Ginger got away at dog training class tonight. Luckily, the property is fenced, so she didn’t really get away. She just got to tear wildly around the property for awhile until I cornered her and stepped on the leash.
When other dogs have gotten loose in the past, they want to investigate the other people and the other dogs. Not Ginger. She just wants to run and run and sniff and sniff. Aloof little Ginger couldn’t care less about the other dogs and people, which is maddening, because it makes her impossible to catch. She just wants to run.
Besides for that incident, she’s been doing great in training class. We’ve been working on sits, stays and recalls from longer distances, and she’s doing as well (or better) than the rest of the class. I just can’t let her get distracted or let her attention wander, because then she’s still liable to try and take off. Like she did tonight. Our training is definitely still a work in progress!
However, she has come a LONG way since we started the training classes a couple of months ago. We started working tonight on targeting a small lid (in preparation for agility contacts work) and she caught on immediately. We also have been working on loose leash walking during class. As long as I can keep her attention and keep a high rate of reinforcement, she’ll walk with me for a pretty long distance (20-30 feet). This is very excellent for Ginger, who is the master at pulling on the leash and not paying attention.
Hi Ginger!
Mom told me to write to your mom’s blog to tell her that she’s been given an award for her blog. Mom loves this blog. So she told me to put Stale Cheerios on my blog list…which I did.
I like reading about you best, Ginger, because we’re both dogs…but Mom likes everything.
Glad you had fun in training the other night!
Your pal,
Service Dog Sawyer
Hi Sawyer!
Thanks for the comment. I’m glad you’ve been enjoying reading the blog and hearing about Ginger. I’ll have to come check out your blog!
cheers,
Mary
Just wanted to let you know that I just found your blog today (from Red Rover – http://red-rover.biz/ ) and I really enjoy it! I’m looking forward to reading all of the entries over time. I’m a relatively recent convert to positive training for my dog – used to swear by her prong collar, but no longer!
I love your blog and it sounds like you and Ginger are making loads of progress in your training. Actually, Ginger sounds alot like my Zoe with her focus, or lack thereof and her need to run. We had some similar (embarrassing moments) in a recent flyball class, but my girl did have a ball!
Thanks Faith!
We have made a ton of progress. Although, we still have a long way to go until we’ll be able to do reliable work off leash.
Ginger and I are both having a ton of fun, though, so we try to look past the mistakes and focus on the progress. 🙂
cheers,
Mary