We go weekly to PetSmart - some days are good, some days are bad. Every other week, we go to have her nails ground - she does better on those days than her non-reason days.
Great Idea! I will take them a few times this week and maybe over the weekend when it is busier. They have been there together before as a pair and Sake does better but not great (still scary stuff there!).
So Sake went to Class #3 last night night and let me tell you that kid is IMPROVING! I was so proud of her! She was able to pay more attention to me and focus on what I was asking her even with all the people/distractions around.
The biggest news is, SHE WENT RIGHT UP TO ONE OF THE GUYS IN OUR CLASS AND LET HIM PET HER! And it was one of the guys she was deathly afraid of at the first two classes! I wasn't even paying attention and when I looked down there she was, next to the guy, getting pet on the head! I almost flipped out! It was awesome!
We worked with the clicker which she is starting to understand more and more, worked on our loose leash walking which she is really good at, worked on sit, down (which she knows at home but has a hard time doing in new situations, but she did really well!).
Im so proud of that little creamie...I can't wait for next week.
I know, Im so bad about taking pictures while we are there. I had my camera last night but I was so excited and happy about Sake's progress I totally forget to take pictures! LOL.
Sake did amazing at her class tonight! She greeted everyone, even the men! She paid great attention, listened to all the commands and learned a good "come"! She is amazing!
Some pictures...
Sake and the Pittie Marvin
Struttin' her stuff for the class...
Katie the boxer
Marvin the Pittie
And the best...Sake saying hi to a scary bearded man!!!!
great work Sake!!! It must be something about bearded men, because Katsu is afraid too. Hopefully when she goes to school, she'll do as good of a job as Sake is. WOOT WOOT SAKE!
Good going Sake! Keep up the good work : ) It looks like she is enjoying her greeting!
Ok out of curiosity, how is Sake with men without other dogs in tow?
I have had some that were fine if they see a stranger with a dog, but really grumbly suspicious if there are no other dogs around.
@ Patrice, I think Sake can sense the "dog" people even if they don't have dogs with them. Our friend Ross is a major dog person and Sake LOVES him but he never has his dog with him. And while at Petsmart she always says hi to men, even when dogs are not in tow. I also think she can sense the "non-dog" people because she gets more afraid sometimes.
She is really comming out of her shell. It's so nice.
We are working on her "come" recall (We actually are using the word "target" instead of "come" so that way if we are in a dog park she doesn't get confused to everyone yelling "come"). She basically has to run to me and touch her nose to the palm of my hand (that is her target) and then she gets a click and treat. She does really well with it. We are going to practice in the backyard this week, maybe Mr. Smartypants (aka Miso) will pick it up as well.
"Target" practice is invaluable for a shiba for sure!
And I think you might be on to something with Sake being OK with dog people... Kitsu is that way. Not overly excited to meet people like Tsuki, but curious enough for a cautious sniff instead of retreat when we meet a new 'dog person'. He's more comfortable when they have their dog in tow, though.
Yeah targeting is great! I don't use the word come either. It's too funny because some people try to use commands on my dog and my Shiba just looks at them like they are nuts. Even if you teach a specific word and the dogs understand that, it is the implied gesture the really gets the action. For example if I say Target and my husband says Target the dog responds differently to each. As hard as we try, we humans interject body language and tone into everything and the dogs respond to that most. So when training each person in the family has to work with the dog so that the dog gets a feel for the combined actions of each individual. It is amazing what the dogs will or will not do based on the three elements combined.... tone, action and gesture of the owners.
Comments
Thanks all!
The biggest news is, SHE WENT RIGHT UP TO ONE OF THE GUYS IN OUR CLASS AND LET HIM PET HER! And it was one of the guys she was deathly afraid of at the first two classes! I wasn't even paying attention and when I looked down there she was, next to the guy, getting pet on the head! I almost flipped out! It was awesome!
We worked with the clicker which she is starting to understand more and more, worked on our loose leash walking which she is really good at, worked on sit, down (which she knows at home but has a hard time doing in new situations, but she did really well!).
Im so proud of that little creamie...I can't wait for next week.
Snf
Some pictures...
Sake and the Pittie Marvin
Struttin' her stuff for the class...
Katie the boxer
Marvin the Pittie
And the best...Sake saying hi to a scary bearded man!!!!
Ok out of curiosity, how is Sake with men without other dogs in tow?
I have had some that were fine if they see a stranger with a dog, but really grumbly suspicious if there are no other dogs around.
Snf
She is really comming out of her shell. It's so nice.
We are working on her "come" recall (We actually are using the word "target" instead of "come" so that way if we are in a dog park she doesn't get confused to everyone yelling "come"). She basically has to run to me and touch her nose to the palm of my hand (that is her target) and then she gets a click and treat. She does really well with it. We are going to practice in the backyard this week, maybe Mr. Smartypants (aka Miso) will pick it up as well.
"Target" practice is invaluable for a shiba for sure!
And I think you might be on to something with Sake being OK with dog people... Kitsu is that way. Not overly excited to meet people like Tsuki, but curious enough for a cautious sniff instead of retreat when we meet a new 'dog person'. He's more comfortable when they have their dog in tow, though.
Snf