We hit the halfway point on Monday. The kids are with their dad for the week so I had the pleasure of taking Leo to class. The focus of the week for class was stay, come, and dental health. We practiced stay a few times just for few seconds with the goal of being able to get the dog to sit and stay in position as you gave them the treat after a count to three or so. That mean no lifting the front feet off the ground for the treat, etc. Leo did really well! We have actually worked on stay a bit at home because he tends to follow me everywhere and I hate tripping over him on the stairs etc at night in the dark. Sooo, still work to do but it was a great start.
Then we went and loosh leash walked around the store while the instructor took turns with the students and working on coming when called. I had to roll my eyes at this one because that is one thing that drives me absolutely batty with Leo. I can have the tastiest treat (except raw for meals) and call him and he will not come. He sits and stares at me. We thought perhaps he was associating "come" as negative so we tried "here" but that did not work either. Surprisingly though, in class, he did it really well when it was our turn. Now it could have been that the instructor was holding his leash and he wanted to go back to me, but nonetheless, I was able to reward him for coming right away. I also started using the clicker. We hadn't initally as he was jumpy with the clicker sound but now he seems desensitized to it.
At the halfway point, I must say I am excited for us to continue Leo's training. In fact, I think that after we get toward the end of the second series of classes, we may start looking for some competitive obedience matches to enter. I think he'd be really good. He is flashy and moves well and is learning very quickly. Leo is one eager to please little guy and I am so excited he is a part of our family.
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