Train Your Dog Challenge Results

Like everything else right now, I’m running late. I missed the deadline for reporting on the Train Your Dog Challenge in time to be entered to win the $25 donation to my favorite animal charity. But despite the fact that I’m behind and there’s no video, I did want to report out on the training progress with Howie.

Using hand signals to get him to sit: Fail. Okay, maybe not fail, but definitely still a work in progress. He mostly just looks confused. And if I try holding a treat in my hand and lifting it straight up over his nose (like we were taught in our training classes), instead of sitting to look, he backs up. I’m wondering if maybe I can get C to help me with this, with one person giving him the hand signal and the other gently pushing him into a sit position.

Using hand signals to get him to lie down: Qualified Success. Qualified because the hand signal right now actually involves me toughing the floor or other surface I want him to lie down on, but it’s working really well (especially if he’s already sitting). But he’s definitely figured out that if I’m touching the floor or the couch in front of him, then I want him to lie down.

Clapping as a “come” command: Strong Progress. In the house, it works really well. I’m able to call him back to his bed in the middle of the night when he’s scratching at the door (assuming I’ve taken him out less than 2 hours previously- if not, I get up and take him out again). We learned this weekend that slow, consistent, repeated clapping would get him to climb up on the bed with us- something he hasn’t done much of since the dental surgery, and never when we’ve tried to call/invite him.

Clapping while at the dog park is not as consistent. However, I have had success with clapping at him to get his attention and stop him from wandering up a hill (into blackberry brambles), even if he did not actually come to me. The challenge at the dog park, of course, is that we’re out doors, so the air compression of clapping (which I think he feels more than he actually hears us clapping) is greatly lessened, and we need to be within a certain distance of him for it to work. But as long as we don’t let him wander to far in front of us, it seems to be working as a good way to get his attention.