Day Two -- Say Please

 

Any time you start training a dog, you need to figure out what that dog really, really likes. It changes from dog to dog and it can change depending on the situation. Too distracting? You might need a higher value reward. We played around today and figure out some things that really were exciting for both Scout and Jessie. Once we had that knowledge, we could really make some progress on our training.

We are working on getting Scout to "say please" for things she wants. Instead of grabbing things off the counter top or jumping on people or scratching on the door, Scout can "say please" by sitting. This helps her to learn to earn what she wants in life. When she wants in the door, a sit will result in the reward of me opening the door for her.

If she wants water or food, she sits and waits for me to say "ok" before she dives into the bowl.

It's the same idea when guests come over. If she wants to visit with people, she can earn that by going to her bed. We are working on her getting use to the doorbell and now we are adding when the doorbell rings, to go to her bed. Jessie is working on this too but she got an upset belly this afternoon (maybe the couple of training treats she had?).

When she wasn't feeling well, she asked to go in the crate with the big cushy bed. She stayed there for a couple of hours. She was a bit cranky with any of the dogs that approached the kennel. I suspect this was because she wasn't feeling well. We just let her rest up until she was ready to join us again.

We she came out to join us, she did a couple of big stretches and then seemed just fine and joined in the activities for the rest of the day.

For dinner, because she hadn't been feeling well in the afternoon, I fed her a bland diet of boiled chicken, cottage cheese and chicken broth. She licked her bowl clean and no more signs of an upset stomach.

Jessie doesn't like to join in the play much.

She seems very content being on the outside of all the busy, younger dogs.

She and my older dog, Healey, are just the right speed for each other. Both hoping to find a comfy spot on the couch.

But Scout, on the other hand, who is not middle-aged, is happy to get in the middle of the mosh pit. She sometimes gets a little overwhelmed and can play rough but with frequent interruptions she does well.

I still have not been able to get Scout to play with a toy or pick up anything in her mouth so we haven't been able to practice "drop." Hoping she will want to do that more this coming week when she's a little more settled in.

I think they are both pretty worn out from everything we've done today. Rest up sweet Jessie and Scout, we have a lot to work on tomorrow.

And I don't think we will be as blessed with the sun tomorrow so it may be time to break out the rainy day activities.