next week or so I will try to recount some of our early training experiences and then try to keep up with what she is up to currently.