There are two things that Bella is going to have to learn if she
is going hiking with me. That is 'sit' and 'stay'. Teaching her these
would be a lot easier if I wasn't the proud pet parent of an Attention
Deficit dog. Of course she is still a puppy, one must make allowances
for that and I do, usually.
I mentioned earlier that I had purchased those dog training treats, and she does love those things so that helps. Thanks to her short attention span our training sessions are short, but usually successful. Getting her to 'sit' didn't take long at all. Though my memory may be faulty, she seemed to pick up on it quicker than any dog we have had before her. I've seen other people train their dogs to sit by giving the command as they push down on the dog's hind quarters. All I had to do with Bella was give the command, over......and over......and over....mainly because I didn't have her attention to start with. Once she realized I was holding a treat, she became very focused on what was going on.
I concentrated on the one command for several days. I wanted her to understand 'sit' before we added anything to her training. Well, other than adjusting to that leash that she appears to literally despise with a passion. I've never been deep sea fishing where I actually fished, but I've seen it on television and walking her on a leash here in the beginning looks like they do when they have caught one of those really big marlins..but she'll adjust, I have all faith in her.
Our first attempt at 'shake' was humorous as she kept falling over. She would try, she really would, only her balance was not there yet and every time she ended up on her side. She wasn't hurt, I'd imagine she might have suffered a mild case of doggy embarrassment, but it wasn't bad enough to stop her from trying.
Once I knew that she had the command to 'sit' understood and would sit (for a treat) on command I decided it was finally time to step it up a notch and add the command to 'stay'. Which of course to begin with was a complete failure. I jumped the gun a bit by thinking she would stay when I backed away. No, if I backed up she took that as a signal to move forward. This game had her so excited that the session ended prematurely because her paying attention at this point was not going to happen. Tomorrow was another day.
When I began our session the next day we began with the usual, 'sit' and 'shake' which she is actually getting better at. Then I went to the next which was 'sit' and 'stay'. But, instead of moving back, I stayed where I was and kept softly repeating the word 'stay' while I held my empty hand in front of her. I kept it short though and it worked. The next time I held my hand there for a bit longer. Increasing the time every time. I didn't do it for long though, I know her by now and no matter how much she likes those treats, even that can only keep her focused for so long. That puppy energy has to come out eventually.
Which means the cats are her usual target. She isn't being mean, (though the cats may beg to differ) she wants to play. The cats however are all adults and long past the kitten- playing stage. The thing is, no matter how often they hiss, or slap at her, even at times slapping her, she doesn't back down or back away. Stubborn little girl. I know one of our next lessons.
I've taken her on a couple hikes through the woods. Each one has been different. The first time she listened very well. If I stopped, she stopped. When I began walking again, she did. The second walk, she wasn't as nervous and therefore did not listen as well. If I stopped, she wanted to keep going. When we walked around the pond, she wanted in the pond. She also wants to pull on that leash. I have to break her from that now when she's a puppy so that I don't end up with a full grown eighty-something pound baby dragging me down the dirt road. The last hike we went on she did well. She stopped better, but she really does enjoy playing in the high grass that we pass through. That and every, single smell along the way has her stopping to investigate. Once we get past those she stays fairly close by my side, right up until she realizes that we are on the way back home. That is when the worst of the pulling begins. I know it sounds as if I'm choking her, but she's the one pulling the leash tight, the only way to prevent that would be to run, and I'm not running. Instead I'm trying to teach her to listen to the word 'stop'. But being on the way home, that never enters her head. We'll work on that.
She's going to adjust to spending more time outside. While I do plan on her being an inside outside dog, outside is better during the day. There is always plenty going on to keep her entertained, what with the squirrel and birds playing about, not to mention the neighbors. Our front yard is fenced, there are plenty of shade trees and we keep a big bucket of fresh water in the shade. She would be able to get on the front porch should it begin to rain. There is also Buddy, who is our outside dog. He's not real sure what's up at the moment and is not the friendliest I've ever seen him, but I know that he will adjust to her and accept her presence. All of this beats being confined inside all day alone.
The one thing that I will be very glad of, is when she stops all that puppy biting due to teething. I've given her all manner of puppy toys to chew on, but her favorite chew toys so far seems to be me and my son James. One thing about it, all of my jeans are going to end up looking very fashionably ripped thanks to those sharp daggers called puppy teeth.
