Dog Obedience

I am not sure if I have talked about our experience with dog obedience....I am still not sure if this is about training the puppy to do what we ask or teaching the boys to learn skills that the dog picks up on.  However, in the end both Hank and the boys are working hard to have a partnership and I think that in the end this is the important part of the experience.  Since, we began...the boys have taught Hank the basic commands that will help provide some control as needed in a group setting or to interact with other people and animals at our home.  I have been so impressed with Hank's ability to learn and the boys for their efforts in learning as well.  I do have to say that if Hank can learn while my energetic boys bounce around and distract him, then he is okay for me.  The hardest part for me is trying to stay back and let the boys do this without getting in the way.  Since I do not see us taking Hank to dog shows or competitions, I need to remember the ultimate goal is to have a well-behaved dog that is obedient to our family.  Hank does not need to be perfect every time, but needs to want to do what he asked because he loves the children, Michael and I.

So...he has learned the following skills:

Watch
Hand touch
Loose leash
Sit
Stay
Down
Comes to his name
Ping-pong (going back and forth between two people)
Hide and seek
Spin
Leave

As I stated, Hank is better at some of these more than others, but for the most part he is doing well.  The boys are committed and work with Hank every day.  We will see if we can keep this going to the end of the course and beyond.  Maybe we will work with Hank to be good enough for show but mostly it is good to see him being a good dog.

He does tend to get excited and we will need to work on this.  Last week Hank was so proud of himself when he pinned Brendan to the ground.  As upset as I was that Brendan might be hurt, I must admit it was hard to stay mad when Hank was obviously so proud of himself.  He truly thought he was helping me herd the children.  He stood on top of Brendan and seemed to say, "Look what I did!"  However, I did reprimand him and talked with our trainer to find a way to subdue Hank's urge to pin the children!  You have to admit it is kind of nice to know I can count on the dog to help me herd the ones who run away from me!  LOL!

SIDE NOTE:  Just before leaving for the training session, I got in touch with our service tech for the A/C.  Earlier in the day, I realized the house was extremely hot.  The A/C is broken and the house is getting hot!  We will see what tomorrow brings us!