Day 3: Diving In and Getting WET!

Today I was woken again by the furry alarm clock, and this time I was presented with a duck.

Time to dive in with training - after breakfast we began Sage's lessons for the day. We worked on

Sit from various positions (standing, sitting, with my back to her, etc); Down from various positions; 

Stay while I walked  away around the living room; whistle training; Come; Leave It; and walking on a loose leash. All of this was in the house so  Sage can learn new patterns of behavior without being distracted. She did really well with everything and when my assistant Debbie arrived, she took photos of her working on some of these things.

Down (immediate on single cue, no prompting)

Leave It (treat in closed fist)

Leave it (treat in open hand) 

Walking on Loose Leash ("Let's go")

Big cuddles for being such a good girl

Whistle training with treats

Whistle training: making the whistle sound 

Whistle training: catching the squirrel

 After indoor school was over it was time for some outdoor fun. We introduced Sage to The Moose, a 2.5 year old Irish Wolfhound/Briard mix. They immediately became friends.

We took off for a hike to the river, and on the way had a moment of great excitement - a couple of mating skunks raced across the trail, squeaking, and although the dogs didn't actually see them, they went crazy trying to hunt them out - thankfully with no success. The skunks were long gone, evidenced only by that distinctive lemony skunk smell!

At the river, Moose encouraged Sage to get more than her toes wet. She happily followed him as he ran after sticks, paddled in deeper each time and eventually even had a brief swim, though I didn't get a photo of that. She looked a bit startled when she found herself swimming, and didn't want to go back in right away, but I am sure she'll be a big water dog by summer!

Back at the house, Sage got dried off and settled down for a nap. She practiced staying in her own place while Moose stayed in his - a good exercise in self control as she wanted to go and visit with him.

Do I really have to stay here? 

Yes.

After lunch we went out again, this time in pouring rain. We had a trail sign to erect, and while Debbie was taking care of that, I worked with Sage on her leash walking. When Moose was around, Sage would rush forward or pull to get to him.

So we worked hard on keeping the leash loose on the trails. Using a combination of treats by my left leg for walking beside me, and turning abruptly and going back the way we came when she pulled forward, we walked back and forth on the trail until she got the hang of it.

We also played a training game called Penalty Yards - where I picked a goal point (the new trail sign where Moose was) and walked her towards it. If she walked nicely she got treats and moved closer; if she pulled ahead, she had to back up and try again, only getting closer to the goal if she was right beside me.

Next we all walked down the driveway to do another errand. New location, fresh excitement, fresh round of pulling on leash. In the beginning, you have to train the same basics in many places to help a dog understand what a cue (command) means, and that it means the same thing everywhere. When excitement is added into the mix, it is hard for a young dog to remember to do what they have learned in easier situations, so lots of practice it essential. We walked back and forth along the driveway, until Sage was walking really nicely, with a loose leash and checking in with me about every 7 steps.

As we walked down the road, sometimes she pulled ahead suddenly, and in each case the brakes came on immediately - if she pulled, I stopped and usually backed up a bit as well. So she learned that the only way to get where she wanted to go was by staying with me. Even though she forgot sometimes, for the most part Sage did extremely well today. These were not easy walking conditions, and she managed to walk beside me about 75% of the time, with lots of help and encouragement from me. This was all on her flat collar, no harness -- huge progress since this morning! She is a very smart and a joy to train!

We were all soaked by the time we got back to the house. We dried the dogs off and settled down in the warm kitchen. Sage was so tired she fell fast asleep. When I offered her dinner she didn't even stand up, so she had dinner in bed.

Sage was so thoroughly wet that I decided to put her bed in front of the blow heater - which acted as a kind of wall mounted hairdryer.  So we had an impromptu spa session, cleaning her ears and clipping her nails, and then massaging her as her curls dried. Soon she was clean, fluffy, relaxed and ready for a good night's sleep.