Obedience Success!!

Week 4
Week 4 turned into a success! Ellie did so good! I was really quite pleased by the end of class. Ellie has mastered the first step of "leave it", sit, down, stand, touch (kind of a focusing exercise), and come. Now we're working on stay in the sit position and she's already doing it very well. She was excellent with the instructor this time and didn't growl or bark at her! Yay! I have a good dog!!!! I KNEW I had the perfect dog. She may not look like you're average dog, or even a dog for that matter, but she's a good dog.


Now, I have to confess. None of my/Ellie's success would have happened without the best treat known to dog!!! I highly suggest this treat for training. Ellie will do almost anything to get a tiny piece!

Everlasting Fun Ball!!!!!!!

This little toy rocks!!! I just got one for Ellie because I thought she needed a new fun toy besides the Kong. The Everlasting Fun Ball is really fun! It keeps her busy for a long time. I've seen them at Petsmart and Petco.

Obedience

Now that Ellie is almost 2 years old, I finally signed her up for obedience. Where did I go wrong? Probably when I didn't enroll her as a puppy.
It really has been fun, but it's also been a little bit discouraging.
I'll give you a week by week summary of what's happened so far.

Week 1
I was so excited to take Ellie to obedience. I had visions before I went that the class would be far too basic for us and that we would just glide on through. I honestly had a dream that we won a blue ribbon for best performance in obedience! Boy, was I wrong! Ellie was so nervous that she mostly just sat on my lap and shivered. She wouldn't take a treat from the instructor, and if you know her, this was quite odd because she sure does love her treats!!! Then we had to practice sit. Now, Ellie knows how to sit (see trick post below). Did she act like she did? NO! She would not sit on the tile in the room because it was too cold. To be honest, if I was naked I probably wouldn't either. So, I was advised to bring a mat or a blanket to class so she would have somewhere to sit. Hmm... this was NOT going the way I expected it to.

Week 2
With the help of the best dog treats known to dog (REAL meat) and a blanket I was able to get Ellie to sit in class. She was so excited about the treats that she sat almost the entire time anticipating the reward (the treat). This was going better than I expected. Week 2 was a success. She even performed her cool high-ten trick and the twist.

Week 3
Ellie performed all of her tricks pretty well. She sat, laid down, and focused. However, she was about to take a turn for the worst. In the first week of class, she was nervous of the instructor. This time she was mean!!!!!! Ellie?? mean?? Yes. The instructor came over to give her a treat and she howled and barked at her like she was the animal butcher. SO embarrassing. Then the instructor pretty much left her alone the whole time but everytime she would walk by Ellie would growl at her! Near the end of class the instructor asked me if this was typical behavior of her. I said, NO!!!!! I have the perfect dog!!!!!! Don't I? I swear I do.
OK, so what does this mean? It means that I'm a little discouraged and that Ellie probably isn't as socialized as I thought.
Stay tuned for week 4. We are working on "leave it." It's a tricky one for Ellie.

Funny Friday

Bizkit, the Sleepwalking Dog @ Yahoo! Video

Sibling Rivalry

Pretty much a normal day for these two. They can be extremely entertaining. They were actually being quite mellow here.

How many dogs does it take to change a light bulb?

I liked this one because it included a Chinese Crested! Believe me, Ellie can definitely jump and spin (see trick post below)!


Afghan: Light bulb? What light bulb?
Golden Retriever: The sun is shining, the day is young, we've got our whole lives ahead of us, and you're inside worrying about a stupid burned-out light bulb?
Border Collie: Just one. And he'll rewire the house while he's at it.
Italian Greyhound: I can't reach the stupid lamp!
Poodle: Sorry, just had my nails done.
Lab: Oh, me, me!!! Pleeeeze let me change the light bulb! Can I? Can I?.
Springer: Light bulb? Light bulb? That thing I just ate was a light bulb?
Collie: No, don't change it. If it's dark, maybe no one will see me sleeping on the couch.
Chinese Crested: I can put it in, I can jump and spin !!!!
Rottweiler: Make me!
Dachshund: You know I can't reach that stupid lamp!
Malamute: Let the Border Collie do it. You can feed me while he's busy.
Jack Russell Terrier: I'll just pop it in while I'm bouncing off the walls.
Greyhound: It isn't moving. Who cares?
Cocker Spaniel: Why change it? I can still pee on the carpet in the dark.
Mastiff: Screw it yourself! I'm not afraid of the dark...
Doberman: While it's out, I'll just take a nap on the couch.
Boxer: Who needs light? I can still play with my squeaky toys in the dark.
Pointer: I see it, there it is, there it is, right there!
Chihuahua: Yo quiero Taco Bulb?
Australian Shepherd: First, I'll put all the light bulbs in a little circle...
Basset Hound: Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz...
Westie: Dogs do not change light bulbs -- people change light bulbs. I am not one of THEM so the question is, how long before I can expect my light again?

Ellie's new cousin

Today I went with Lindsay to pick up her new Labrador Retriever, Cash, from the airport. He is so cute! He is very friendly, cuddly, sweet, and pretty much every other word to describe a really good lab. I'm excited to bring Ellie around him so they can play together!