Hi Eric,

Some new developments on the Bubbie front….I promise pictures soon.

HEEL TRAINING:

Bubbie has this ‘problem’ when on the leash.  She pulls a lot and she has muscles of steel in her head and body.  So, she is capable of wrenching your arm out of its socket in two seconds flat if you’re not on guard all the time.  Also, only a strong person with a lot of dog sense can really walk her without avoiding the necessity of an arm transplant at a later date (I know, you’re going to say you always have another arm).  So, I decided (after reading on the internet and in my dog book) to teach her to heel and stop and sit when walking.  Well, I was prepared for days of work and started off with a very good attitude and a low expectation yesterday.

This is one smart dog.  I left the front door and by the time I walked up and down the front street a few times….she was perfect.  She then walked around the block with me (minimal pulling only) and this morning she was….PERFECT.  When a dog came to attack us (this little dog literally JUMPED over a fence as high as ours and came after us), I let Bubbie take the lead and growl and bark at the attacker (I think this is only fair that she protect us).  Once the dog was intimidated, I said HEEL and Bubbie came right back and walked with me!  I will continue to work with her to pull less and less for longer periods of time.  In the meantime, can you have Erika cancel my arm transplant surgery scheduled for May?  Oh, and I won’t need that cadaver donor either.

FETCH – By Specific Item Names:

I am working with Bubbie on fetching items by pointing to them or by name.  So far she is +/- on Mr. Bill (+);  DUCK (+);  LEASH (++); BRUSH (-);  BUG (-).  The reason I started this is that she was brining the leash to me for her walks.  I just placed it on the floor and she would pick it up BY THE HANDLE and bring it to me (spontaneously).  So, now, she is recognizing the LEASH work and FETCH.  My book says this can take a few weeks (she’s been working on it for +/- two days and is already getting the logic halfway).  I imagine by a week it will be perfect.  At that time, I will film it.

HIDE AND SEEK:

This is a little more complex and is multi-layered.  The idea is that she STAYS in one room of the house (so she learns to stay until I release her with a command “Come Bubbie”).  I then go to another part of the house (now – at first I just hid close by).  I then call her “Come Bubbie” and she searches for me.  She doesn’t give up until she finds me which sometimes takes her ~ 5 minutes.  I hear her running through the house looking.  So, she’s pretty good at that one.  When she finds me, she gets a treat.

The next phase is to have her follow a scent!  We started yesterday. What we do is I find more COMPLEX hiding places (like through the upstairs bedroom window out on the patio (she starts from the kitchen).  However, I lay a path of tiny pieces of treats to ‘lead’ her to me following the scent of the treats (and the reward of the treats).  She got this in about 2 tries.  She found me on the porch, under the bed, hiding in the shower.

The last phase will be to have her follow JUST THE SCENT – I’ll probably begin this next week.  And then progress to outside.  She just LOVES doing these games with me and she’s so very smart it’s a lot of fun for me to challenge her.

Ongoing:  She’s completely mastered the bicycle runs and really likes them.  It gives her a chance to run on other surfaces than the sidewalks and yard.  The biggest problem I have is other dogs who are not on leashes.  She is darting to them and it’s a bit dangerous for me.  So, that’s another reason for the HEEL training.  She is even more of a love than she used to be.  She’s matured a bit.  Now, when I sit on the couch to answer emails with my ipad, she hops up and lays her head on my leg.  She also sits like a queen when I’m grooming her and won’t move until I pat her and say OK.  Additionally, she is coming when we call her from the backyard bark-fests (about 80% of the time right away).

She’s a joy!