Tonight was Midas’s second class and it went great! He was 50% quieter this time and responded faster to the “Midas, Good Quiet!” command quicker. When we got onto the course he knew what it was about this week and so there was actually some loose-leash walking involved.

This was the course for this week:

There were some tricky ones where I had to think about what we were going to do before carrying it out but this course had more “stuff” to do. Weaving and getting in front etc, so Midas had to concentrate harder and was therefore more attuned to what I was asking him to do. Still great fun!

Mason’s weight pull harness came in today! We ordered it from Alaskan Dream Dog Equipment and it came very quickly and I had a wonderful experience throughout the ordering process. The harness is exactly what I wanted! I highly recommend them!

We also placed our order for a training sled through someone we met on the Ultimate Air Dogs Forum: Jason from Team Rocketdog. I’m quite excited!

Tonight was our first Rally Obedience class, it was great!! I loved it. I found the trainer through the Grand Rapids Agility Club. The boys are both signed up for agility beginning next week, but I wanted to try rally with Midas and coincidentally she does both . She had these sweet treat bags that is way better than the one I used for CGC class, so I bought one of those, and she gave me a clicker to use.

I warned her ahead of time of Midas’s recent dog aggression and she said it wouldn’t be a problem. Showed up and there were two golden retrievers and a yellow lab that looked like Midas’s little brother. We started off by being introduced to the world of rally. She handed out little booklets with all the AKC rally information and an introduction to the signs and their meanings. Next we walked the course, without our dogs (she had these nifty wall hooks to hook them to so they couldn’t get into any mischief).

Midas went into his customary screaming-like-a-stuck-pig routine. I was advised to completely ignore him (back turned and yards away) and click and treat as soon as he was silent with the praise, “Good Quiet, Midas!”. That went fairly well. She said that he is going through the process of extinction right now because he starts quiet, escalates to a full-throated scream and then gets quiet again. By the end of the night he was doing much better.

Here is the course we tried tonight:

We each took turns walking our dogs through the course. Everyone else had their dogs on a nylon flat collar and I had Midas on a prong. With the exception of one lady who is also taking an obedience course, we all had similar results. Midas responded extremely well to the clicker, caught right on and did an amazing job through the course. His only pulling problem was to try to sniff the ground as we walked. Otherwise, he was perfect. I had an absolute blast!

Tonight was our “extra” obedience class session for Mason’s first obedience class he was pretty good. Just like all the rest of the classes, she started off with the look which he has been a master at since before we started the class. There were lots of newbies in the class so she spent a bit more time on that than usual. I started messing around with down and stay before she moved on. When the instructor finally got to the down and stay, Mason didn’t want anything to do with it. Down was fine. I’d say ’stay’ and step back and he’d pop up. Doh! She came around and looked kind of disappointed because at this point he seemed like he had regressed to a previous state. She got him to do it a bit better than I did but still not to the point he was at. I was trying to back away too fast and he was just following me. She backed up slower and said ok at a distance that was much closer than I was trying. Like normal, I was trying to give him too much credit. I tried a bit more and then a helper (who I’d never seen before) came around to see how things were. He still wasn’t doing too hot for me so she tried. And the same thing happened (backed awhile slower and released him sooner).

I just love how everyone loves Mason even if he can’t do the “tricks” that he is supposed to be learning. He did manage to lay down and stay for about 5 minutes while she wrapped up. Half of that 5 minutes there was a treat I dropped and he didn’t get it until I said ok. I think all the other dogs moving around really confuses him.

On the way out, the instructor gave me a certificate for passing the class. Since Falon had registered but I took over going to class, she changed the name on the certificate to mine. I was kind of geeked about it but Falon was a bit annoyed because she was doing the reinforcement training at home that I normally slack on.

Level II? Maybe… We’ll see.

Tonight was our “extra” obedience class session for Mason’s first obedience class he was pretty good. Just like all the rest of the classes, she started off with the look which he has been a master at since before we started the class. There were lots of newbies in the class so she spent a bit more time on that than usual. I started messing around with down and stay before she moved on. When the instructor finally got to the down and stay, Mason didn’t want anything to do with it. Down was fine. I’d say ’stay’ and step back and he’d pop up. Doh! She came around and looked kind of disappointed because at this point he seemed like he had regressed to a previous state. She got him to do it a bit better than I did but still not to the point he was at. I was trying to back away too fast and he was just following me. She backed up slower and said ok at a distance that was much closer than I was trying. Like normal, I was trying to give him too much credit. I tried a bit more and then a helper (who I’d never seen before) came around to see how things were. He still wasn’t doing too hot for me so she tried. And the same thing happened (backed awhile slower and released him sooner).

I just love how everyone loves Mason even if he can’t do the “tricks” that he is supposed to be learning. He did manage to lay down and stay for about 5 minutes while she wrapped up. Half of that 5 minutes there was a treat I dropped and he didn’t get it until I said ok. I think all the other dogs moving around really confuses him.

On the way out, the instructor gave me a certificate for passing the class. Since Falon had registered but I took over going to class, she changed the name on the certificate to mine. I was kind of geeked about it but Falon was a bit annoyed because she was doing the reinforcement training at home that I normally slack on.

Level II? Maybe… We’ll see.