Dog Training day 5&6

Yesterday things went a little better. Lady Gaga performed her Paparazzi trick, sat on command, and most importantly she didn't bite! I was so proud of her, even though she ran away twice.

Anyway, today we had training class. I realized that Lady Gaga is dealing with a serious issue, anxiety. She began shaking when we were in class. Since she has not been socialized with people or other dogs, Lady Gaga just sat shaking her whole body. I'm not going to lie, I was really frustrated with her because she did not want to do anything, but the trainer said we must have extra patience with her. We just have to take it one step at a time.

I also learned that I had been training her the wrong way. I am not suppose to touch her when teaching her a new trick. A big OPPPS on my part. I've been trying to teach her to roll over, so I rolled her over with my hands... Big no no! And by asking her to give me her paw...another no no! So now I'm starting over with the basics such as the "look at me" command where your dog makes eye contact with you. Also, I gotta start getting the hang of the dog clicker. Luckily I've found steps to help me out.

1. Sit in an informal place with your dog. Hold the treats in your hand or have them in a bowl nearby. Hold the clicker.

2. Click the clicker. Give a treat.

3. Repeat 1-2 until you click and the dog expects a treat immediately after wards.

4. Now, use the clicker as an auditory reward for the dog to mark exact behaviors. When you want the dog to sit, give your command and, as soon as his butt hits the ground, click, then treat.

5. The benefit of the clicker is that it marks the exact behavior. Dogs pick up on the behavior quicker.