TYING IT TOGETHER

Wow! Yes boys and girls, time flies when you're having fun. This week end Shep became 17 weeks old. Six and a half weeks since we started his training process and he's doing just fine thanks. We started with all the basics to hand signals only and at the same time we did the name imprint process daily. Even though it was tempting to move ahead quickly because he was responding so well I hung in there and followed my training plan for a full ten days until he was pretty solid on sit, down, stand, and come sit with hand signals, lure, and reward.
Next I started to introduce one single word as he performed the tasks and by the end of week three I was using words, hand signals, lures , and rewards and starting to taper off on the lures as he became more solid with a separate task. At this stage I withhold the reward for a second or more as a means to begin the stay process.
In the fourth week we were working on heeling in a distraction free environment and by the end of that week we ventured into public places because I wanted to get on with socializing and gaining some experience with the great unknown. I probably pushed the process too quickly here because I had several occasions where the distraction was much more interesting than paying attention to my end of the leash so we had a few stop, sit, let's cool it for a minute or two, sessions. Shep has now met in excess of fifty new people plus dozens of dogs on and off leash so I'm prepared to have a few "oops" because I believe these experiences are extremely valuable if we are to have a well rounded dog as opposed to the student who does well in a controlled environment and falls to pieces when he ventures out into the real world.
As I introduce Shep to new people I give them a small treat and ask them to put the treat near to his nose and say sit as they move the treat between his ears and towards his tail. As soon he sits they are directed to open their hand and offer the treat. Since he has a pretty good handle on the task he almost always sits and receives the treat and praise. Occasionally his performance is less than perfect because of some distraction or more often the presenter having difficulty with their end of the the task. The purpose is for Shep "to learn that people are nice and people will reward him with a treat and praise if he will sit and be polite". Because I expect my dogs to work in public places with lots of distractions, I find this to be extremely valuable in their training.
Shep has learned to sit and wait for his food until he is invited to eat and he never bothers when I pick up his food or stir it around when he is eating. This way he is learning respect for the hand that feeds him and to trust me that I can pick up his food and move it around and pretend to eat it but I will return it to him. He is pretty solid on sitting and waiting before he goes through doors and gates. He can still be tempted in places with lots of distractions but I try to never compromise. Remember dogs don't understand compromise, they simply learn that there is another way to perform the task and if we allow this we have another snag that requires retraining. It's always easier to do it right the first time.
So for the most part things are developing pretty much on schedule. I'm never completely satisfied with where I am in the training process but that's just me. I always think I can do better. Shep is becoming a pleasure to be around. He is developing very acceptable manners and so far hasn't exhibited too many annoying puppy mannerism. Does he still do some puppy no nos? Sure but that's part of raising and training youngsters.
Stay with us and we'll move into recalls, stays, and more of the tasks that have distance and duration factors in addition to distractions.