I arrived home from England at 11:00 PM last night. I SWEAR Nelson smiled at me! While I was gone someone chewed a hole in the comforter on our bed. Ann thinks it was Nelson....I think he was set up by the other dogs.
Nelson walks on a completely slack leash. I drape it over my shoulder and he stays right by my side. He does this on our nightly walks and even in PetSense, Tractor Supply, and tonight we added Home Depot to our stops. YAY for dog friendly stores! We are currently working on "sit on stop"....aka, we stop walking and he should sit. He's learning quickly. Next will be a completely reliable "come on recall" aka, I call you and you come to me. He does that perfectly in the house. Outside...not perfectly. Oh well, room for improvement. Ann and I will use treats and clickers to reinforce that...aka, "doggie ping pong!" We will be in different spots and take turns calling him to us. When he comes he gets treats! Amazing what a dog will do for a bite of turkey wienies.
I'm reading Karen Pryor's book, "Reaching the Animal Mind." She is AMAZING! She is a pioneer in the world of reward based training. I've read a couple of her previous books. She is one of the leaders that taught us we don't have to use punishment based training and that reward based training works MUCH better. God Bless Her!
Love your blog. It is very homey and friendly, meaning it feels like you are talking directly to me. It is easy to see how much you love Nelson and that he is quickly becoming a part of the Sides family. I hope Ann can forgive him and that the other dogs don't set him up again!
ReplyDelete