Lesson Night

Tuesday was lesson night for me and Flash. Dennis was out of town, so he couldn't participate. We had 3 dogs this time: a German Shepherd-type dog, a Havanese puppy, and Flash. Except for pooping on Rachel's floor and out in the yard (why???), I think Flash did very well. He's such a smart dog.

Sometimes Flash is No Fun

I know that Flash knows what he is supposed to do: Retrieve and Bring Back. I worked with him in the back yard, mistakenly thinking I didn't need a leash. He chased the dumbbell and he brought it back ... almost all the way. But then he dropped it and came in for the cookie. We went through the Uh Ohs so he would go back and get the dumbbell and bring it all the way to me. This was work not play.

Clean Dogs

Mom and I took Flash and Honey to the groomer this morning. Dirty dogs.  But now they are clean dogs. Well, Honey is clean, Flash is busy getting pond scum back in his coat.

Getting Better

Dennis had to go to the border for most of the day so Flash spent most of the day with me. We visited the kittens a few times and had two training sessions.

For the first training session we took his rubber dumbbell outside in the back yard and practiced retrieving. He was fairly consistent in bringing the toy back to me, but I was trying without success to get him to sit and give the dumbbell to me. Instead, he would drop the toy a few feet away or even at my feet; then he would sit and wait for his cookie.  We need more practice.

In the evening when we trained again, we did some retrieving with the real dumbbell and he was slightly better. Then we practiced the stay command both sitting and lying down. I tried to practice my hand signals. Hope I got them right.

Good Dog

Flash did vey well in the arena today. Betsy had him on leash while I rode Doc. The secret is the pinch collar.

Tuesday's Lesson

Last night we took Flash to Rachel's house for another "group" lesson. Again this week, the group didn't show up so Flash had a private lesson. Rachel's cousin was there with her toy dog (not sure of the breed, but she was adorable).

We showed Rachel how well Flash was doing retrieving his dumbbell  and then she, as usual, had some comments on how to extend his learning...or ours. We also learned that it mattered what hand you give the command with. I'm totally confused and will have to ask her to write it down. I think you use the left hand (we were using the right) for sit, stay, and down; but the left hand for stand and come. I think. I need another lesson on this.

We had a lot of fun and I think Flash did, too. His daddy worked with him this time and that was good for both of them. Flash loves his daddy.

It was pretty dumb of me not to take photos of his lesson this time since Dennis was doing all the work. I was enthralled. Maybe next time.

Dripping Wet

Flash just appeared at the door dripping wet from his last dip in the pond. He wants to come in, but I let him in the back yard instead.

Then he wanted to play--he was full of it! He picked up his rubber dumbbell but he wouldn't give it to me; he wanted me to chase him.

I did play with him for awhile, but I gave it up when he wouldn't bring me the toy. Later I'll put a leash on him and we'll play "Get it and Bring it."

Get it! Get it?

I think Flash is "getting it." I've been working with him so he will not only chase something thrown to him, but will bring it back.

I was throwing a "dumbbell" (why do they call it that?) to Flash and telling him to "Get it!" He chased it, picked it up and actually returned it to me when I asked him to "Bring it!" Then he put it in my hand and let go when I asked him to "Give." Wow, a breakthrough. Today, I'll see if he remembers. Being a border collie, he probably will.

Right now Flash is out on the ranch somewhere. He has an agenda: chase ducks, go for a swim in the pond, visit the office, get cookies, go for another dip, visit Honey at Grandma's house, play and get dirty, chase ducks, and eventually come home after another dunking in the pond. He is a very busy boy.

Flash's Lesson

Last night we took Flash to Rachel's for his group lesson, but the "group" wasn't there so he had a private lesson.

We worked on "Hold" and the beginnings of retrieve. We also discussed plans for teaching Flash to sit, down and stay on the fly, so to speak.

He may have to spend some time at Rachel's house.

Rachel's Recap Email

Here is the email Rachel, fabulous dog trainer, sent to the people who attended last Tuesday's training session. She explains the commands much better than I did:

Hi Everyone,

I hope you all had fun Tuesday night and feel like you learned something.  The dogs (and their handlers) all did really well and I think we'll be able to move quickly.  I heard that retrieving is an issue for a few of you, so I'll spend some time working on that next Tuesday.  We'll also work on recalls (Come! or Here!).

In the meantime, here are the things we covered and what you should be working on:

Look-Look:  Tap your eyes and reward your dog for establishing eye contact with you.  Practice this a lot--(repetition is crucial to everything with dogs)--and extend the time you can maintain the gaze before you reward.

Touch:  Hold your hand flat with a treat under your thumb. Have your dog reach or jump up to meet your hand to receive the treat.  Remember--we don't deliver!  They have to work for rewards.  Move your hand to different places once your dog gets the idea.

