Where have the last few days gone? Life has been so busy. Let's get up to date on what's been happening on the training scene.
In the last couple of days Willow and I have had a couple of adventures. I am continuing to take her new places and having her meet new people.
Some of the places we have gone are walking in the neighborhood, the local park, the IFA Store, Maverick, and standing outside at Costco. She has been able to meet short people, tall people, fat people, skinny people, black people, brown people, old people, young people, little kids, infants, etc.
She is becoming pretty comfortable going to new places. She really likes seeing the people even when I don't let them pet her. Something I am noticing is she walks much better when I walk her and use my cane rather than the walker. It's kind of odd but the walker seems to bring out the puller in her. Whereas using just a leash she will walk loose leash 75 - 80% of the time.
Sunday our home teacher and his son came by. Willow did good with them. We had a little trouble getting the son to understand that you don't want to reach your hands up to a dogs head. With Willow she thinks you want to play and will try to grab your hand. When she did this to the son he got scared. We need to work with him more especially since they are thinking of getting a dog of their own.
Monday was a good day. Willow played nicely in the office most of the day while I worked and so she only had to spend a minimal amount of time her crate. I gave her a treat last night and let her sleep with me. She thought she had died and gone to heaven and she settled right down and went to sleep.
Today was my birthday and I took the day off work. Willow and I had a very busy day. We started by going to my neurologist. Willow was a huge hit at the office and did very well. She did get a little antsy in the exam room while we were waiting for the doctor to come in so I worked on her training. I was quite happy that she would still give me focus attention, respond to her name, and do the hand and sticky note touch, even when the tech and later the doctor were in the room.
After the doctor visit we went to Home Depot so the employees there could meet the dog they helped raise money for. Again, she was a huge hit and she behaved like such a little lady. I was so proud of her. Especially since there were so many new and strange sounds there.
From there we went to the Ma & Paw Bakery and bought her a bully stick. She loves it! Then I took her to the Utah Dog Park where she was interviewed for going to doggy daycare. She did really well and ended up staying the rest of the day. When I picked her up tonight she was so tired she fell asleep in the car.
She and I are calling it an early night tonight because we are both so tired.
Till next time friends....
Showing posts with label Dog Play. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dog Play. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Puppy Train and Play
Tonight was Puppy Train and Play. Willow has such a good time there.
Tonight we worked on Doggy Push-ups, Walking on a loose leash, Staying at our side, Paying attention to Mom, and Scarecrow.
Doggy push-ups are where you have the dog sit, then lay down, then stand up, and repeat. When your pup begins to anticipate what is coming next mix it up a bit, do lay down, sit, stand, or whatever order you feel like doing. Of course you click and treat when they do each piece.
Similar to this is what I call Doggy Squats. You have your pup sit, then stand, then sit, then stand. This strengthens the back legs. Both Doggy Push-ups and Doggy Squats have the added benefit of being fun your pup and of using up some of their excess energy.
Walking on a loose leash and staying at our side while we walk is accomplished by teaching your pup that you are the most interesting this in the world. You do that with food. When your pup is walking beside you with a loose leash treat. When they wander away, stop. When they come back to you treat and start again.
For the paying attention to mom I had the hardest time because you are supposed to sit quietly with your dog in front of you and not say anything. When they look at you, you click and treat. This teaches them to look at you without being asked to. The hard part is not talking. I never seem to stop talking. My husband is always asking me to please talk a bit less because he can't get a word in edgewise.
Finally we worked on Scarecrow. Scarecrow is where you put the leash on the floor and step on it. Show your pup you have a treat in your hand and then hold both arms out like a scarecrow. When your dog stops looking at the hand with the treat and looks at you , click and treat. This can also be quite hard if your pup is really concentrating on the food. It may take them awhile to get the idea and your arms may get really tired. You may have to start with if your dogs eyes move away from your hand click and treat that and gradually work up to the full turning and looking at you thing.
At the end of class our pups got to have play time. The big pups went outside and the little pups stayed inside. I took a little video of Willow and Indigo playing. One of these days maybe I'll learn to take the video with a steady hand and smooth movement.
Till next time friends...
Tonight we worked on Doggy Push-ups, Walking on a loose leash, Staying at our side, Paying attention to Mom, and Scarecrow.