Raising a puppy, always an adventure.
I mentioned earlier that I had purchased those dog training treats, and she does love those things so that helps. Thanks to her short attention span our training sessions are short, but usually successful. Getting her to 'sit' didn't take long at all. Though my memory may be faulty, she seemed to pick up on it quicker than any dog we have had before her. I've seen other people train their dogs to sit by giving the command as they push down on the dog's hind quarters. All I had to do with Bella was give the command, over......and over......and over....mainly because I didn't have her attention to start with. Once she realized I was holding a treat, she became very focused on what was going on.
I concentrated on the one command for several days. I wanted her to understand 'sit' before we added anything to her training. Well, other than adjusting to that leash that she appears to literally despise with a passion. I've never been deep sea fishing where I actually fished, but I've seen it on television and walking her on a leash here in the beginning looks like they do when they have caught one of those really big marlins..but she'll adjust, I have all faith in her.
Our first attempt at 'shake' was humorous as she kept falling over. She would try, she really would, only her balance was not there yet and every time she ended up on her side. She wasn't hurt, I'd imagine she might have suffered a mild case of doggy embarrassment, but it wasn't bad enough to stop her from trying.
Once I knew that she had the command to 'sit' understood and would sit (for a treat) on command I decided it was finally time to step it up a notch and add the command to 'stay'. Which of course to begin with was a complete failure. I jumped the gun a bit by thinking she would stay when I backed away. No, if I backed up she took that as a signal to move forward. This game had her so excited that the session ended prematurely because her paying attention at this point was not going to happen. Tomorrow was another day.
When I began our session the next day we began with the usual, 'sit' and 'shake' which she is actually getting better at. Then I went to the next which was 'sit' and 'stay'. But, instead of moving back, I stayed where I was and kept softly repeating the word 'stay' while I held my empty hand in front of her. I kept it short though and it worked. The next time I held my hand there for a bit longer. Increasing the time every time. I didn't do it for long though, I know her by now and no matter how much she likes those treats, even that can only keep her focused for so long. That puppy energy has to come out eventually.
Which means the cats are her usual target. She isn't being mean, (though the cats may beg to differ) she wants to play. The cats however are all adults and long past the kitten- playing stage. The thing is, no matter how often they hiss, or slap at her, even at times slapping her, she doesn't back down or back away. Stubborn little girl. I know one of our next lessons.
I've taken her on a couple hikes through the woods. Each one has been different. The first time she listened very well. If I stopped, she stopped. When I began walking again, she did. The second walk, she wasn't as nervous and therefore did not listen as well. If I stopped, she wanted to keep going. When we walked around the pond, she wanted in the pond. She also wants to pull on that leash. I have to break her from that now when she's a puppy so that I don't end up with a full grown eighty-something pound baby dragging me down the dirt road. The last hike we went on she did well. She stopped better, but she really does enjoy playing in the high grass that we pass through. That and every, single smell along the way has her stopping to investigate. Once we get past those she stays fairly close by my side, right up until she realizes that we are on the way back home. That is when the worst of the pulling begins. I know it sounds as if I'm choking her, but she's the one pulling the leash tight, the only way to prevent that would be to run, and I'm not running. Instead I'm trying to teach her to listen to the word 'stop'. But being on the way home, that never enters her head. We'll work on that.
She's going to adjust to spending more time outside. While I do plan on her being an inside outside dog, outside is better during the day. There is always plenty going on to keep her entertained, what with the squirrel and birds playing about, not to mention the neighbors. Our front yard is fenced, there are plenty of shade trees and we keep a big bucket of fresh water in the shade. She would be able to get on the front porch should it begin to rain. There is also Buddy, who is our outside dog. He's not real sure what's up at the moment and is not the friendliest I've ever seen him, but I know that he will adjust to her and accept her presence. All of this beats being confined inside all day alone.
The one thing that I will be very glad of, is when she stops all that puppy biting due to teething. I've given her all manner of puppy toys to chew on, but her favorite chew toys so far seems to be me and my son James. One thing about it, all of my jeans are going to end up looking very fashionably ripped thanks to those sharp daggers called puppy teeth.
Raising a puppy, always an adventure.
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