Most of our clients either know of or heard of Elaine, my 6.5 years old Pit Mix. I have her pictures in our clinic and often mention her. I've neglected working with her lately and was horrified last week when she disobeyed the "off" command. She jumped onto the bed with her rope toy (she is not allowed on the bed), refused to get off the bed, and then actually growled at me.Regardless of how busy we've been, I realized that I cannot let up on her training. So we restarted our basic training. I reviewed some online information for motivation. I liked the pages below for their step-by-step guidance and easy-to-read format.
We worked on Go-to-your-spot (in our case, it is "Kennel" as that was the command we used when we trained her to go to her kennel aka her bed) and heeling.
I was amazed at how quickly Elaine recalls her training. Then I realized that she never forgot the commands; it was I who forgot to use them consistently. I slacked off and got lazy since it was easier sometimes to ignore her mis-behaviors than to correct them.
I am also reminded that the time spent with her was probably just as important as the training. Our interaction builds our bond. How can I expect her to be a well-behaved companion when I was not doing my part as an effective leader?
Elaine will probably never be an AKC certified Canine Good Citizen (due more to my shortcomings than hers) but we will continue to train and, in the process, build a stronger bond that will enrich both of our lives.
