Week 2: Obedience class review

[Amy & Bernie]

The second week was good, and challenging. Bernie's heeling has gotten SO much better. I can't believe it, he never pulls anymore. He's like a different dog. But we can't stop there!

The second week we worked on the 'proper heel' - which means Bernie's snout was in line with our knees, give or take an inch, but not more than that. That part was tougher, partly because we were so thrilled he was heeling in general, but we got ourselves in shape and stuck to it. In addition to the proper heel position, and the reason the positioning is so important, we were working on the stop and sit. Stop, and if he's in the proper position (next to you, facing forward), say 'sit' and push his rump down. Praise, praise, praise! We had so many questions, about whether we were doing it properly, if we could add in additional commands, etc. but we stuck to what we learned in class and that only.

And guess what? All our questions were answered the next week! Wow, it pays to enroll in a proper obedience class, with methods you can be on board with 100%, and being a much better student in doggie class than you ever were during college! =)

This week we're working on the stop-sit without the sit command or rump pushing. AND, we're adding in the 'sit-stay' and 'down'. It seems like a lot. We were a bit overwhelmed leaving class. 

But we figured the 'sit-stay' and 'down' could be done randomly around the house, so it's fun for him and doesn't seem like real training. That way we can still take our 15-20 minute training walks and work on on the heeling (and accompanying elements).

One important thing we learned - an hour, hour-fifteen minutes, is TOO LONG for Bernie's puppy brain. He was a good boy in class, but after about 40 minutes he was so tired. He kept laying down, which is not good when you're working on sit commands, and I was practically dragging him around the room to practice. I feel like he wasn't really internalizing too much the second half, which makes it all the more important we practice, practice, practice.

Besides, the once a week classes are for the people we think, not the dogs - the dogs get the week, we get the one day =)



[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

Good job Bernie!!! (and doodle parents) sounds like it's paying off in a huge way-so happy for you!

[Adina P]

I wrote this in response to your post in the Training group but I want to say it here too:

 

A few things struck me:

Bernie's heeling has gotten SO much better. I can't believe it, he never pulls anymore. He's like a different dog. But we can't stop there!

-- THIS IS IN TWO WEEKS!  That's awesome!  You obviously have done good work!

 

All our questions were answered the next week! Wow, it pays to enroll in a proper obedience class, with methods you can be on board with 100%

--I think that's a sign of a good trainer...one who does get to those pesky questions and makes you feel like you WANT to wait for their answers first and foremost!

 

Besides, the once a week classes are for the people we think, not the dogs - the dogs get the week, we get the one day =)

--I fully agree!!!