Since my training ego has taken hit after hit of unsuccessful sessions I opted to switch things up because I’m not going to lie, I’m pretty hard up for a good ego stroking. I decided to work with Smokey. He is a bull headed, ornery, stinker. Really. He is stubborn, listens when he wants and just plain spoiled rotten. It’s not his fault, he’s “spoiled”. It’s just all the things my parents have let him get away with catching up to them. Now don’t let all those negative adjectives fool ya. Smokey is also endearing, sweet, gentle, a straight up snuggle bug, outgoing and not to mention easy on the eyes! Pretty boy! He is also VERY smart! And I was about to figure that out, real quick!
Now, human food/treats to Smokey is like dog crack. He goes crazy for it, he will do ANYTHING for it, he just wants it sooooooo bad! Gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme!!!! I can hear him SCREAMING this at me when we start training. Or screaming, I RUUUUVVVVV YOOOOU, in that funny husky howl he can do when he REALLY gets a craving. So after a few frustrating training sessions with Coco (my tough nut to crack) and Willa (my sweet but oblivious goober) I needed something “easier”. My plan was to start Smokey out small. Shake. Yes, shake. Again. But this time I’m armed with knowledge and a dog who is VERY EAGER to please for those little nibblets of heaven!
I take Smoke to the bedroom and closed the door to all distractions. Now this is where it gets a bit weird. I think Smokey knew I was needing a pick me up. (Maybe not, but I like thinking it.) I like to think he could tell I was in a rut and just needed a miracle! Because I asked him to sit, and just to see what would happen, stuck my hand with a little piece of hot dog stuck in my fist out and the VERY first thing Smokey does is put his paw on it. It happened so fast I didn’t have time to click because I was busy picking my jaw up off the floor. He didn’t lick or sniff. He just reached up and said gimme! I know for a fact this dog has never shook a paw a day in his life. See! He knew just what I needed! We did this over and over without one hiccup. He performed flawlessly! I’m not kidding. Smoke learned shake in less than five minutes. Cue and all! Pushing my luck I brought Smoke to the living room where distractions are HIGH. I sat him down in the living room right in front of my mom and four very curious dogs and stuck my hand out and said shake. I had a paw in my hand before I could finish the word! I was euphoric. I couldn’t stop. Smoke and I shook hands about a hundred times that day and about eight hundred times this week!
Now a week and a half later Smokey has learned shake, down, bow, sit pretty, go to your mat and he is currently learning roll over! SAY WHAT!!!! Yup! I did that! Feels pretty good! I’m so proud of Smokey. But, there is always a but (when it comes to learning training) Smokey is going a little too crazy for his treats. I’m telling you, they are like dog crack for him. He sits and before I can even collect my bearings he has already, sat, attempts shake about three times, bows, sits pretty, lays down and shakes again, maybe adds another bow in there. In the span of 20 seconds. Now it makes my heart sing to see him doing all these but I’m not asking. I’m not wanting him to bombard me with his paws (when he is this excited his claws scratch a little too deep when he tries to shake at me) and he isn’t listening. He’s guessing. He is taking the reigns and saying, I’m doing all this now where’s my friggin treat! GIVE IT TO ME NOW! So it’s back to the witch box. I’m googling fixes for his “addiction”. I’m at a bit of a stand still. There are a TON of people who say, stop using treats. Well, Smokey has NO interest in balls, tug ropes or anything squeaky. I’m pretty sure Smokey thinks toys are dumb. Rewarding with affection is great, AFTER they learn the trick, (that’s what I think) so that won’t work either, it’s just not motivating enough for him. I found a site that had some good tips. Hide your treats, stop talking and wait, turn away when they act excited or just stop the session all together. I’m confident Smokey is smart enough to figure out after a few sessions of me simply not giving treats during his “crack head” fits and walking away that he will stop and listen. So starting tomorrow I’m taking those reigns back and regaining control of training sessions! I’m so happy with his progress though! Folks, let me tell you, I had NO idea it was this rewarding! It has it’s days where it gets me down and frustrated but the moments you see progress taking shape! Well, it just feels so stinkin good! I cannot wait for these next nine months to pass and start at Starmark Academy. My future is headed in the right direction.
Collar Scholar 