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A lot of dogs on here can do really amazing things. I'm so impressed. We are working on the basics though. I'm writing this down so I can remember the small wins. Today we had 1.5
The first win:
We have been working on Noodle trying to entertain himself. This morning, he was tethered near the basket where we keep his toys. I put his breakfast down in a snuffle mat but he isn't hugely food motivated and ate only a little before he walked away. I was in the kitchen area and didn't hear anything from him so I walked over wondering what I'd find. He'd taken his blanket and a bully stick out of the basket and was lying on the blanket, quietly chewing it. And he looked and me and just kept going. WIN. It probably lasted about 8 minutes or so but still a win.
The half win:
We've been working on loose leash outside. We are making progress but one issue is that when we walk with my son, my son thinks a slow relaxed walk is cruel and unusual punishment so he is always darting ahead, climbing things etc. Noodle goes nuts trying to catch him. So today we were walking and I took a small handful of treats. I told my son to run as far as he could in my sight and then back and I treated Noodle as he did. He strained at the leash initially and whined but then settled down and took some treats. The half part is that while I was focusing on the dog and (making sure my boy was in sight), I didn't see two little boys come up and want to pet Noodle. They ended up interrupting my practice because he forgot about my son to meet some new people. But, in a way, that's its own practice. At the end, I was happy, my kiddo was happy, and Noodle was happy.
The first win:
We have been working on Noodle trying to entertain himself. This morning, he was tethered near the basket where we keep his toys. I put his breakfast down in a snuffle mat but he isn't hugely food motivated and ate only a little before he walked away. I was in the kitchen area and didn't hear anything from him so I walked over wondering what I'd find. He'd taken his blanket and a bully stick out of the basket and was lying on the blanket, quietly chewing it. And he looked and me and just kept going. WIN. It probably lasted about 8 minutes or so but still a win.
The half win:
We've been working on loose leash outside. We are making progress but one issue is that when we walk with my son, my son thinks a slow relaxed walk is cruel and unusual punishment so he is always darting ahead, climbing things etc. Noodle goes nuts trying to catch him. So today we were walking and I took a small handful of treats. I told my son to run as far as he could in my sight and then back and I treated Noodle as he did. He strained at the leash initially and whined but then settled down and took some treats. The half part is that while I was focusing on the dog and (making sure my boy was in sight), I didn't see two little boys come up and want to pet Noodle. They ended up interrupting my practice because he forgot about my son to meet some new people. But, in a way, that's its own practice. At the end, I was happy, my kiddo was happy, and Noodle was happy.