Help is on the Way!

One of my all time favorite (dog) books is Shaping Success by Susan Garrett. Her trials with Buzz remind me that I am not the only one out there with a crazy red&white Border Collie.

After last weekend's USDAA trial, I had a bit of a breakdown. I really thought I had Dash prepared for all the hububb...boy was I wrong. From the moment we parked til the moment we left at the end of the day, Dash screamed. and screamed. and barked. Did I mention screaming?

Luckily I had read Susan's book and she gave several pointers on how to deal with a highly motivated dog in such a charged atmosphere. I worked with him for about 30min. in the parking lot and each time that we got distracted I would move farther and farther away from things that were rewarding. Only when he calmed down did we move any closer to the entrance.

Later that night I felt angry with myself as I didn't train him the way I wanted and I got too uptight with him. I really wanted to be calm and stress-free but I wasn't. At all.

So Dash and I are officially enrolled in obedience class now and while this is not the route I wanted do go, I think it will be best for Dash. Dash gets HIGHLY excited when around other dogs who are playing...so much so, he doesn't even know I am around. I mean, this dog will go to hell and back for his tug toy but it doesn't even register with him when other dogs are near.

It's not a bad thing at all, it just means that those other dogs are more rewarding than I am. I hope that obedience will teach Dash how to keep his focus on me and that I will become more rewarding than anything else. (As I type this he is running around at 90mph in the backyard...yeahhhh I have got some work cut out for me)


-B