Dog Training

Today we ventured out to a local park with our dog trainer. It's a really popular place for runners, families, picnickers and dog walkers. We were working right in front of the duck pond. LOTS of distractions. Finnegan is aggressive towards other dogs. And Winston is nervous which makes him bark a lot. They improved so much since we started after Christmas. The dogs know how to follow commands and will repeat them flawlessly. Finn and Winston are smart. It's the handler - ME! - that needed the training today. Some of it is timing, some of it consistency. I've developed some bad habits back when it was all a struggle. Now I'm having to unlearn them and learn new habits. I'm learning, I did improve some...I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks! This is a lot of work, but well worth it. The dogs are so good and we're all much happier. Our housesitter who took care of the dogs last weekend said Finn and Winston have improved tremendously. She can tell the difference since she hasn't seen them for 2 months. She watched our trainer's dvd and felt it will help her not only in handling ours but also others she sits for them. What great outcomes for all of us! And for our housesitters other clients. It's amazing, my old philosophy still remains true - change one thing and everything changes around you!