Week Two - Basic Obedience

I am so impressed with Indy's progress at home.  The classroom however, was overwhelming.   I am hopeful that over the course of the 6 weeks, she can gain some confidence and participate with the class.  It is rather noisy and there are both students and teachers - so that was a real challenge.

She gave me a couple of default behaviors to look up at me.  And she did a couple of sits - but then a large object fell in the class room. making a loud bang.  That shut her down.  She hid in  the corner and didn't even want treats.  The was disappointing - but I will let her process the experience and hope that next week, she may try again for a little longer.     She got right back with it at home.

She is able to learn at home.  If she isn't able to perform in the class - that's ok.   I just want her to have the experience.

Indy and Scout practice at home.

Indy retreats to a safe corner in the classroom.

Week One - Basic Obedience

Indigo began a basic obedience class, offered by the Misha May Foundation.  This is a video of her 2nd practice session.  The first task is for her to look up at me and then I acknowledge and reward her when our eyes meet.   She starts out staring at my hand with the treat but she caught on pretty fast to look at me.  That's not easy for a puppy mill dog.   

More challenging for her is "sit".  She isn't trusting of me withholding the treat - but she managed to do a couple.   I need to learn to curb my enthusiasm to not scare her.  It was exciting to see her succeed.

Now we need to build upon these successes.

Next week, all the dogs will be in the classroom together.  They are all puppies.   I am hoping she will soak it all in and learn from them what she did not get in her puppy hood.  

I was impressed that she was not fearful being in a classroom with 6 people sitting around her for an hour. 

This is practice #2 a couple of days later.  She is getting the hang of it.

The Value of a Confident Dog As an Example to a Puppymill Dog

Indigo is doing well to come when called. Although her demeanor is to slink in and hit the ground when I reach for her. When Scout is getting attention at the same time, then she is more confident and confident enough to almost be playful. She doesn't want to miss out on attention.

Here she is on her own with me:

And here she is when Scout is in the room: