At the beginning of Week 9, I made sure to do a lot of videos. I hope to string these together someday, to show the progress that is made over time. Alas, I am a much better dog trainer than "digital creator'. Perhaps some more practice will make perfect. We were mostly inside this week, as I had a lot of client dogs over needing to be trained, and I was pooped by 6 pm. This weekend, we are going to do a lot of "on the road training"m as I have am even busier week coming up next week. LaLa does help out on occasion by being the distraction in a crate for private lessons. In day training, she is a moving distraction. |
Anyway, LaLa and I have been working, and here are some videos that show some of our progress below:
Week 5 LaLa Training Blog: More Exposure to Outside Distractions and Dropping the Leash Inside6/2/2024
Training my own new dog, Laurel/LaLa, comes with it's own doubts. This is especially true when you have not had a new dog for 11 years. Luckily though, I am a dog trainer and do this with client dog's that I am getting to know all the time. I do have a basic format for my training, although it can change with individual dogs. On our first week, I did have some time (as I was on vacation for some of it) to do two hour days. So that is never training two hours in a row (except maybe in the future on walks, as the dog does not really know they are training and are jazzed up to be out). The longest times are behavioral or calming exercises which generally last for 15-30 minutes plus. Then obedience exercises may be sprinkled through the day from 5-15 minute sessions, depending on what we are working on. I include play training as obedience sessions as that is what I am working towards, even if we are not at the obedience part at first. Although, while LaLa likes to play, she is not really interested in balls, frisbees, or flirt poles towards that purpose at the moment. Maybe she will grow into that. It has been 11 years since I selected a dog (a puppy then) for myself. Also, all the dogs we intentionally sought out, have been Dobermans to date. Any other breeds that we did have were all client surrenders. Going into the search, we really were not sure what dog breed we would get. In my mind, I was more clear on longevity and certain characteristics it would be nice for our dog to have. We went to Emma's Angels to check out a couple of (possibly) Chihuahua mixes. Both of them were nice dogs, but they did not have a liking for big dogs. Being a training facility, we do have big dogs come in, and I thought that kind of disruption might be a little too intense for us at this particular moment in our lives. In 2021, we lost three beloved dogs all to old age and in different months (Tommy, Boris, and Ziggy). With Shana, they were a great pack of friends and family mates. Then in 2023, even though Shana was 10.5 years old, she did die unexpectedly from something I have already forgotten the name of. It was basically an unexpected death sentence. In my mind, Shana still had years to go according to her health and activity level before this.
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Author, Robin RubinOwner and Head Dog Trainer in Maine, Robin Katherine Rubin, started her Maine dog training business in September 2004. Our dog training facility is located in Southern Maine in York Beach and we help families enjoy their dogs more, making sure they listen reliably and resolving unwanted behaviors. Archives
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