Focus

I forget who I was talking to last weekend about dogs not understanding the concept of clothing. We discussed that dogs see clothes as an extension of our body. This is not the case with Banjo. He believes that gloves and mittens are definitely not part of us, but rather toys that we are holding in our hands for him to play with. He is always biting them as we walk or grabbing them as people come to pet him. Other than continuing our corrections or dipping our gloves in Tabasco sauce we are out of ideas.

Two weeks before Banjo's departure, we rechecked the puppy manual to see the comands that he should be capable of by six months of age: WAIT, CAR, DOWN, OFF, SIT, LEAVE IT, SETTLE. We have been using UP to enter the car and rarely use settle. We will see what we can get done in 14 days.

Tonight at our Teenager Class, we worked on four of the requirements (SIT, DOWN, LEAVE IT, WAIT) and three extra credit comands (WATCH, HEEL, STAY). He does a very good WATCH, even with distractions.

The competetion this evening was the fastest recall with a sit in front of the owner. Puppies competed head-to-head with the quickest advancing to the next round. Banjo and Lisa sailed through the first round, but he was sidetracked at start of round two and barely moved before the other pup was rewarded for sitting.