puppy class!

["J. Renee Brooks" <jrbrooks@cs.utah.edu>]

Gina Heitz wrote:

> BTW, Abigail Rogers who is in the class we are in for basic obedience, is
> as well very ill tempered.  In class she is the class clown, cant walk in a
> straight line pulls Deb allover the room, wont sit, forget a long down for
> 15 seconds <smile> ect.  But after class Deb showed us all the tricks
> Abigail knows:  sit, down, roll over, shake both paws, leave it:  She puts
> a cookie crumb on one of Abigail's paws and tells her leave it.  While
> Abigail salivates and wants the treat she waits till given a command to get
> the treat!   So very cute!  She is yes very active and distracted out in
> public like others of you have noted about your pup's.  It's just puppy
> stuff and while I am not saying ignore it you do need to get them to focus
> it's all very normal.

Gina's description of Abigail describes Maple to a T!!!.... that is
until this week.  Last week, the trainer wanted a pup that would jump
up on her, so I quickly volunteered Maple. Having seen Maple pull me
around everywhere, the trainer tried her best to get another dog, but
ended up taking Maple.  Maple jumped up all right, and the trainer
walked through her as she was trying to demonstrate what to do when
dogs jump on you. However, after a few times Maple became more
interested in the dogs around her and ignored the trainers best
attempts to get her attention and just pulled and pulled on the lead. 
The trainer exclaimed "Oh!  For this dog, you need a prong collar" and
had the assistant outfit her with one.  Maple did behave better, but I
didn't want to buy one based on our discussions on the list.  Instead,
Leigh and I went and got her a gentle leader over the weekend, and my
oh my what a difference it makes!!  She is no longer pulling me around
the class.  I still have to work hard with the treats and lures, but
now it's much easier for me to get and keep her attention.  She was
fabulous tonight! The trainer even came up and complemented her.  We
both came back beaming of success!  
	So, if you are in a class and can't keep their attention for more
than 5 seconds, I recommend the gentle leader.  Around the house, I
can do all the tricks with Maple without a problem, but in the class,
well, the distractions are so powerful.  The gentle leader is a nice
way of reminding her I am there, and we both end up having more fun. 

Renee
-- 
J. Renee Brooks
U.S. EPA                          (541) 754-4684 (Office)
NHEERL/Western Ecology Division   (541) 754-4799 (FAX)
200 SW 35th St                    jrbrooks@cs.utah.edu
Corvallis, OR 97333