Workouts 71-73
July 19
Workouts 71-73
Today, I took Dayton to the bank and worked on targeting outside, inside and the counter. He did all perfectly. He already knew out/inside very well, and he picked up on "find the counter" very quickly. We then took a bus to Easttowne mall where we did a bunch of work walking and working through the mall and finding outside when I didn't know where it was. We went into Pennies, and I asked him to find the escalator, which he did without a problem. He had never seen this escalator, so I know for sure that his one lesson in escalators a little over a month ago was good enough. Even after that one exposure and a long break, he knew exactly what I was looking for in a store he had never worked in. We did a lot of crowd work, including small children. He did a lot of tight clearances in a crowded store, and he had very very few working errors. He bumped my right side into a sign as he slowed to ease us through a tight space, he bumped me into one person who stopped quickly in front of him, and he walked my right side into a cardboard display in the food court when he was driving to get to outside when I asked him to find it. All three errors were done correctly on a rework.
After the mall, we got back on the bus and headed to a restaurant close to my house for ice cream. We walked the four or so blocks home. Dayton didn't get a lot of outdoor work today because of how hot it was, but all the work he did was spot on, and I am learning to just lean back, relax and enjoy the work we are doing together. The hardest part is learning when to have my trainer hat on, and when I need to just relax and let him work and trust that he is doing his job. It is true that I will be his trainer for life, but we are crossing over the thresh hold. When we first started working together, I was always prepared to take out my cane, and I was very aware that there was a lot he didn't yet know. Now, I need to remember that he has his right hand clearances down, he works flawlessly in crowds and he knows his job. I don't need to slow him down, I just need to trust him.
In the last couple of weeks, we have been working on getting his pace and pull right where I need it. He is learning to lighten the pull in the harness a little bit, and he is learning that his outdoor pace is not the same as his indoor pace...something I really struggled to teach my last dog. Overall, Dayton is a dog I feel safe and confident walking down the sidewalk with, and I am so so glad to have him in my life.
Workouts 71-73
Today, I took Dayton to the bank and worked on targeting outside, inside and the counter. He did all perfectly. He already knew out/inside very well, and he picked up on "find the counter" very quickly. We then took a bus to Easttowne mall where we did a bunch of work walking and working through the mall and finding outside when I didn't know where it was. We went into Pennies, and I asked him to find the escalator, which he did without a problem. He had never seen this escalator, so I know for sure that his one lesson in escalators a little over a month ago was good enough. Even after that one exposure and a long break, he knew exactly what I was looking for in a store he had never worked in. We did a lot of crowd work, including small children. He did a lot of tight clearances in a crowded store, and he had very very few working errors. He bumped my right side into a sign as he slowed to ease us through a tight space, he bumped me into one person who stopped quickly in front of him, and he walked my right side into a cardboard display in the food court when he was driving to get to outside when I asked him to find it. All three errors were done correctly on a rework.
After the mall, we got back on the bus and headed to a restaurant close to my house for ice cream. We walked the four or so blocks home. Dayton didn't get a lot of outdoor work today because of how hot it was, but all the work he did was spot on, and I am learning to just lean back, relax and enjoy the work we are doing together. The hardest part is learning when to have my trainer hat on, and when I need to just relax and let him work and trust that he is doing his job. It is true that I will be his trainer for life, but we are crossing over the thresh hold. When we first started working together, I was always prepared to take out my cane, and I was very aware that there was a lot he didn't yet know. Now, I need to remember that he has his right hand clearances down, he works flawlessly in crowds and he knows his job. I don't need to slow him down, I just need to trust him.
In the last couple of weeks, we have been working on getting his pace and pull right where I need it. He is learning to lighten the pull in the harness a little bit, and he is learning that his outdoor pace is not the same as his indoor pace...something I really struggled to teach my last dog. Overall, Dayton is a dog I feel safe and confident walking down the sidewalk with, and I am so so glad to have him in my life.