The dog musing/vent thread

Julee

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Fran, what drills and stuff are you doing? Please don't stress too much about "SD perfect"... I'm sure you guys are doing just fine. I'd be happy to meet up with you once we're back and give you some feedback if you'd like.
 

PWCorgi

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Might be time for Merlin & I to find a new trainer :/
her training style made perfect sense on paper but Merlin is not enjoying his training, and I know she says a lot of "It's not all going to be fun for him" but I want him to ENJOY his work.
The drills, the repetition....it's stressing me out (and boring him) and I feel like he is slowly but surely starting to lose the LOVE of training and I don't want that.

Making him "SD perfect" is a much harder challenge than I ever though it would be. He is still doing very well, it's just so much work and time, the reality of the hard work and energy this takes and all the socialization trips/practice is proving to be much harder than what I anticipated.

Bright side. He is still doing well, and even though we have set backs he still LOVES to learn and please and go places.

It's just my fault really. School and life gets in the way and sometimes I am too lenient with bad habits that wouldn't matter with a regular dog and then we need to go back and correct them.

I want his training to be fun again, for both of us.
Just feeling a bit inadequate.

Not sure what the point of this is.
I think I've mentioned this to you before, but I know someone who lives in Boston who is a dog trainer, and has trained her own SD. Even if she isn't able to help, she might have connections in the area?
 

BostonBanker

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Meg tracked a muskrat under the snow today, caught it, and killed it. Gusto helped her carry it back to the car (She had the head, he had the tail, and they trotted along with it between them). I wasn't there, and have no idea how exactly my father managed to get them back in the car without it, but I guess that answers my "I wonder if Meg would actually kill something if she caught it" question.
 

Fran101

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I think I've mentioned this to you before, but I know someone who lives in Boston who is a dog trainer, and has trained her own SD. Even if she isn't able to help, she might have connections in the area?
Oh I must've missed it, I'd love any info and would love to work with someone new!

Fran, what drills and stuff are you doing? Please don't stress too much about "SD perfect"... I'm sure you guys are doing just fine. I'd be happy to meet up with you once we're back and give you some feedback if you'd like.
Just lots of repetitive stuff. Long heels, long downs, long sits, puppy pushups (sit,stand,down).... he just gets bored and frustrated and we are having such trouble with impulse control (although honestly it's gotten better recently since his neuter) and that would be awesome!
 

Saeleofu

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Oh I must've missed it, I'd love any info and would love to work with someone new!



Just lots of repetitive stuff. Long heels, long downs, long sits, puppy pushups (sit,stand,down).... he just gets bored and frustrated and we are having such trouble with impulse control (although honestly it's gotten better recently since his neuter) and that would be awesome!
If it's repetitive and boring for him, it's not doing any good. Some dogs NEED the repetition, others don't. If he's not engaged, of course he's going to lack impulse control. I agree that maybe it's time to find a new trainer.
 

Saeleofu

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I made LOTS of progresson Logan's "pick up **** I drop when I don't notice I drop it" task. He did great today in Walmart and Dillons with my keys, his leash, and an empty poop bag.
 

Laurelin

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Every morning when my alarm goes off, Mia makes her way to the top of the bed, lies down snuggled up to me, and then rubs her face all in the covers and groans. Yes dog, that is EXACTLY how I feel about early mornings too.

Then of course I stand up and she catapults herself off the bed and goes racing around the house and yard excited by the prospect of being awake. All while I drag myself to the back door to let them out.
 

Beanie

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Payton pounces into the bed for morning snuggles too. But he just jumps up on the bed and then presses himself against my legs... he's very unobnoxious about it. No asking for belly rubs or wookie noises or anything of that sort.

Auggie doesn't snuggle in the morning (or much at all really)... he just doesn't move at all until he knows I'm actually getting up. I can slap the snooze alarm two, three, four, five times... until I'm for real getting up, he doesn't move. He just lays with his head on the pillow next to mine. I don't know how he knows the difference between "getting up to hit snooze" and "actually getting up" - he just does. Payton does too, he won't get back out of the bed until I'm getting up for real, but I think he takes his cues from Auggie. Once Auggie gets up, he knows I'm actually getting up and jumps out of the bed.
 

Elrohwen

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Watson sleeps in bed with us and after the alarm he settles in for special morning snuggles in a spooning position. He usually starts with my husband, than shifts over to me, then gets sick of it and stands on top of one of us until we get up.
 

BostonBanker

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I wake up in a much better mood when the dogs and I snuggle for a few minutes before we get up. Both sleep on the bed with me; Meg sleeps down by the foot, but rolls herself over until she's close enough to get into my arms, and Gusto sleeps under the covers right by the head of the bed anyway. There's much rubbing, rolling around, and kissing until I finally say "who wants breakfast"? Then there's just leaping off the bed at the speed of light and doing flyball turns off my body until I'm actually heading down the stairs.
 
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Hudson sleeps at the foot of the bed, curled up by my legs. The mornings we get up (eventually), go outside for a potty break. When we come back into the bedroom, he leaps onto the bed and does a stuttered jump onto my husband, who has fallen back asleep. Then there are cuddles.
 

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