Doggy push-ups are where you have the dog sit, then lay down, then stand up, and repeat. When your pup begins to anticipate what is coming next mix it up a bit, do lay down, sit, stand, or whatever order you feel like doing. Of course you click and treat when they do each piece.
Similar to this is what I call Doggy Squats. You have your pup sit, then stand, then sit, then stand. This strengthens the back legs. Both Doggy Push-ups and Doggy Squats have the added benefit of being fun your pup and of using up some of their excess energy.
Walking on a loose leash and staying at our side while we walk is accomplished by teaching your pup that you are the most interesting this in the world. You do that with food. When your pup is walking beside you with a loose leash treat. When they wander away, stop. When they come back to you treat and start again.
For the paying attention to mom I had the hardest time because you are supposed to sit quietly with your dog in front of you and not say anything. When they look at you, you click and treat. This teaches them to look at you without being asked to. The hard part is not talking. I never seem to stop talking. My husband is always asking me to please talk a bit less because he can't get a word in edgewise.
Finally we worked on Scarecrow. Scarecrow is where you put the leash on the floor and step on it. Show your pup you have a treat in your hand and then hold both arms out like a scarecrow. When your dog stops looking at the hand with the treat and looks at you , click and treat. This can also be quite hard if your pup is really concentrating on the food. It may take them awhile to get the idea and your arms may get really tired. You may have to start with if your dogs eyes move away from your hand click and treat that and gradually work up to the full turning and looking at you thing.
At the end of class our pups got to have play time. The big pups went outside and the little pups stayed inside. I took a little video of Willow and Indigo playing. One of these days maybe I'll learn to take the video with a steady hand and smooth movement.
Till next time friends...
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Willow discovers packing paper
Today Willow discovered how much fun a long sheet of blank newsprint can be. She got to play with it all morning.
I received my order of cookbooks and the paper was used as fill in the boxes. I was so excited to get my first batch of 50 cookbooks. You see I complied a cookbook using recipes from my family and my husbands family. The recipes date from the 1880's to present day. Some are really good and some are not to the tastes of modern day folks. The oldest recipes used very little salt and sugar, no where near as much as we use today.
Originally I put the book together just for family but when I decided to go ahead and get a service dog I knew I would need to raise money. So I talked to my family and got everyone's permission to publish the book for others to buy. The book is available in paperback and Kindle formats and is available on the Amazon store. Feel free to check it out. All of the money I get will go towards Willow's training and equipment. Here is the link...
I received my order of cookbooks and the paper was used as fill in the boxes. I was so excited to get my first batch of 50 cookbooks. You see I complied a cookbook using recipes from my family and my husbands family. The recipes date from the 1880's to present day. Some are really good and some are not to the tastes of modern day folks. The oldest recipes used very little salt and sugar, no where near as much as we use today.
Originally I put the book together just for family but when I decided to go ahead and get a service dog I knew I would need to raise money. So I talked to my family and got everyone's permission to publish the book for others to buy. The book is available in paperback and Kindle formats and is available on the Amazon store. Feel free to check it out. All of the money I get will go towards Willow's training and equipment. Here is the link...
The paperback version is normally $12.99 but Amazon has it on sale now for $11.45. The Kindle version is $7.99. When you buy the paperback version you can get the Kindle version for $1.99.
Thank you in advance if you decide to purchase this book.
Friday, September 19, 2014
Wow! What a busy few days this has been...
It's been a busy few days since my last post. I have got to make sure I post more often.
Well let's see if I can recap some of what has been happening...
Wednesday was a quiet day at home. We only got in 2 good training sessions where Willow was paying attention. The rest of the time she was in puppy land and didn't want to come out of it. I should make her work more.
That night was Puppy Train and Play class. Willow sure loves that class! She wants to spend all of her time on the play portion! After a false start or two she began to pay attention and did a good job on the training. We began to work on recall last night. That was fun. Allie and I took turns calling Willow to us. She quickly figured out what we were doing and after a few times she was like, "ok it's time to go to someone else, I need a change of scenery". She can be so funny.
