As a Canine Companions puppy raiser, I have 30 (yes, thirty) commands to teach this pup. These range from simple commands like "sit" or "down," to something you wouldn't think about like relieving on command, to more advanced commands such as putting his front paws up on a wall or counter so that he eventually will learn how to retrieve a purchase or hit the light switch.
The first fifteen or so commands are easier because the little firecracker has to know them just so that you can live with them. The rest are quite fun to teach, but not necessary for everyday life in your home. This can possibly lead to ummm...laziness in teaching these. After all, he doesn't need to know these right now.
About two weeks ago as I was filling out Dante's monthly report, checking all the pretty little boxes of each command he knows, I had a moment. "Oh shoot! This dog is fourteen months old and I still have three command to teach him!"
That, and the fact that my mom just booked our flights for his Turn In in August, got me seriously thinking about the precious six months I have left with Dante and the (long) list of things we are still working on.
So, this week has been a bit of a boot camp for Dante. I decided it was about time I teach the "roll" command. Honestly, we have tried this a few months ago without much success. Dante just gets so excited that I want him to roll onto his back, that we can only do it a few times before we have to take break and calm down (hey, if you have any tips on teaching this, they are welcome). While he doesn't know it yet, I think it is safe to say we are finally making progress - albeit a little!
So, now that I have admitted this to the world and have you all as accountability, I will update in a few weeks as to how this is going :-)
P.S. There is some exciting news to share, but you will have to wait a few days! :-)
Zinfandel is going into boot camp, too! Can't wait to hear about the news!
ReplyDeleteHa!! Haddie is just now understanding the concept that roll means roll on your back and stay there, as opposed to roll a 360 and stand back up. She gets SO excited that she can hardly stand it. She looks like a kid rolling down a hill - but she's on a flat surface - and totally not understanding the concept. Heehee. Until the last month, just in time to turn in and look good. =)
ReplyDeleteWith the Roll command... are you having him roll all the way over? or just on his back? Jake and I trained Trigger to lay down and then we taught him to roll over and to lay on his back. To roll over we just pushed him all the way over and he picked up on that one quick. To stop on his back we just pushed him and held him where we wanted him. Then gave him a treat when he stayed there. I hope this helps! We have had no training and just kinda do our own type of training. :o)
ReplyDeleteKristi - haha, glad we're not the only one! Good luck to Miss Zinfandel!
ReplyDeleteElle - oh, that is what Dante does, or he lays on his back flailing his legs and kicking me :-) lol! right now I'm not teaching the command, just working on being still.
Lauren - onto his back and staying. What you did with Trigger is pretty much how CCI has us teach it. D just gets so excited, he can't stay still :-)
Haha oh my you just wrote my life. It's Roll, Visit and Out that we haven't really worked on much yet...besides about a billion other things that we need work on before we're "Proficient" ;)
ReplyDeleteWe definitely need to meet up at turn in...I believe Novel and Dante would get along like two peas in a pod.
Haha, Dante's are roll, out, and side.
DeleteI was thinking about that this week. The funny thin is, we are a few hours closer to NCR, but still in SER. :-) But we are flying to Orlando for Turn In, and will be there Thurs.-Sat. Oh, yes! I think we will get along great too! I am *almost* excited because I know I will get to meet so many great people in person.