Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Stinker


Well, the little Stinker (Reagan) is starting to grow on me. She is showing signs that she is going to be a good little worker. She is offering sits when we are standing around. She is retrieving stuffy toys fairly well and is just about dropping the toy at my feet for a treat. I started her on the plastic dumbell a few days ago and she is readily taking it into her mouth for a brief second. She is offering to pick up the stuffy toy and then I click & treat when I take it with my other hand because I want her to learn to put it in my hand. When I try to let her wander around, so I can practice recalls.... I can't get her to leave me alone. She is very interested in what I am doing and where I am going........ which is a good thing when you are training a dog. I have her stepping or hopping over 8 inch jumps. Sit and down stays are coming along, but I'm trying not to be too rigid since it is hard for her to sit still. Even when we get home, she is still ready to go and full of energy. At least now with the fetching and the recalls, I can get her running a little more than before. She is such a handful though. The other day she almost knocked over a bookshelf because she noticed something sitting on top of it (who looks up there?). Today, she started to eat the carpet and a button she found. I literally cannot let her out of sight. Overall, I am really happy with her progress over the last 3 1/2 weeks. I can't believe its only been that long. She seems to be learning so fast. I am in no rush, but I don't want her to get bored doing the same thing over and over again, so that is why I keep repetitions to a minimum and introducing something new.