Holly's second Night At Therapy Dog Bootcamp

[Richard Crowe]

Tonight we concentrated on the "Leave It!" command. We started off with easy stuff and progressed to the point where if the instructor would offer a treat and we would give the command, "Leave it!" the dog would turn away from the treat. Holly did very well at that.

The command is designed for rest homes or skilled nursing facilities where there might be a pill on the floor for the dog to grab.

We ended the night with the dogs walking through a "mine field" with treats all over the floor. We would give the command "Leave it!" when ever the dog appeared to notice the treat. Holly did well at that also.

There was also a stress test where Judy would hand Holly's lead to the instructor and walk off. The instructor would stroke and hug Holly. She didn't like the hug but she did better that I thought she would as Judy walked off.

It was a rewarding night and we learned a lot. Now we have to reinforce the "Leave it!" command as homework.

This course won't certify Holly as a therapy dog but, will get her ready for more concentrated training. However, just being with a ten other dogs ranging from five to 112 pounds and their owners in a large room and working on structured assignments is good for Holly and the commands that she is learning are good for any environment.

[Richard Crowe]

Holly will be two years old on Christmas Day. She has attained her full weight at about sixty pounds and is about 24-25" at the shoulder. That is a pretty big dog but, nowhere as big as a Doodle can grow. Her classmate, Boomer, is 112 pounds and still growing at 15-months.

[Lorraine Bromley]

How old is holly now.