Typist: Bethany
Over the weekend, the dogs had some great opportunities to show off their amazing obedience skills. We didn't go to a dog show. We went to a pub and to dinner at a friends house. And I was so proud of them! Ribbons and titles are nice but the real reason I train my dogs is for real world situations.
Over the weekend, the dogs had some great opportunities to show off their amazing obedience skills. We didn't go to a dog show. We went to a pub and to dinner at a friends house. And I was so proud of them! Ribbons and titles are nice but the real reason I train my dogs is for real world situations.
 Happy and behaved in a noisy, crowded pub Dogs I can take anywhere are more important to me than good scores or championships. Truly, the skills we work on the most are practical skills like "quiet," "wait" and, most importantly, "leave it." "Leave it" has come in handy in competitive rings too and it is essential in therapy dog work. People compliment me all of the time on my well behaved dogs. But they didn't get this way overnight. |  Showing off their "wait" |
Wilhelm is a dachshund, a hound, and he is naturally reactive. Plus, like all dachshunds, he is stubborn. Fortunately, he is also very, very focused on me. So I get him to understand that his job is to be focused on me when I ask him to work, at a dog show, in public or visiting friends, and ignore all of the other goings on. When Wilhelm was an only dog, we visited a friend in Portland who asked me to camp in the yard when he found out I'd have my dog along. But in the morning, after spending some time with us, my friend apologized about asking us to sleep outside. He said "if I had known you had a trained dog, you would have been welcomed inside." At that point in our competitive obedience training, I actually only considered Wilhelm to be a good dog. But my friend was right, he was trained. Trained to behave in real world, practical situations.
 Making Friends on the Road at Golden Gate Park Brychwyn, as a typical cardi, has an amazing work ethic. But in early adolescence he developed severe leash reactivity. This is so far the most difficult road in dog training I have ever embarked on (which I will definitely be writing more about in later posts.) He understands that as a working team, he and I are in it together, and there are now often times you wouldn't know he was ever as badly reactive as he was. I am definitely more proud of his progress in working |  Enjoying petting from a particularly strange stranger at a street fair |
through his leash reactivity than I am any competitive skills he has. And Brychwyn does have some amazing competitive skills!
As the baby, Huxley is still in a process of balancing his need to be a friendly collie and an exploitative young boy, with his desire to work and please me. At this point and at his age, I am still just thrilled to have him be so brave in noisy and new situations. Like most dogs, our biggest competitive issue is focus. But when we are out in the world, in every day situations, he is an angel. I think that is great for an 18 month old.
As the baby, Huxley is still in a process of balancing his need to be a friendly collie and an exploitative young boy, with his desire to work and please me. At this point and at his age, I am still just thrilled to have him be so brave in noisy and new situations. Like most dogs, our biggest competitive issue is focus. But when we are out in the world, in every day situations, he is an angel. I think that is great for an 18 month old.
 Having fun at a friends house |  Relaxing in the pub |
So even if the boys never get another ribbon or title, after how proud they have made me on several recent outings, I think they are indeed trained dogs and I feel like a pretty successful trainer. Now I look forward to learning and accomplishing more in the real world with my dogs.
 Leo is comfortable in new situations too | What real world successes have you had with your pets?  |
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