Saturday, March 08, 2008

Advanced Obedience



We met at the Encino Town Centre mall and practiced heeling through outdoor cafes, indoor parking lots, tight spaces, twisting stairs and lots of rich people.



We even all squeezed in a skinny elevator with one glass wall. That's Karen the trainer holding Molly. She's great. We're all having fun but a little incredulous that it's working. A number of the dogs started the training with "issues." There are seven dogs in this elevator.

When they were all totally exhausted we crossed Ventura Blvd. to eat lunch at Quincy's. It looks as if I'm eating from a dog bowl but it was actually a nice tri tip sandwich with cole slaw.



Just like the cool dogs in Telluride!

7 comments:

Linda Davick said...

The phrase "bright-eyed and bushy-tailed" has to have been derived from Molly.

Anonymous said...

But she doesn't really need obedience school, does she?

Namowal (Jennifer Bourne) said...

I've never heard of such a detailed obedience class, but it sounds like a great idea. My theory is that most dogs are eager to please if they understand what's expected of them.
Take "Pookie" (a composite of many dogs I know). He dashes in the street, jumps on everyone, snaps at your food, attacked me (I wasn't hurt, but he mutilated my purse), and thinks a house/office is a giant chew toy & bathroom combo.
The dog's out of control, yet all the owner does is call "Pookie! Pookie!"

Sally said...

German Shepherds may be the smartest of all dogs. There are other breeds that are really smart but they're often more independent. GSDs seem to really enjoy learning.

So that makes any training exciting as you learn more and more how to communicate and expand on their knowledge of how humans operate.

Tomorrow we're meeting with some scent trainers to see if she's good at finding things. I already know she is, but I'm looking forward to seeing how they train this. The two women I'm meeting with are supposed to be great at this.

Anonymous said...

How did it go with the scent trainers?

Sally said...

Tomorrow morning, 10:30 am: scent training. I'm so excited! And starting agility again tomorrow at 6 pm. My Life as a Dog!

Anonymous said...

Take pictures!