Fun Shots

Here are just a few fun photos we took of Shadow.

Waiting at the door

Shadow has learned to wait at the door before going in or out. She must wait until all of the humans have crossed over the threshold before she is allowed to pass through herself. She does very good with this command. I usually just tell her to "sit" and "wait" for her to perform this command.

Heeling, Down with Signal, Recall

Here is a picture of Shadow "heeling" with me. The next ones are in sequence. I placed Shadow in a sit and walked away and then used hand signals to place her in the down from a distance. The next command was the recall. This command is not complete until she is back in the "heel position" on my left.

Long Distance Down and Recall

Here is a sequence of pictures of Mark putting Shadow in a down and running away from her. He then calls her back to him to heel again.

The Stay

In these pictures, Mark is working on Shadow's "Stay" command. She does very well with this command now. She will stay at good distances and for longer periods of time. We will soon start to add the distraction of other dogs into this portion of her training.

Going Off the Leash

Here are some photos of Mark working on "heeling" and "Come". The first picture is of Shadow "heeling". Notice that there is no leash attached. "Look Ma. No leash!" The next series of pics are of Mark calling Shadow to him in the "come" command. This command is not complete until the dog has sat at the heeling side of the handler. Once again, Shadow is working completely without a leash.

Working with the "Heel"

I was able to get some good photos of Mark working with Shadow on her "heeling" today. It is very hard to get "heeling" photos when you are the one training and holding the camera. I am glad today that Mark helped me out a bit. What we are trying to do here in some of these photos is to get Shadow to follow us closely. This is teaching her the "heel" command and the "come on" command. With the "heel" command you want a her to walk politely at your left side, not pulling or lagging behind. The "come on" is much more laid back. With that command we just want her to stay close to us but she does not have to remain in a "heel" position. Notice in a couple of these pictures showing Mark is turning away from Shadow. Here we are trying to get Shadow to follow him and teaching her to watch him more closely or he will "get away" from her. In the first picture of Mark's turn, Shadow is lagging behind indicating that she was not paying as much attention when he moved away from her. In the next turn, Shadow stays much closer to Mark and does not let a lot of distance come between the two of them. This is what we want. Also so notice that Mark is doing this without holding the leash. We are teaching Shadow, at this point, to follow by our body language and a light stim from the collar.

Shadow's Possesiveness

Shadow has quite a bit of possessive behavior, which is one of the biggest reasons she is here. Her possessiveness is not toward humans, but towards other dogs. She has shown that quite of few times over the several days she has been her. I am currently working on her aggression and this problem. She has been a bit of a finicky eater but will guard her food when other dogs are around. She has charged a couple of times at our dogs when guarding her food. We are now working very hard to correct this behavior. When she becomes aggressive at another dog for being near her and her food, I give her a light stim and then take her food away and give it to the other dog. The other dog will take a few bites and I return the food to Shadow and tell her to "eat it". Anytime she stare, snarls, growls or charges at the other dog, I repeat the stim and give the other dog some of Shadow's food. This is teaching Shadow that I am in control of her food and I can take it away. It is not hers to guard, it is there to eat. This is an exercise that will take some time, but I feel that we are making some progress.

Shadow Learning the "Stay"

Shadow is learing the "stay" command. She is learning to stay at a distance for periods of time. She is also learning to "heel" She is working on a 30ft long line during training right now. Much of the time, the line is just draging behind her. She is learning what the stimulation from the collar means and is following me quite nicely. Soon she will be transitioned to a shorter line and then eventually she will be completely off-leash.

Shadow Begins Training

Shadow is doing very well beginning her training. She is adapting nicely to the training collar and works with ease on it. She is learning to heel, to do an automatic sit (when I come to a stop), down, come and place. We will expand more on these commands as she progresses. She is doing well in the house learning the "place" command. We have introduced her to our dogs and our puppy and she is behaving with them. She gets a little excited around the dogs but we are able to calm her using a very light stimulation. So far, I feel that Shadow is going to do great with her training. She already knew some of the obedience commands, now it will be just making them more consistent, expecially around distractions. She is a very smart dog and is picking up on everything quickly.