Meg's first training day

The trainer came for the first lesson yesterday, his name is Dustin and when he worked with my daughter she referred to him as the dog whisperer. He likes to train with a prong collar and then wean them back to a regular collar. He showed us the proper fit for it and how to put it on her and where it is suppose to be on her neck, that was an eye opener for us and she did not mind that collar at all. As soon as he had her fitted he started walking her all over the driveway and the side yard, switching directions and changing up the speed that they moved, each time he stopped she had to sit and after a few times he put her in a down and walked circles around her scuffing up the gravel to distract her, if she moved she had to go right back in the same position until she would lay without caring what he did. Then after more of the same exercises he put her in a down, laid down the leash and walked farther away with circles around her. He is so good she looked as if she had been doing it all along. After about 15 minutes of this he grabber her favorite toy and they had a five minute romp.

Then it was my turn, she did better than I did. My problem is I am so used to he pulling that I waited for her to pull before I did a correction, he wants the correction as soon as she takes half a step in front of me, he thinks it will only take a few times to train me but she responds faster than me, LOL! After we worked we did another romp. He made it clear that her training should be three times the praise as the corrections, he wants to hear constant praise a small, quick, quiet corrections. I told him my ultimate goal is to have her pass a CGC test and be certified, he said she is mostly there and once we get the loose leash and greeting done he believes she can pass the test. We think she is the smartest dog we have ever had but it is so good to hear that she is farther along on training than we thought. I really am an amateur at training and he makes me want to learn to do this full time. The first class was fun, he will be back today then wants to skip a day so her and I are working on our own a bit more.

More to follow as we learn. Thanks for all the encouragement.

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