Going Off-Leash

Blondie and Blackie work mostly off-leash now. They are doing well with their heeling and automatic sit from the heel. They do excellent when they are separated but are moe of a challenge when they are together . I am now starting to work with them together. The challenge is working with the extremely strong bond they have. They never want to be away from the other one. Little by little we are making progress and I am able to work with one on their heeling while the other is lying nicely on the "place". I have also worked both dogs with the stroller and each one heels great when I am pushing Mackenzie around the yard.

Sitting at the door

,


Blondie and Blackie are learning to sit and wait at the door before coming in or going out. They are doing pretty good with this command. Blackie is still my star pupil out of the two, but Blondie is working on his "grades" and he is improving.

Learning Place

Blondie and Blackie have been learning "place" while they have been here. This command is good in the house or when you just want them out of your way and out of trouble. They will share place with each other and have shared it with Athos too! :-) I am working on having one remain on place while the other is "working". Blackie does this very well, but Blondie cna hardly stand to be away from his big brother. They are getting better at it however. They are also learning that "place" can be almost anything they can sit on, like my garden bench.

Beginning the training

Blondie and Blackie are very sweet, young dogs. They still have a lot of maturing to do. They are doing very well with their training and are very responsive to the training collar. On the first day of training, within a matter of a few minutes I had them following me around the yard close to the heel position. Now after about a week of training, they are doing very well with heeling and staying close when not in a heel. They have learned to sit, heel, place, down, stay, and come. We are working on consistency with them right now. They biggest challenge for them is when they are together. They have such a strong bond with one another, that sometimes my commands are ignored because of their desire to be next to the other one. I have found that Blondie is the worst with this. As you have already told me, he is the more submissive of the two and wants to follow his leader, Blackie, where ever he goes. We have had several days of rain and that has inhibited training a little. We have been training inside during this time. I hope that the rest of this week will be great for training and for getting good pictures for you for the blog.

Blondie and Blackie

Blondie and Blackie
They came from the local shelter at 3 mo old. They were found in the "drop off kennel".

Male Lab mixes, approx 6 mo old

Owned by Susan from Shelby, NC

Board N Train began on March 9, 2009

List of problems as stated by owner:

• Overactive / Doesn't settle down easily
• Jumps on people
• Nuisance barker/whiner (Blondie)
  
• play bites
• Chews destructively on dog beds, etc
• Sniffs at or eats off countertops and tables
• will try to escape the fenced in area

Main goals owner wants to achieve:

• No cat chasing
• give owner personal space
• come when called
• learn how to be in the house and a part of the family
  

Loading Up

i

Frank LOVES to go for car rides. Today I was working on him riding in the back of the vehicle without having to be put in a cage. The last several times I have put him in the car, he would always jump over the backseat and want to sit on the seat. Well, I could not have him doing that because Mackenzie's car seat is on the backseat. So my goal was to get him to ride comfortably in the back of the vehicle without being restrained or having to put the cage back there. The first few times we worked on it today, he wanted to jump to the front. After a couple of times, however, he decided it was best to stay in the back. He did great and rode free in the back all the way to the park. He would also lay down when I told him to. He was very pleasant to ride in the car with. He will also wait at the car door until he is told it is ok for him to get in.

Frank at the Park

I took Frank for a 2 mile walk with me and Mackenzie and a friend and her daughter. Frank did very well. He got a little excited when we first got there, but after a couple a taps with the collar, he was walking perfectly at my side for the entire 2 miles. After our walk, I let him drag the leash around behind him and we walked through the play area. He did excellent with everything. I was very proud of him today.

Frank in the Snow with Mara

Frank got a chance to get out in the snow today and run around. We let him out with Mara, our female Shepherd. He did really well with her. At first, he ran up to her, not really knowing how to exhibit his "doggy manners", but after a quick tap with the collar, he approached her in a more appropriate manner. They had a good time in the snow and Frank LOVED running around in it!

Frank Unleashed

Frank started working off leash on Monday. Now when he goes outside or he is in the house, he no longer has to drag a leash around behind him. He is very responsive to the training collar and doing very well with all of his commands. I worked with him the other day using the jogging stroller. With you having and young baby, I felt this would be useful to you when you wanted to take Frank for a walk. He did very well with the stroller on the leash as well as off the leash.

Frank is doing very well with sitting at the door before going in or going out of the house. He has also gotten much better with the stay command and letting me walk around him. Before he never wanted to let me cross behind his back. He has gotten much more comfortable with that.

We are continuing to work on some of his "dog aggression issues". He seems to be getting better. He has definitely accepted our smallest dog, Dona. He no longer has any issues with her whatsoever. I will continue to work through this week with Frank and our other dogs and hopefully we will see great progress. Already, I am very pleased with what we have accomplished so far with Frank.

Testimony from Yankee Pete of the Ace & TJ show on KISS 95.1

"Amy not only trained Stewart to obey, she took the time to do her research and customize a training program long before the actual training occurred. And during his 2 week visit, we got regular updates through pictures and video. Excellent training and even better customer service. Special touches, continuing education when needed, and life-long training...K9 Command is the best there is!"

More from Yankee Pete:

"Amy, has anyone else told you today that you're brilliant?! I appreciate the quick reminder lesson with the training of Stewart! Not only did you MAKE my family's Christmas, but you make life with a dog so much more structured."

"I'll do any testimonial you ever want to use. 2 weeks with you is magic for a dog. Here's one for you: You can throw away money on Cesar's DVD set, or you can actually go TO Amy. She's one-on-one and puts the owners in their place more than the dog. Yes, I know! It's our fault our dogs act the way they do!"


Stewart's Blog started on November 25, 2008