Dog Training Classes Continued...

Following on from yesterdays post, I thought I'd update on how Cody & Holly got on at dog training last night. When we first arrived, as I predicted, Holly started barking non-stop! So this meant Cody got really excited (he usually does anyway, when he realizes where we are!) and started pulling on the leash. However, within a few minutes he calmed down. We started off doing musical sits - you walk around with the dog on a loose leash, when the music stops your dog sits, the one that takes the longest to sit is out of that round until you only have the winner left. We also did musical downs - Cody won a bag of treats, which he thought smelt very tasty! However, as he's still getting used to his new kibble, he hasn't tried them yet.

After that we moved onto doing routines and each person added a new cue each time until there were so many cues you couldn't remember how it went! For example - we had touch, down, sit, sit, down, touch etc. Cody really enjoyed this one.

Then we did some recalls. The other dogs were stood not that far away, and the dog had to run past the other dogs who were to the side, in order to come back to you. They used a long line in case the dog tried to run off - Cody really doesn't like it for some reason (normally he's fine with it as I have used one with him in the past) but he is very hesitant to run with it attached, it's like he knows he isn't supposed to pull on the leash (the trainer is holding the end of it, you see!) However, he still recalled back to me which was good.

Next was 'stays'. I was really pleased with how Cody did with these. At one point I was 50 yards away from him, and he didn't brake his stay, I was really impressed! I sometimes ran away, sometimes had my back to him, sometimes faced him, sometimes walked zig zag, sometimes straight, so really mixed it up and he did brilliantly every time :)

Holly did good too, she barked but not as much as we had expected! She was awesome at her stays - my sister did a 75 yards away down-stay with her at one point, which considering it was her first class, was fantastic. In the middle of the class the trainer had a pug doing a recall and Holly started barking at it, Cody tried to run over to it but managed to come back to us before he went right up to her. It showed us how much Cody responds to Holly's barking though, he wouldn't have done that had Holly not been there. We're hoping working on Holly will in turn help Cody's behavior at times too.

I also did some loose leash walking where I would change pace, sometimes walk really slowy,  then my normal pace, then jogging, then running and mixing that up. Cody loves that, he thinks it's a great game, and it's good way to keep his focus on me.

Really pleased with how the pupster did. They gave us a Agility tunnel and hoop jump to borrow for the week, so we're going to have some fun working with those in the garden. Cody did the hoop jump at class, but as it was on sand, when he ran through it, it fell over! Luckily these things don't faze him.

Amber & Wilson got a long walk in the afternoon and then stayed home with the rest of the family whilst we were out. I tried to get a picture of Cody at dog training but they all turned out fuzzy (annoying phone camera!)

Enjoying walkies