Training Addie: Session #5

In this session Matt continued with down and stay. He then added come at various distances. His dog Letay was an excellent helper and Addie did great! Then he started on the issue that we have in the back yard with Addie not coming when called. 

I went to our neighbors house and asked them to put their dog in their back yard for a good distraction, Addie always barks at this dog. Matt heeled Addie around to the back yard, corrected her if she broke the heel. Our neighbors dog finally started barking and guess what... Addie didn't fall for it. Typically she would be at the fence line barking so hard that he head might explode, but not in this session. 

Matt heeled her around our back yard. Then my husband and I practiced heeling her around the yard AND she actually listened to us!! Since she was not falling for our neighbors dog in the back yard, we brought out Lucie knowing that she would run up to see the neighbors dog which she did but Addie didn't fall for that either. Addie has come a long way. The more different places that we take Addie to train at the more responsive she is to us. She is learning that we are the pack leaders. WOOOHOOO!

My take away from the lesson is, I need to not be tight on the leash. This is easy to do when we are training in front of our house because it is a pretty controlled environment. But when I take Addie out to Petsmart or to the vet I tend to pull her tighter to me which makes her pull away from me. This is a hard habit to break. I really noticed I was doing it at Petsmart this week. I had taken Addie and Lucie, one in each hand. Going in the store and walking around in the store I kept the leash tighter and she pulled although she listen to all of the sit and down commands that I gave her in the store. Leaving the store I had a loose leash on her and she heeled nicely. 

Now picking up the three of them from daycare yesterday was another story. Three dogs and they couldn't find Lucie's leash so I used one of their leashes that are as long as Lucie. People, dogs and cats were all over between where we were and the exit door. All leashes got wrapped around me, Lucie's left my grip and she bolted to the front of the office. Lucie picked out a lady that she liked that was sitting in the reception area and pounced on her to show her how much she liked her. Thankfully the lady LOVES Border Collies and she was not upset at all. Now, Addie is not at this level of being trained yet to avoid all of these types of distractions at once but again once I got her out of the building and gave her a loose leash she heeled nicely to the car.

Matt said Addie is ready to have her next lesson at the dog park! We are talking about the real dog park run by the city of Fort Worth. Not the Vet run dog park that mainly only has clients playing at it. I'm a little nervous about this but I know that Matt wouldn't take her there if she was not ready. I will have to try to get video of this class to share.

I am very proud of Addie! By the looks of it, Therapy Dog work might be within her grasp after all.