Buddy needed work with leash manners, reactivity and come when called. Check out his progress!
Our cloudy morning turned sunny and Buddy was ready to work.
We went in the backyard and practiced Surprise Party recalls:
There was a big distraction! A neighbor with kids, a dog, and a mower. Buddy wanted to bark at them, but we did recalls away from the fence and he learned to ignore them and focus on me instead.
I was going to distract Buddy and then call him from inside the house, but Buddy knew what was up by now. “My mozzarella is IN THERE!”
Next, we worked on collar grabs, to catch Buddy after a recall. He did great and kept a wagging tail the whole time.
We reviewed the Down quickly, and Buddy is starting to get it for the final hand signal.
And his Touch is perfect!
We Sit to put the harness on without wiggling.
And off we went on our walk!
We got a lot of real life practice, which is exactly what Buddy needs. We passed several dogs behind windows, some dogs behind fences, this dog on the street:
And a dog in a front yard. Buddy is learning to stay calm and either check in with me automatically or sit politely when asked as a dog goes by.
We also saw some people out and about, including a child on a trike, and Buddy was able to remain calm and stay at my side.
We did leash walking for more than half of his visit, and he is really doing stellar. He is still getting frequent rewards, but can go up to 30 steps now (about a house distance) between rewards and still not pull.
When we came back, we had a little more time to practice come when called. We did the Yo Yo recall – throw a treat, call him back.
Here’s his progress on the reps.
Last, we went outside and practiced one more Surprise Party.
Buddy wanted to nap:
But was still willing to trot over on just a clear recall cue:
His progress is still perfect & we’ll see him again next week.