Leave-It: Begin by holding a treat in your fist and telling your dog to Leave-It.  As soon as they stop trying to get the treat, give it to them.  Work towards having your dog look into your eyes as soon as you say Leave-It.

Walking on a loose lead:  You all did extremely well, but this gets tougher when there are more distractions.  Work on getting an automatic sit when you halt.  Don't forget right, left and about-turns.  We'll be doing this EVERY week.

Sit and Down:  Piece of cake!  Start using hand signals paired with your verbal.  Sometimes try just the hand signal and see what happens.

Stay:  A reliable stay takes time.  Start working very slowly and SLOWLY build distance and time.  When the dog breaks--and if you're doing this right, they will--don't panic.   Just go back and start over.

Don't forget to praise--lavishly--with lots of hands-on cuddling.

I hope you're all following Maverick's blog (address below) even though he's been lazy lately.  You can also follow him on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Maverick-the-Traveling-Whippet/244557155570456).

Flash the Border Collie also has a blog and he's a lot more active than Maverick.  No kidding, he's a Border Collie, not a Whippet!

http://flashthebordercollie.blogspot.com/

I'm interested in your feedback and anxious to know what other things you'd like to work on.

Thanks for coming,

Rach

Flash's Daily Training

Dennis and I took Flash for a walk on leash last night after dinner. This is one of the lessons we are supposed to practice before our next training session at Rachel's house. We are also continuing to work on Touch, Hold, Sit, Stay, Down, Twist, Get Ready, Go-Go's, Look-Look, and Leave It. Flash is doing very well on most of these.

I am incorporating the commands into his daily life with much success. For example, this morning when we visited the kittens, he picked up a mouse toy that belongs to Sambo. I told him to Leave It and he obeyed more or less instantly.

We practice Sit, Stay and Down regularly during the course of a day. I just started asking for Twist and, if we each have an end of his tug toy, he Twists really well.

Flash is excellent at Go-Go's. And pretty good at Get Ready. He's gotten so much better at the Go-Go's. I can't believe how smart he is and how he remembers everything.

Look-Look is one of the new commands. I have to say Flash learned this very quickly. He is really good at it.

Dennis want to go for a walk and Flash is already out of the door, so I'd better Get Ready myself.

A Day in the Life of a Border Collie

If a border collie doesn't herd sheep, what does he do? I can only answer this question for my border collie, Flash. Flash's day starts out with a visit to the kittens, making sure they survived the night in their crate. After I put the feed out and let the kittens out of the crate, Flash checks out each of the kittens and gives them a lick before coming back to the house with me.

The next fun thing is a run to the office with Dennis. This is what Flash loves to do more than anything else. All he has to do is see Dennis head for his bike and he is beside himself with excitement. For the next hour or so, he spends time in the office or runs around the property looking for things to do.

When Dennis comes back home for breakfast, Flash is given his breakfast, which he may or may not eat. Sometimes he likes to save it for later. I bought "Puppy Dust," a flavored sprinkle to enhance the taste and appeal of his dry food and he seems to like it.

After breakfast, it's back on a bike run to the office with Dennis. This time the office staff is in, supplied with dog cookies. Flash goes from one to another, performs a trick and gets a cookie. When the cookies dry up, he goes outside to play. Sometimes he takes a dunk in the pond, which keeps him smelling like pond scum.

If it's Wednesday, Flash comes out to the riding arena with me and supervises my lesson. I really appreciate his insight.  After the lesson, he usually goes to find his favorite person: Dennis. Some days he will spend all day out and about on the ranch until Dennis brings him back in the afternoon to have dinner.

At night, I usually brush him and pick out any stickers. We are like monkeys, as I groom him, he sometimes rewards me with a lick.

In between all the other activities, I will sneak in some training. Today we did a lot of "Look-Look," which we learned last night at the Canine Good Citizen class. He is so smart, it doesn't take too long for him to get it down. Sometimes he will make another trip to see the kittens. Sometimes we will play outside with his big purple ball.

In the evenings, Flash will lie down on the cool tile in the dining room and get some rest.

That's pretty much a day in the life of our border collie, although he is always ready to try something new or go for an adventure in the car.

Flash's Lesson

As I thought, the group class was fun. We learned new things and practiced some things we already knew. The Look-Look command was new. This command involves pointing to your temple and saying "Look-look," until the dog (in this case, Flash) looks into your eyes. Flash caught on pretty quickly, but we need to practice it this week. Other commands we need to work on are walking on a loose leash, the stay command, the down command, leave-it, and touch.

I hope I remember everything...I'll have to consult Flash.

Good Citizen

Flash is attending his first Canine Good Citizen class tonight. The class is being taught by Rachel Amado at Maverick Ranch. This should be fun.