Home Alone

Monday night, Monte received an unexpected visitor. Although it looked like Banjo, it was actually his brother Toby. Toby, who lives here in Oregon, was never part of the OccuPaws training program. The trainer at the time thought he was going to be too laid back - perfect pet. Based on his demeanor and his owners description, Marlene was absolutely correct.

This gave us a great opportunity to practice the PLACE command with the ultimate distraction. Monte went directly to his PLACE, but remained on alert, waiting for a chance to play. He was very good until I gave him an inch; he took a mile. I learned my lesson because once he was able to greet Toby he only wanted more.

For the last six weeks, I have been home alone on Tuesday nights. Lisa and Monte have been going to the Dog Den for training class by themselves. They successfully completed the Intermediate class.

Loyal readers will note that this was his second time through the class. The level of class is not important because most classes practice/teach the same things. It's more about a solid hour of training each week with professional guidance and plenty of dog distractions.

I usually work with Monte at OccuPaws events and some of you may think that I am doing all the training. That's because after Lisa spends all day every day with him, I need to get my training in after work and on weekends.