My laptop has blown its power jack. I'm trying to decide whether to spend $150 to get it fixed or get an off-lease/refurbished one for about $325 from Tiger Direct. Meanwhile I'm making do with the desktop, which refuses to read anything I plug into the USB ports, including the camera, so no pictures for a while.
It has come to my attention that my dogs require further training in order for the 3 of us to be able to go out in public together. I've reached the conclusion I need to do some individual training with them, to get the behaviors I want down solid before I try to take them places together. My plan is to start by microwaving a chicken breast to cut up and use for treats. Then I'm going to give Taenzer Rescue Remedy about 10 minutes before we go out--she gets so wound up and anxious, she needs a little help relaxing so she can focus.
Then I'm going to take pieces of chicken breast (which they both value very highly), the clicker, and one dog on a leash, and we're going to go stand on the sidewalk in front of the house. Just stand. They can wander and sniff, but whenever they look at me, click-treat. When they start checking in with me fairly regularly, we'll try going a few steps. I don't necessarily want them strictly at heel, just not clear out at the end of the leash and, in Timber's case, not right in front of me. Although part of his problem is Taenzer crowding him, but we can work on that later. Right now the plan is to get me and one dog to the end of the block and back without the dog hitting the end of the leash. Once they can do it alone, we'll try both together.
I also want them to sit absolutely automatically as soon as they hear the word--or as nearly as possible--so that they have an alternate behavior to jumping and barking when someone asks if they can pet them. :-P That's something I'll need to work on individually, too.
The idea is that all three of us can go walking in public and have it be a pleasant experience for everyone involved.
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4 comments:
I never dared to go out with both dogs alone. They are too strong (well not Happy yet). We have discovered the joy of going to the dog park. Big smiles all around and very tired pups afterwards. I too have to train more with Happy. He's also the first dog who loves the Frisbee!
Neither of my two is very big--Timber runs between 65 and 70 pounds and Taenzer between 60 a nd 65--and they're really pretty good, but they got so excited about seeing a person the other day that it occured to me that if they got REALLY got excited about something they could yank my right off my feet. They never have, but they could. So I want to do more training so they understand better what they should do when we're outside together and to teach them more self-control (Timber has next to no self-control, bless him).
You're lucky to have a nice dog park! The one here is nasty.
Judi, I bought an excellent used iBook on ebay for about $225. It came loaded with software and wireless ready. Just something to think about if you aren't married to a PC platform.
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