Valentine loves working at the shelter. We practice all the things MarLee showed us, and we grow increasingly adjusted to the head collar that Meredith suggested. We are suppose to work on our training in areas where Valentine is slightly out of her element, where the place is new and/or there are new people walking by. We want her to feel safe, but we also want her to know her commands in areas other than the shelter so that she responds to them all the time no matter what the circumstances are. This is called fluency and it is when a dog can perform on cue in a variety or environments with assorted distractions. When Valentine leaves the shelter, she only responds to cues she knows well at the shelter some of the time. She is not fluent, but we are working on it!
Valentine is doing great. Yesterday, we did our training in the parking lot, near (but not too near) the fence of the offleash area. We practiced "touch," "sit," "watch me," and "down" and Valentine did a great job, even with the distractions of being able to see other dogs and new people in the distance. A police officer even approached us and Valentine seemed more excited than scared. We still kept our distance and continued with treats because I wanted Vally to know she was safe, and I did not want to rush her into anything.
As is the way of the shelter, we were on our way back from a wonderful training session when two dogs broke loose from the people walking them and started running towards us. We were able to walk back to Valentine's kennel, but it got her very excited and we had to spend some time calming down.
Later, we went out for some offleash time and Valentine ran up and down the agility ramp and all around the wooded trail. She would return to me on command and sit, anxiously waiting for my praise.
Shelter life is insecure and it is all Valentine has ever known. She would benefit strongly from being in a caring and dedicated foster home. If you or anyone you know could be her hero, please contact Laura at lmckelvey@pawsatlanta.org.
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