We have been moonlighting lately. Back east I spent a great deal of time training dogs. Lots of dogs. My regular schedule was to teach two classes back to back two nights per week at local pet stores and then two classes two nights per week at my place as well as private classes and consultations. This was in addition to my full time job. Back in the day I even competed with dogs. That was long ago and far away. After we got settled in the southwest I began fostering and retraining dogs. Herding dogs with behavior problems were my specialty. It seems that I love a challenge. Most times we made the lifesaving difference for these dogs. That is, to me, what training is all about.
In any case, I haven't trained a dog as a job for quite some time now. That all changed when the real estate agent that helped us purchase RIR got a puppy named Starr. Starr has been on the blog before but I have to say that last Thursday, she did very well! Although she has a tendency to become highly excited around other dogs, she did very well when I began working her with Albee. Yep, Albee is back to work now that he is all recovered from surgery.
Starr's Mom, Amber, is at the ready and learning to watch for changes in Starr's body language.
Starr progressed very well during this lesson. She was able to handle walking with Albee while minding her own business, walking next to Albee, passing him and concentrating on her mom but mostly... Amber is learning how to keep this bright young dog engaged on her and to step in before this pup's attention can become focused on something else. By keeping Starr focused and engaged, negative behaviors do not have time to gain foothold.
By the end of the lesson Starr was able to do a down stay, lead unattended, right next to a dog she very much wanted to sniff up and down.
She really wanted to get up here... she wanted to come to me but waited patiently... in fact, I think we might have worn her out a bit...
Well, you know what they say... a tired dog is a good dog. Good dog, Starr!
And now I'm off to do chores. I hope your day is wonderful!
We're wishing you and yours, the 4 leggeds everywhere, and the world all good things for the new year; prayers, hope and faith enough to KNOW WE CAN make it happen!
Posted by: cyndi | January 01, 2010 at 09:30 AM
Hi Paula! I just found suebeedoo's blog and followed it to yours. :-) I'm not on Facebook anymore so it's nice to be able to keep in touch on the blogs. You are a good person doing great things for these animals.
Christina
(KYpaws on MSP/FDI)
Posted by: Christina | January 12, 2010 at 10:26 AM
Hi Christina! I'm always in and out and mostly, down at the stalls.... hope that you keep checking back in =)
Posted by: wooofwhinnywhisper | March 08, 2010 at 01:45 PM
Hello. My daughter just came across this post and we got very excited. We adopted a dog named Logan (we are in the Ottawa Ontario region) from a dog rescue organization. Logan (otherwise known as "Bucket") had a sister called "Harlow" who was renamed Starr by the same foster parents who took care of Logan before we adopted him. We've always wondered where Starr was and whether we could see her. They look identical but Logan has a big head. We had him DNA'd and can share his breeds. Logan is also a very high-energy dog and we've been working hard to keep him calm. If by any chance you read this, please let us know if this is the same Starr and whether she is still in the Ottawa area. Is Amber still here? Please share our contact info with her. I'd love to show her pix of Logan.
Posted by: Cynthia Bracewell | September 28, 2011 at 06:12 PM