With pride

In another thread I was talking about how Z and Nadi are no longer charging the fence aggressively. They will still do it if I allow it, but today they proved their manners are improving.

What made me beam with pride today was something entirely different tho.

While everyone else has made so much more progress than we have, this is HUGE for us!

I have been working with Z and Nadi on their down/stays. I have gotten them to a point that I can put them in a down/stay ...and I am talking both dogs at once side by side, and I can walk out to the back fence which is about 75 feet, with thier favorite toys in my hands, and do jumping jacks and they do not break their stay until I release them. But normally when my friend John comes over they don't listen or do anything they are asked to. Until today...we showed him what we have been working on and they maintained their down/stay until released even with John here!! Not only that, but I added one more factor into the drill- as I did the jumping jacks I was also moving across the yard so that I started at one corner of the yard and stopped at the other corner. They did not break their position at all


Now I finally feel like we really are making Some progress, even if it is small in most people's eyes Next step is to start trying this same excecise with them(individually to start) at the park

Another big accomplishment this week was that Nadia is finally bringing the Cuz to me and putting it in my lap. Up until a few days ago she always would get close to me with it but then turn away. Now I finally have her bringing it to me, setting it in my lap, and her reward is getting a go fetch it

Trust me, from mee-the woman who makes the biggest deals out of the smallest of progress, that's huge!

Very happy for you!

progress feels great. congradulations!!!!

I just keep picturing you doing jumping jacks all the way across the yard. Sorry.

So proud of both of them keeping their down/stay.

Danielle, that's too funny...Right behind my yard is a parking lot and a two story building..they have a birds eye view of everything I do with these two! And I have been told the watch us a lot- they like the fact that I spend so much time with them. So they Do see me doing the jumping jacks all over the yard and Lord knows what other crazy things I have done to get the results I want

That is pretty cool! Having 2 dogs do OB side by side is no trivial task, you deserve a good pat on the back

Thank you ComfyGirl and Pfui! Your encouragement means a lot to me.

I swear it has been easier to train them together than it was to work them seperately. I did a lot of work with them one on one, but really, most of it has been together. When we start working at other locations, I will start them off one at a time because they will be easier to handle given their excitement and curiosity, but once they adjust to a new locale it will be side by side again. It does help tht Nadia is starting to calm down and catch on too.

Well, we didn't make it to the park today. Then I got to thinking and decided to do some other stuff with them since we were home, so put them Nadia in a down stay and let Z fetch his toy, then reversed it, putting Z in a down stay and throwing Nadi's toy for her. They did it as if it is 2nd nature!! Then I put them in down/stays away from each other-Nadi on one side of the yard and Zisso on the other side. I went to the middle and did my jumping jacks all over the place and acting silly-they maintained those down stays until released

Then I decided to start teaching the stand/stay and Z did it once, and Nadi did it twice. They would much rather lay down if they have to stay! I intend to be persistent and accomplish this one too!

And you will! Congrats on the progress you are seeing with your two teenagers!

Congrats and great job!

Thanks you guys
I can now successfully put them each in different spots in the yard- like opposite ends of the yard, stand in the middle and do my jumping jacks without them breaking that down stay. One of these days very soon we will be able to do all of this at the park too! Not that I relish the idea of doing jumping jacks at the park, but hey...whatever it takes to proof their commands

Another idea (with the two dogs) along the same lines (and something DH and I used to do). We called it "puppy catch" because the dogs would be going back and forth between us, but you could do it by yourself too. Have the dogs next to each other in one spot (in a sit or down) and you walk away and call only one to you while the other keeps a sit/down. Make that one dog sit or platz half way to you. Then, call the other dog and make that dog sit or platz at a different location than dog 1. Then recall the rest of the way to you. Lots of ways to change it up a little (sitting/downing in middle, no stop in the middle, stopping at different locations, changing which order you call the dogs in). I would do this myself sometimes too and the dogs would start placed on a park bench and then I would go through and place them on different benches throughout the park and sometimes have them in the middle and having them sit/down. If dog 2 ever tried to copy dog 1's command that dog would have to go back to where he/she was and wait.

Melissa, Excellent Ideas!

I did attempt to call just one dog the other day. They both came to me, so I took the one I did not call back to where she( ) was. Tried again and got slightly better results. It seems to be easier if I start with Z stayiing in his down stay and calling Nadia first, but we Definitely need to be able to switch that up. I like all of your ideas and know they will help us immensly
Meanwhile they are getting good about being on opposite sides of the yard with me in the middle, doing whatever, walking around them in figure 8's, etc so I KNOW they are finally getting it