Good Things…Take Time :@)
Written by Pam on May 6, 2016
One of my favorite past-times is not only being in the company of my dogs but spending the time training them. It amazes me every time I start the training with a HGT puppy. I start off the same – I repeat the word that I want them to listen to – I present a reward and all is done with respect of space, respect of time and respect of the dog – each puppy has limits and when the training starts you cannot get discouraged because good things take time! If the pup is not wanting to listen – and this does happen – simply stop the training and start up after some well-deserved play time or wait until tomorrow. I love seeing that innate instinct that kicks in – even as a young puppy – it is that instinct that draws them to us in playful curiosity, keeps them entertained and/or interested in our emotions and expressions and it is our loving ways that keeps them in the game to achieve that tasty reward and to please us!
Our newest member here at HGT is Yumiya. This incredible chocolate labrador has only been with us for almost two weeks and we have taught him Sit, Say Hi, Stay, Down, Watch Me, Come & Roll. I know, you must be wondering how does she do it – well I am including videos and pictures so you see for yourself. When I make the decision to do something – I always give it my all and try everything I have to make it happen. All of my commands are verbalized as well as a silent command that is expressed by certain hand gestures. In Yumiya’s case, we truly want him to be exhibited at show, so I need to invest all the time I have with him now so he knows what the handler will be asking for, what is required of him and to ultimately make all of us proud. I want the judges to not only critique his structure and gait but to see how smart and obedient this dog really is! :@)
In the pictures where it looks like he is just standing – well, he is learning to stack. In the show ring, the judges evaluate a dog on many things – one of which is how he stands for his handler or how he ‘stacks’. In the other videos he is just learning the Pam commands. There is that connection that happens as soon as he shows me that he not only listens for ‘that’ word or command but when he makes the connection to the action of what is required of him … The ‘say hi’, that he learned only 7 days ago, is now an automatic response without me asking! I hope you enjoy the pictures and the videos as much as I do training Yumiya.
Just a note for those waiting on Koko+Marcus puppies…Koko will be in for her pregnancy xray on 5/12/16 to determine the number of puppies that will be joining us – so keep reading our blogs as we will post the xray and then once the pups join us, we will start calling everyone on our list in the order you are on the list. Enjoy, Pam
