After work, I went to obedience training with Lydia and Basil. Almost every other dog their was some kind of a doodle. There was also a Rodizian Ridgback, an Australian shepherd, and a few others that Lydia could name I am sure. Lydia is obsessed with dogs, just like Lily, and she had so much fun being there and seeing all of the different breeds.
First we practiced come, sit, lie down (stupify for Basil), and stay. After that there was socialization time. All the humans walked counter-clockwise in a circle ignoring the dogs and the dogs just got to know each other. Basil was a little shy, but not bad. He interacted with a lot of other dogs and at one point got in trouble for overly sniffing another dog. The poor australian shepherd was terrified and went to a corning and stuck there looking scared.
After socialization time, we practiced leash training. This built on the technique I had been practicing already. The trainer affirmed the method I was using of letting Basil run into pressure on the leash anytime he went in a direction that wasn’t correct and three new great things. 1) Use a slip collar so the pressure is more uncomfortable (under the ears and twist the leash over the nose as well). 2) Apply light pressure also when Basil is refusing to move, not just when he’s moving in the wrong direction. 3) Expect Basil to walk at my side and allow him to run into pressure if he starts to pull ahead (I used to start running with him when he started going faster than I was walking). It was super instructive. I bought two slip leashes on my way out. It is now Sunday, and I still haven’t been able to buy those leashes I bought, so I’m wondering if they ever made it home.
Basil was perfect in class. He really is a wonderful wonderful dog. Lily did such a great job searching and searching until she found the right one.
When we got home, Lydia was over the moon, and recited and reenacted over and over different things that happened at obedience class to Lily. It was adorable to see her so excited!
