|
|
|
Dog training, clicker training, Australian Shepherd, dogs, puppies, pet products, obedience school |
|
Clicker Training - Class Seven
The seventh and final class at Tail Waggers was puppy graduation night and Trish Pooley took this class herself. We spent the first part of the session recapping what we and our puppies had learned during the previous six classes and discussing how best to continue our training regimes beyond the classroom environment. It had been understood from the start that the bulk of the "real" learning would be done at home. The instructions and lessons we had been given in class were essentially to serve as guidelines for continued training at home and it was important that we follow through with them. |
|
I had had the opportunity to work a good deal with Buddy on a daily basis during the past week or so and his progress had been simply phenomenal. With treats as incentives, he'd mastered many of the basic commands we'd been given to learn within thirty minutes of being introduced to them and appeared eager to learn more. While I had never questioned Buddy's intelligence (he is a very smart doggie), we had had problems in the past with his ability to focus in situations where other dogs and people were present. On more than one occasion Buddy had seemed to learn a command only to later "forget" it when called upon to demonstrate in class. Once class had ended and we had arrived home (and treats were at stake), he conveniently "remembered" whatever it was I was asking him to do! This had been a constant problem for us since we had started with the classes nearly two months earlier. The excitement of being around people, and especially other puppies, had at times seemed to be a little too much for Buddy to handle, making any real learning while class was in session a hit and miss operation. |
|
Trish asked each of the owners in turn if we felt we had accomplished the goals we had outlined for ourselves in the first class. Each of us felt we had. In addition to basic commands, Buddy had made tremendous improvement in leash walking and while he didn't have it mastered 100%, at least he wasn't ripping my arm out the socket every time we went somewhere. If Buddy had learned nothing else, the socialization skills he'd gained from being around the other puppies and their owners were invaluable. |
|
 |
|
