Class Week Six -- Parker sets the standard

I only wish I could take credit for it.

We started with the usual. Heeling, sitting, recalling. Then we began the finish. Dog has just come to us and is sitting in front. You finish by having the dog go behind and around to sit in the heel position. Parker looked as if he caught on right away, but it was really because on of the teachers was close by watching and by going around behind me and finishing on my left, Parker was able to put me between himself and the teacher. So he was eager to go to the safe place. Once the teacher walked away -- not so much.

We worked on the attention thing. Instead of using treats to distract him, I used the other two Poodles, which were on either side of him. It was easy to tempt his attention away from me with them. They both seem to have a crush on Parker and he revels in their attention. But calling his name worked for focusing on me.

While we were doing that, one of the teachers set of a Beginner’s Novice Rally kind of course. From Start to Fast Walk to Normal Walk, Left turn, Slow Walk, Normal Walk, About Turn, Right Turn, Sit. Then a figure eight around two people. This was the exercise where Parker set the standard. We went first. All the other dogs were behind the fence and away from us, the teachers were watching from a distance and we had the whole ring to ourselves. So no distractions and nothing scary around. Parker was spot on through the entire exercise. Not because of any special training I’ve done, but probably because of those long morning walks with Mike, learning how to heel nicely. The figure eight at the end was not so perfect the first time, mostly because of me going around the two people too far out. “Confidence, Dorothy!” So we did it a second time getting closer and it was much better.

One of the teachers asked me if I were planning on showing Parker. I started my answer by going into my explanation about how the vet wanted me to wait until he was fully grown to get him neutered, but she interrupted me and said that wasn’t what she meant. She was asking if I planned to show him in obedience. I was flattered that she thought this was a possibility, but it turned out she wasn’t really. Instead she meant to point out that if I kept keeping my left hand so low by my side, I was teaching him to lag and I needed to stop that if I ever thought of showing him. Duh. This is getting to be a standard comment on her part, as I keep doing the dame thing every class. Wonder if I’ll ever learn?

We ended the lesson with a Sit for Exam. We were supposed to wait until all three teachers had come by and pat the dog on the head before releasing the dog and going home. Parker hopped away from the first two teachers. The third one, who had seen this backed up to Parker and then pat him on the head. This worked and she said I should go home, releasing him on a high point. So I did.