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unsilenceddreamDue to the weather, we spent most of today inside at Yorktown. Before I forget: breakfast was scrambled eggs, toast and Cheereios with coffee, lunch was a turky rubin sandwich and garlic soup with iced tea, and dinner was actually the turkey rubin which I was too full from the soup to eat at lunch and so saved it for dinner. I forget if I had a drink or not. I actually have half of the sandwich in my fridge. I don't know why, but I wasn't very hungry at dinner.
We did group obedience this morning, and that went well. I forgot to mention yesterday about distraction practice, but if not, there was a toy that was used, and Dalton did fine. Today's distraction was a squirrel on a fishing pole, and he was curious and got up a few times to look at it, but all in all, he did well. He was responsive to my asking him to sit and then treating him for doing so and paying attention to me/being good instead of being distracted by the squirrel. Tomorrow starts full class obedience; I'm looking forward to it.
This morning, instead of doing a route, we were inside and went over how to use the booties we are issued, the Clicker/targeting and the Haltie. Dalton did well with everything. He was a little unsure of the booties at first, but with practice, it should be okay. We practiced heeling them up and down the halls this morning. He isn't totally resistant to them, which is a good thing. I had them on him a little while ago again, and heeled him and also worked him some in them, and he did fine. The booties will definitely help with ice/snow/salt/hot temperatures. They are also very well made, too. The clicker/targeting was awesome! He picks up on that fast, and I'm looking forward to using it when I get to school. To explain: when you want the dog to show you something, the clicker is a good way to help the dog learn that. You first practice with the 'touch' command, having the dog touch your hand and clicking and treating each time this is done. The most important rule of all: if you click, you treat, even if the click is on accident. 'Touch' is then replaced by whatever word you want - chair, elevator, door, curb, etc. If that explanation is still a little confusing, let me know, and I can try to clarify.
The haltie, while I'm not sure I will use it much, is a good tool to have. It replaces the Gentle Leader, which used to be issued. The haltie is similar, except that it has a few more straps and connecters. I'm not even sure I know how to do a good job explaining its physical make-up. The idea of the haltie is that you have more control over the dog's head. You have more command of the dog as opposed to doing the snap-correction. The slip collar is a training tool, whereas the haltie is not. Again, if that explanation didn't make sense, let me know, and I'll see about fixing it. Other people can feel free to chime in and correct anything that may be...well...incorrect.
After lunch, the three ACTION students went and worked our dogs in a KMart that was close by. We worked them outside through an icey, slushy parking lot that wasn't all that fun to navigate, but we did make it, which is all that matters. It was fun working in the store, going around the perimeter and through aisles. All ended well, and there were no injuries or broken merchandise.
There was no lecture tonight, and so I haven't been up to too too much. I am really tired, and so may go to bed early. With the possible snowstorm that may hit New York on Friday, I may end up leaving on Saturday instead of Friday as was the plan originally. I'm not totally sure. I need to figure out when I will be arriving in Chicago and then a plan back to DeKalb. I'm not so sure that I want to brave public transit by myself so soon with a new dog. If I have to, fine, but I want to see if I have any other options first.
I'm blanking on anything else that I may have wanted to add, and so this is where I will end it. Oh, wait..no, I almost forgot: Dalton had his vet physical today. He weighs 81 pounds, and his second Birthday is on Sunday, January 23. How cool is that! He did fantastic at the vet, being a very good boy and not putting up a fuss whatsoever, even when blood had to be drawn. The draw was just as a precaussion, just to make sure that nothing was wrong. His target weight was listed at 86, and so he's a little under. I'm sure things are fine, though. I think that's all of the pertenant information regarding that.
I really think that that is everything. If not, whatever it is can wait until tomorrow's entry. Take care, and thanks for reading.
We did group obedience this morning, and that went well. I forgot to mention yesterday about distraction practice, but if not, there was a toy that was used, and Dalton did fine. Today's distraction was a squirrel on a fishing pole, and he was curious and got up a few times to look at it, but all in all, he did well. He was responsive to my asking him to sit and then treating him for doing so and paying attention to me/being good instead of being distracted by the squirrel. Tomorrow starts full class obedience; I'm looking forward to it.
This morning, instead of doing a route, we were inside and went over how to use the booties we are issued, the Clicker/targeting and the Haltie. Dalton did well with everything. He was a little unsure of the booties at first, but with practice, it should be okay. We practiced heeling them up and down the halls this morning. He isn't totally resistant to them, which is a good thing. I had them on him a little while ago again, and heeled him and also worked him some in them, and he did fine. The booties will definitely help with ice/snow/salt/hot temperatures. They are also very well made, too. The clicker/targeting was awesome! He picks up on that fast, and I'm looking forward to using it when I get to school. To explain: when you want the dog to show you something, the clicker is a good way to help the dog learn that. You first practice with the 'touch' command, having the dog touch your hand and clicking and treating each time this is done. The most important rule of all: if you click, you treat, even if the click is on accident. 'Touch' is then replaced by whatever word you want - chair, elevator, door, curb, etc. If that explanation is still a little confusing, let me know, and I can try to clarify.
The haltie, while I'm not sure I will use it much, is a good tool to have. It replaces the Gentle Leader, which used to be issued. The haltie is similar, except that it has a few more straps and connecters. I'm not even sure I know how to do a good job explaining its physical make-up. The idea of the haltie is that you have more control over the dog's head. You have more command of the dog as opposed to doing the snap-correction. The slip collar is a training tool, whereas the haltie is not. Again, if that explanation didn't make sense, let me know, and I'll see about fixing it. Other people can feel free to chime in and correct anything that may be...well...incorrect.
After lunch, the three ACTION students went and worked our dogs in a KMart that was close by. We worked them outside through an icey, slushy parking lot that wasn't all that fun to navigate, but we did make it, which is all that matters. It was fun working in the store, going around the perimeter and through aisles. All ended well, and there were no injuries or broken merchandise.
There was no lecture tonight, and so I haven't been up to too too much. I am really tired, and so may go to bed early. With the possible snowstorm that may hit New York on Friday, I may end up leaving on Saturday instead of Friday as was the plan originally. I'm not totally sure. I need to figure out when I will be arriving in Chicago and then a plan back to DeKalb. I'm not so sure that I want to brave public transit by myself so soon with a new dog. If I have to, fine, but I want to see if I have any other options first.
I'm blanking on anything else that I may have wanted to add, and so this is where I will end it. Oh, wait..no, I almost forgot: Dalton had his vet physical today. He weighs 81 pounds, and his second Birthday is on Sunday, January 23. How cool is that! He did fantastic at the vet, being a very good boy and not putting up a fuss whatsoever, even when blood had to be drawn. The draw was just as a precaussion, just to make sure that nothing was wrong. His target weight was listed at 86, and so he's a little under. I'm sure things are fine, though. I think that's all of the pertenant information regarding that.
I really think that that is everything. If not, whatever it is can wait until tomorrow's entry. Take care, and thanks for reading.
