Josh took pictures at our last class, so here we have dog obedience, illustrated! It will give you an idea of the size of the dogs in the class- this wasn't a bunch of yorkies & dachshunds & roly-poly puppies! Casey was a pretty average size compared to the other dogs.
This class was the combination of two Novice classes, resulting in 44 dogs in the room, plus handlers & family members. There were no artificial distractions needed for the exercises- the environment itself was distracting! To compound the effect, the Sit-Stay and Down-Stay exercises (both 5 minutes in length) were designed in such a way that we all put our dogs in the middle of the room, together, and told them to Stay. Surrounded by other dogs. Awesome. Unpredictable dogs all really close to each other, and no people within 15 feet of any of them.
The Sit-Stay didn't go as well as the Down-Stay- Casey did the Down-Stay perfectly, even with dogs getting up multiple times on either side of him, & handlers walking by a few times! His Sit-Stay was OK- he did as well as any of the other dogs.
The, the Big Test- we're supposed to tell our dog to Sit & Stay towards a wall, then walk to the other side of the room and tell him to come. Casey didn't stay perfectly, but he came straight to me from across the room, and sat politely in front of me. I was pleased.
Where to go from here? We were invited to join the obedience or agility programs at this dog school, and there are other options in the area. I'm still trying to decide where to go. I know I need motivation to keep practicing with Casey- and he still needs practice.
On the way home, I think he was glad to be done:
3 comments:
The agility stuff looks fun. If I were 5, I'd be climbing through the tires and jumping over the bars myself! But I'm not 5, and I'd be ashamed of myself for doing that kind of thing now. But if I could live the joy vicariously through a dog...
Hooray! Casey has come such a long way. I bet you're so proud!
Yeah Casey:)
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