Last week I finally decided to call the K9 University I drive past everyday on the way to and from work. Today was the first day of the class. 9am Sat. Well, Tee and I almost slept through the class because we've been sick, but fortunately Sadie woke me up just in time to get ready and make it on time. On the way there Tee gave Sadie a pep talk "You gotta make valedictorian!" I was saying "Please just graduate!" Well, valedictorian does not look promising, we think she might be in the bottom three (that is if this was American Idol). She sucks at heeling and down, in fact, add sit to that list.
Training Philosophy
Here is the thing...we started off with treat training. The method they use at the school- which Tee and I think is the best way in the end, is "fun training." (The third method is fear...usually movie star dogs are this). So when Sadie responds to a correction such as "sit" she is rewarded with verbal praise and touch (petting). The reason we think this is the best method in the end, is because you don't always have treats on you, and Sadie is VERY picky about her treat selection. However, before she always got a treat when we asked her to sit or lay down, so she was very confused and scared when a treat was not offered.
Improvement
We have homework everyday with training: 10 minutes of work; and 10 minutes of reward play. Today I took her on a walk, and she really did much better with "heel." She is starting to figure out "sit" in the new way. I didn't even bother with down again- it was disastrous in class. Maybe tomorrow.
Wish us luck- I'll keep you posted on her ranking in the class!
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