Successes and failures

Today was fun and the day went fast!! We did a lot of sit to say please a lot in the house and yard. She’s starting to get it but we’re still working on it becoming a habit. Most of the problem is she will sit, but won’t stay in sit. So I am working on longing that duration before releasing her. I think being consistent with the release word will help, as she will learn to remain seated until told otherwise.

We also had a fun round of crate games in the yard. I put the crate in a different spot than yesterday.

And in the afternoon we went to the park. It was a nice day and the park was busy. There were a lot of people and dogs. I like the park because the path is paved, 3 miles long and there’s a lot of grassy areas around it to step off to the side.  We didn’t have any problems with any of the other dogs there. She was really good.  The bad part is that we tried to work our automatic sits and also our moving sits and it didn’t work well. She was glued to the smells of the ground. She didn’t focus on me much at all. There were a number of times she looked back at me, I stopped, she sat and she got huge rewards, and she was into that for maybe another minute as we walked and stopped, walked and stopped, but then she went back to her distractions. The sniffing could have been a displacement behavior for stress too since it was quite crowded.  We stopped a few times and sat in the grass for relaxation massages which she loved.  Over the course of the 3 mile walk, which took nearly 2 hours (usually we walk it in 45 minutes), it was much better toward the end than at the beginning. It was just too much stimulus for today. We’ll have to find another park with long enough paved trails to walk and practice. Poor Apollo did great getting treats as well and being very confused to why we kept stopping. 🙂

We did a few more sits for please in the evening.

And this concludes the last of week 1.

Analysis:
Sits for please going well in house. Need to work on duration.
Sits for please going outside same. Need to work on duration.
Moving and reverse sits great inside and in yard. Next week taking to front yard and street (quiet cul-de-sac)
Auto sit and eye contact has increased since we started and she’s definitely learning.
I have to keep remembering to stay consistent.
I have to keep a close eye on my mechanics: treat quickly and not to bend over.

Today I am grateful for another rainless day and a nice walk in the park with my dogs who I love so much.