Postby emmas_mom » Fri Apr 06, 2018 1:51 pm
I think I would be interested in that. I tend to be rather inconsistent and sloppy with training, and Maggie forever surprises me with how quickly she picks some things up or possibly remembers them from her former life, and how much fun she has showing me that she knows how to do something. The other day I was waiting to meet someone near a fenced-in dog park. The area for big dogs wasn't anywhere I'd take timid Maggie, but the area for small dogs was empty so I took her in there. There are a few things in the area, like a row of big rocks set a foot or so apart, a pretend fire hydrant, and a vertical hoop-type thing (think of an agility tunnel that is only 5" wide and perhaps five inches from the ground). I was trying to get her to go through the hoop for a treat, and the first try she was hesitant to put her head or her paws through it. Then she tried to go around it. But all of a sudden - after maybe 2-3 minutes of me working close to the hoop with her - a lightbulb went on and she took herself 6 ft away, sat in a perfect sit facing the hoop, then when I said hoop, she FLEW through it as proud as punch. And then did that about a dozen more times - she sat 6-8 feet, I walked 6-8 feet away from the other side of the hoop, and then I said "Hoop" and she flew through and came and sat right in front of me. She must have learned that in her former (pre-shelter) life. I want to explore what else she knows ('on your mat' which was also a command I didn't have to teach her, as was 'on the couch' and 'off the couch' and a few other things).
My variation of the control exercise challenge Connie mentions would be to teach Maggie some modicum of control with barking. I don't mind that she barks when we play or to alert me to someone at the door. The problem is getting her to turn off the bark when I tell her to - like when she goes crazy because she hears the neighbour's car door, or the phone rings (even on tv), or a leaf dares to drift past the window. Yesterday she went wild when the notification bell on my tablet rang to signal an email had come in. Really Maggie??? Most of the time she's a quiet girl, but when she goes batty, she goes batty and no command (like on your mat) can break through that excitement.