Intermediate Class

[mimiretz]

Oberon had his last Intermediate class tonight, and of course passed. Again, he was the youngest; although there were only two dogs in the class. The other dog, Bowie, is a rescue dog -- probably mostly Pomeranian. Bowie is also very intelligent and picked up the commands quickly BUT Bowie has, shall we say, issues. Bowie doesn't like/trust other dogs and is very verbal at making this known. So the first 2-3 classes (out of 6) were spent with a very loud barking Bowie. And all the classes started with Bowie letting us all know that he didn't like/felt threatened by Oberon.

But even with that distraction, Oberon now knows how to heel, stay while standing, go to a certain location, stay for a minute, and wait at an open door without trying to get out Need I say, we're very proud of him!

He also showed extreme sensitivity to Bowie; seeming to know when to try and approach and when to stay away. By the end of tonight, Bowie was at least a little desensitized and, while I won't say friendly, at least a little less hostile to Oberon.

 

[Hannah]

Well done! The classes would have been a challenge. Oberon sounds like a very clever and insightful boy!

 

[trini]

It sounds like Oberon is doing really well and although having a dog like Bowie in the class is not remotely fun...it really helps "proof" Oberon to focus and work even with distractions. WTG!

Trini

 

[Mom2Melli]

YAY! Great job.

I always like when dogs go wacko around Cubby (including our own at home) and he just stands there and looks at them like "what's the problem?" Cubby has this paw touch he uses on Melli, Shay, or our nutso Doodle friend, where he just puts a paw on them and holds it there and stares off like "peace be with you" or something. Strange thing.

I think it is wonderful to work dogs around reactive dogs because it does proof them much more than only being around calm quiet dogs does.