Oh, Ikey. My dear, sweet, rambunctious pup. You need to settle it down just a bit.
(If only dogs could understand our sentences...)
Yesterday, Ike and I went to Tractor Supply (for dog food) and WalMart (for dog toys). At seven months, Ike's doing a lot of things right. His down is so fast and with so little latency, I barely get the word out and he's already in position. It's challenging to get the click in there with accurate timing!
But, ah, the distractions are...well...distracting! For a social dog -- and an energetic one like Ike -- distractions are the toughest. The behaviors are easy. No problem. But those danged people. And displays. And carts. And spots on the linoleum. THOSE are exciting!
That means more foundation work for us. Lots more store visits, lots more training, lots more treats, lots more practice. Thankfully, it's clicker training, so it's fun (for me and for Ikey).
I need to get my husband to go with us to the stores to get video so you can see the before and after. Improvement is much more impressive if you know where he started. Believe me, Ike's "before" behavior could improve quite a bit! Keep an eye on the blog, I'll keep posting our ups and downs...
On a high note, we got lots of socialization exposure. Men in coveralls, mountains of snow piled up high around light poles (making it look like people just appeared out of thin air when they come from around those piles of snow), trucks with snow plows attached to the front, and little kids in snow suits (that must look awfully strange to a dog).
