After our photo shoot I had to run by the pet store. Besse was good in the store although she managed to sneak a few pieces of cat food before I noticed she'd found a bowl full of cat food kibble. The owners leave cat food down for their resident cats.
I had to run to a second pet store and so Besse joined me on that trip too. She was good again. There were other dogs in this second store and Besse was fine. No barking, just some curious sniffing in their direction.
Besse was good in the car for all this travel. I put her in a crate on the passenger seat and she did well. In the past she's gotten a little car sick on a couple occasions. She was good today. Really I think the more she travels the better. She will get used to the motion and the feeling.
I have been working with Besse on a little obedience. She already had "sit" and we've added "hand" and "leave it." "Hand" is a target command where I ask Besse to touch her nose to my "hand." This can also be used for "come" since you are calling the dog to you. In the neighborhood Besse will bark and jump when we pass other dogs. I have been diverting her attention by asking her to target my hand when we see other dogs. This does a couple of things, it does divert her attention from the other dogs to me but also rewards her each time. Eventually she should begin to associate another dog approaching with a reward for focusing on me and that's a good thing. She has been doing very well with this exercise. I am proud of her. I've used this technique with my own dogs and my sheltie now looks at me for her treat each time we see another dog instead of barking and pulling like she used to. That's the desired end result.
I have a friend who is a certified dog trainer. She specializes in clicker training. This is where you use a click (or any other consistent sound) to "mark" the desired behavior. This is the method used for most trainers in zoos and aquariums. She has been coaching me as I work with Besse. She has been very impressed by how quickly Besse is learning. In fact in our first 40 minute session we got through all the beginner material because Besse was progressing so quickly. She thinks Besse is an adorable and smart girl.
Today Besse and I went to the trainer's house for an outdoor session. Again, Besse was good in the car. No problems with car sickness and I'll add it was right after breakfast. She never fusses in the car. The trainer brought her dog and Besse did well. No problems. Besse was just fine having the other dog come along. We had a nice walk through the neighborhood and on a path through the woods. I have attached a few pictures and videos below.
Thanks for reading and thanks for thinking rescue!
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| Sniffing at the pet food store |
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| Here you can see her better against the checkered floor |
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| Outside waiting for our walk to begin |
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| Along the trail. She loved all the smell but was still good about reorienting to me when I asked her to target my hand. Below are two videos. The first is of Besse as we waited for our walk to start this morning. You can hear the trainer's dog barking at Besse. Besse did well and was curious but no barking. The second video is an example of having her target my hand during our walk. It's good to ask for these things during the walk. Training shouldn't be done just during specific situations or times but at any time. It keeps the dogs on their toes! |
