Friday, June 7, 2013

Pierre's First Day of School

Last night, Pierre attended his very first class in Behavior Buddies at Camp Bow Wow. He's starting out at Level I for Adult dogs.




Despite his hound antics, Pierre is actually pretty well behaved most of the time, but we had a few issues we wanted to work on.  He really needs to learn that "leave it" means, well, leave it.  We also need to work on keeping him calm when approaching other dogs and runners.  Pierre gets SO excited to see them that he starts pulling and barking in excitement. It's a friendly, happy bark...but for any of you who have heard a basset hound bark, you know that it's a pretty deep and loud bark.  People don't always understand that he's only as aggressive as a teddy bear.

Although we were a little afraid that he might be too stubborn to benefit from these classes, I'm pleased to say that he actually did REALLY well!  The trainer used a clicker and treats for positive enforcement, and last night we worked on the "watch me" command.  Pierre came home with homework to work on until next week's class, and Eric started him out on it bright and early this morning.







Of course, you all know Pierre, and it didn't take much to wear him out...obviously, going to school is the most exhausting thing ever.


I'll keep you all updated on his progress as we move along.  Next week we're working on the infamous "leave it" command, so we'll see how long his good behavior lasts!

13 comments:

  1. Go P go!!!! Then you can teach Floyd!

    Eeeek I can not wait to squeeze his face.

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  2. clickers are amazing. Toby is clicker trained. The only thing when he is far away, he can't hear it but when he can he comes running. I've taught him quite a few things w the clicker.

    The bunny hop.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccI-QSJLUsA

    Working on going under water.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVLl-sgSj9k

    Best of luck!

    Lura
    x

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  3. He is so cute!! Good luck with training!

    http://scarlettmoonblog.blogspot.com/

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  4. awww go pierre!! that's great that he did so well! class is totally tiring! hen still has a hard time with leave it, but does really good with 'wait' for some reason! we never got the 'watch me' down.. we 'graduated' from intermediate class and then hen promptly ate his certif the next day. oops ;)

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  5. Look how stinking adorable he is! Those little whiskers kill me! He's a total stud..and you can tell him I said so :)

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  6. Good pup, Pierre! We definitely know how that basset WOOF sounds-Bax usually only barks when it is walk time, but when it is...watch out! :D

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  7. Great job Pierre! I can't wait to hear about his progress. I think he will be an A+ student. So I have to tell you a funny story. Abby is very food motivated, and learned how to get in the fridge when I would leave the house. Long story short, my vet recommended I meet with a Behavioral Specialist to see what we could do. I did a free consultation, and after explaining my situation, this person told me she could not help me. Seriously!! She said I just needed to find a way to keep my pup out of the kitchen. I was super bummed, but we have since then took her advice and found a way to lock Abby out of the kitchen. So much for training...ha!

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  8. I give him an A+ for cuteness!!! :)

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  9. Walter will od just about anything for food. We use it to bribe him a lot. I think we need to work on his training some more though! The clicker seems like a good idea! Walter will wait for food for a few minutes if you say wait every 20 seconds or so. He just shakes while he lays on the floor waiting, and you can hear his elbows thumping the ground. It's really pitiful!

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  10. So proud of P! His skills do not surprise me though.

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