Yesterday we didn't do a lot. I was on a clear liquid diet in prep for my colonoscopy on Friday. It gave me a massive headache and I was very lightheaded. So besides having to work all day I also did a lot of playing with Willow and tried to practice some of her behaviors in our play. After work I took her to my friend Kaylynn's home. She was watching Willow for me since I had to do my evening prep and be up at 2 am to finish my colonoscopy prep. then head in for the procedure. I am so glad it is done and the doctor said I don't need to go back for another for 10 years! Whoo Hoo!
When I brought Willow home she was exhausted. Not only did she spend a lot of time playing with Nacho but she also played with 2 of Kaylynn's grandkids. They wore each other out! She slept for 2 hours when she got home. This evening we spent playing and I tried to get a couple of sessions in but Willow was not co-operating. I think she was still tired because all she wanted to do was lay around. She didn't want to play but she did want to chew on her antler.
Well tomorrow is another day.
I received an email from Amazon today that my cookbooks will be arriving on Monday. I am so excited! 2 years ago I finished a cookbook for family members that was a collection of recipes from both sides of my family and both sides of my husbands family. It came out really well. So well in fact that when I needed to have money to train Willow I obtained permission from the family members to reprint the recipes and sell them as long as I took out the family info, pictures, and stories. So I redid the book added in some new graphics and some quotes, designed a nice cover and now I have a cookbook that is available on Amazon in the Kindle format as well as a paper format. I will be using all of my royalties towards training Willow. I only need to sell 500-1000 to have enough money. But it will be worth every penny. Willow is already shaping up to be a great dog and as she grows she will become a great service dog.
The recipes in the cookbook go back to the 1880's and possibly earlier and come up to our current day. I have called it "Family Favorites Through the Generations, From our Family to yours"
Here's a link to my book...
http://tinyurl.com/pqzg22y
Till next time my friends...
Well let's see if I can recap some of what has been happening...
Wednesday was a quiet day at home. We only got in 2 good training sessions where Willow was paying attention. The rest of the time she was in puppy land and didn't want to come out of it. I should make her work more.
That night was Puppy Train and Play class. Willow sure loves that class! She wants to spend all of her time on the play portion! After a false start or two she began to pay attention and did a good job on the training. We began to work on recall last night. That was fun. Allie and I took turns calling Willow to us. She quickly figured out what we were doing and after a few times she was like, "ok it's time to go to someone else, I need a change of scenery". She can be so funny.
Yesterday we didn't do a lot. I was on a clear liquid diet in prep for my colonoscopy on Friday. It gave me a massive headache and I was very lightheaded. So besides having to work all day I also did a lot of playing with Willow and tried to practice some of her behaviors in our play. After work I took her to my friend Kaylynn's home. She was watching Willow for me since I had to do my evening prep and be up at 2 am to finish my colonoscopy prep. then head in for the procedure. I am so glad it is done and the doctor said I don't need to go back for another for 10 years! Whoo Hoo!
When I brought Willow home she was exhausted. Not only did she spend a lot of time playing with Nacho but she also played with 2 of Kaylynn's grandkids. They wore each other out! She slept for 2 hours when she got home. This evening we spent playing and I tried to get a couple of sessions in but Willow was not co-operating. I think she was still tired because all she wanted to do was lay around. She didn't want to play but she did want to chew on her antler.
Well tomorrow is another day.
I received an email from Amazon today that my cookbooks will be arriving on Monday. I am so excited! 2 years ago I finished a cookbook for family members that was a collection of recipes from both sides of my family and both sides of my husbands family. It came out really well. So well in fact that when I needed to have money to train Willow I obtained permission from the family members to reprint the recipes and sell them as long as I took out the family info, pictures, and stories. So I redid the book added in some new graphics and some quotes, designed a nice cover and now I have a cookbook that is available on Amazon in the Kindle format as well as a paper format. I will be using all of my royalties towards training Willow. I only need to sell 500-1000 to have enough money. But it will be worth every penny. Willow is already shaping up to be a great dog and as she grows she will become a great service dog.
The recipes in the cookbook go back to the 1880's and possibly earlier and come up to our current day. I have called it "Family Favorites Through the Generations, From our Family to yours"
Here's a link to my book...
http://tinyurl.com/pqzg22y
Till next time my friends...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)