We have ramped up Cooper's training this week. Yesterday, we walked to the park just as school was letting out. This offered plenty of people distractions along with visual and auditory distractions. Our challenge was to greet/pass people without lunging and having him FOLLOW me as I lured him to continue walking. It is a constant struggle because we have encouraged him to be friendly with strangers and now we need him to ignore them. This works the same with other canines and most things puppy related. The key is finding a happy medium where interest is balanced by focus.
Tonight we followed the same route, only without the distractions. Cooper is learning to walk at a comfortable pace without a lot of pulling. If he pulls we stop and practice HEELing. We have also been working with the WAIT command at intersections. We need to translate his comprehension of the WAIT command to STAY. We just use the WAIT command more often: leaving the crate, prior to eating, exiting doorways, ...
He appears to be learning as long as I have treats. Actually his recall was very good tonight. I was able to call him away from three dogs that he was playing with. The first time I chose an opportune moment when one of his playmates barked, which causes concern/alert, and he bolted back to me. Then I was able to repeat it during a lull. After a fifteen minute impromptu play session, we needed to get home and I was able to lure him out and away from the pack to walk home.
Nail trimming, then off to bed.
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