I've gotta admit, I don't feel we prepared well enough for this whole come thing. But because I had a bad taste in my mouth due to the yelling at me all last week... I wasn't willing to care all too much. It's not that we didn't practice AT ALL, we did! But I wasn't as stressed as I had been with the stay.
So we get to class and learn that we will be working with the "whistle", another form of come but more intense, and somewhat more important. The whistle is to be used during intense situations when you are trying to flag your pup from some distance. This is the one and only time you are allowed to bait the pups with food. And this is not just any food, this is food straight out of the fridge, the real deal type of food. So we start with introducing the whistle to the pups by Sherri walking around us and us saying "Whistle Pugsley! Whistle!" whilst letting them smell the very yummy treats we have ready for them - thereby trying to get them excited. And then we start with a small distance. Sherri holds the boy, I let him smell the food again, i run to Lynn, the blower of said whistle, Lynn starts whistling and I start yelling "whistle pugsley, whistle!". This time around, Puglsey listens, and slowly runs straigh towards me." "GOOD WHISTLE PUGLSEY! GOOD BOY!!!!!" over, and over, and over again. Have I mentioned we do this one at a time?
So the next time around, we grow a little further away, and the third time, we've grown further away and hide behind a bridge! What a cunundrum! I call for Pugsley, who, decides to ignore me completely! Instead of coming (remember, ONE AT A TIME), he decides to wander around, go towards the fence, smell the grass and... lift his leg to pee!!! Oh my dear! Let me tell you how wonderful of a feeling that was!
Anyhoo, he decided to focus and come and that was the end of that. What about Milo? I think he was fine, I was too embarassed to really pay much attention to how my husband was doing with trouble maker :-) Afterwards, we went back in and learned the "down" command. Now, if there was anytime my heart was to break, this would be it. The down command went like this:
1. Lift your right hand straight up in the air and stomp your right foot simultaneously and command "DOWN". If that doesn't work;
2. bring your left foot to meet your right and say "ah-ah" - which is the generic command that we've been taught for "no" since the beginning - and also their final warning. If that doesn't work;
3. Cross your right foot over your left, and step on the lead as close to their neck as possible, thereby forcing his head to the floor and waiting patiently for the rest of his body to submit and come down...
WOW! This was intense. I have never known dogs to pull tantrums... until now. Pugsley screamed like I was beating him (as did Milo), he yelped, he twisted and turned like he was being pulled behind a truck... he attemped to pull back out of his collar (which Milo successfully did twice over) and he atempted summersaults...yup! Funny when you think about it but, not easy for mommy to do. Luckily, I had a graduate who came back as a mentor. This person taught me patience. He taught me how to do things right, and by the end... I was good. So good in fact, that I was able ot get Puglsey under control, and help Marc with Milo. For once, I felt pretty good about myself :-) Unfortunately, this was afer Milo had already acted up so much that it caused him to bite his tongue and bleed a little...poor baby...
But all in all, it was a tough, but good class. Our assignment for next week...practice the whistle and practice the down.
Anyhoo, he decided to focus and come and that was the end of that. What about Milo? I think he was fine, I was too embarassed to really pay much attention to how my husband was doing with trouble maker :-) Afterwards, we went back in and learned the "down" command. Now, if there was anytime my heart was to break, this would be it. The down command went like this:
1. Lift your right hand straight up in the air and stomp your right foot simultaneously and command "DOWN". If that doesn't work;
2. bring your left foot to meet your right and say "ah-ah" - which is the generic command that we've been taught for "no" since the beginning - and also their final warning. If that doesn't work;
3. Cross your right foot over your left, and step on the lead as close to their neck as possible, thereby forcing his head to the floor and waiting patiently for the rest of his body to submit and come down...
WOW! This was intense. I have never known dogs to pull tantrums... until now. Pugsley screamed like I was beating him (as did Milo), he yelped, he twisted and turned like he was being pulled behind a truck... he attemped to pull back out of his collar (which Milo successfully did twice over) and he atempted summersaults...yup! Funny when you think about it but, not easy for mommy to do. Luckily, I had a graduate who came back as a mentor. This person taught me patience. He taught me how to do things right, and by the end... I was good. So good in fact, that I was able ot get Puglsey under control, and help Marc with Milo. For once, I felt pretty good about myself :-) Unfortunately, this was afer Milo had already acted up so much that it caused him to bite his tongue and bleed a little...poor baby...
But all in all, it was a tough, but good class. Our assignment for next week...practice the whistle and practice the down.
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