Gaius and I just got back from a trip, which I'll talk about in the next post. Before we left we went down to the doggy dude ranch and participated in a little practice run through for obedience. It was a good way of seeing where we were and what we needed to work on.
I was very pleased with Gaius. He held both his stays and did a beautiful recall. Stand for examination did go well. But I wasn't expecting it to. That's going to take a long time. He's still not comfortable being touched by strangers. He may never be comfortable. I just need to go to more of these to get him practice. Of course his stand for examination with people he knows is lovely. And he knows everyone in our obedience class. What can you do?
Now heeling is a a whole issue in and of itself. It was really better than I thought it was going to be to be honest. Though he still lagged a bit. But that is mostly because I can't seem to STAND UP FREAKIN' STRAIGHT! So his lagging is mostly my fault. but I have a a dilemma when it comes to this.
You see when I stand up straight and walk with Gaius in a heel position.... I can't see him over (...gah this next noun is sort of embarrassing) my boobs. He resides in my blind spot, like I'm an SUV on the highway. Shesh, only with dachshund would someone have this issue. So when I stand up straight I have to just 'trust' that Gaius is where he is suppose to be. Trust is not necessarily something I'm great with. I mean come on, I spend my free time telling another creature what to do. It's a hobby that attracts the control freak. Now on a leash this isn't such a big deal, if he's really not where he's suppose to be I'll feel tension in the leash. But off lead he could be ten yards back, peeing on the judge and I'd never know (Well aside from expletives I'm guessing the judge would make in that situation). Gaius and I need to do trust exercises like in those office retreats. Maybe we could do a zip line or I could fall backwards and he could catch me... or maybe not.
And as if not being able to see him weren't bad enough, having to bend all the way over to fed him when he's doing it right is back breaking. Anyhow, I can't wait to train a big dog to heel. What a breeze in comparision. Think about it. A big dog needs to target your side to stay in heel position. Its head should stay in that position. A dog Gaius' height's visual marker is my ankle. Now think which moves more erratically when you walk. Linda said the best thing would be for me to move out of novice as quickly as possible. There is much less heeling in the upper levels. But we have to get though stand for examination first.
So now to the video tape. It boring (As obedience is pretty boring) so I added Queen. Sean being bored half way through the down stay cracks me up.
I was very pleased with Gaius. He held both his stays and did a beautiful recall. Stand for examination did go well. But I wasn't expecting it to. That's going to take a long time. He's still not comfortable being touched by strangers. He may never be comfortable. I just need to go to more of these to get him practice. Of course his stand for examination with people he knows is lovely. And he knows everyone in our obedience class. What can you do?
Now heeling is a a whole issue in and of itself. It was really better than I thought it was going to be to be honest. Though he still lagged a bit. But that is mostly because I can't seem to STAND UP FREAKIN' STRAIGHT! So his lagging is mostly my fault. but I have a a dilemma when it comes to this.
You see when I stand up straight and walk with Gaius in a heel position.... I can't see him over (...gah this next noun is sort of embarrassing) my boobs. He resides in my blind spot, like I'm an SUV on the highway. Shesh, only with dachshund would someone have this issue. So when I stand up straight I have to just 'trust' that Gaius is where he is suppose to be. Trust is not necessarily something I'm great with. I mean come on, I spend my free time telling another creature what to do. It's a hobby that attracts the control freak. Now on a leash this isn't such a big deal, if he's really not where he's suppose to be I'll feel tension in the leash. But off lead he could be ten yards back, peeing on the judge and I'd never know (Well aside from expletives I'm guessing the judge would make in that situation). Gaius and I need to do trust exercises like in those office retreats. Maybe we could do a zip line or I could fall backwards and he could catch me... or maybe not.
And as if not being able to see him weren't bad enough, having to bend all the way over to fed him when he's doing it right is back breaking. Anyhow, I can't wait to train a big dog to heel. What a breeze in comparision. Think about it. A big dog needs to target your side to stay in heel position. Its head should stay in that position. A dog Gaius' height's visual marker is my ankle. Now think which moves more erratically when you walk. Linda said the best thing would be for me to move out of novice as quickly as possible. There is much less heeling in the upper levels. But we have to get though stand for examination first.
So now to the video tape. It boring (As obedience is pretty boring) so I added Queen. Sean being bored half way through the down stay cracks me up.
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