Valentine's First Lesson

Valentine and I met with MarLee at Canine PhD last week for our first lesson.  Valentine was far more relaxed on this visit than on our first one, but she still showed her anxiety.  She was aware of any change in environment as soon as it happened.  She was also less inclined to show of her training skills in a new place.  Even a sit in a new environment was uncomfortable.

MarLee was kind enough to give us a refresher course, reminding me to only cue once and to pay attention to hand signals.  It does no good to ask a dog to sit over and over and over again.  The goal is to have her listen the first time you ask and not the twentieth!  I also had to remember to mark her good behaviors with a "yes!" and offer her the release cue of "okay!"

We are now working on doing sit, down, watch, and touch in new environments.  We want to lengthen how long she will offer us these behaviors.  We also want to work on auto watch, meaning we are rewarding Valentine for checking in with us on her own.  So we reward her when she looks up and makes eye contact with us.  She is also learning to use a head collar again! 

There is a lot to do, but we are up for the challenge!  Wish us luck and please continue to help us find her a foster or adoptive home! lmckevey@pawsatlanta.org