The Spaniel Annals

Another new adventure was coming along with the big dogs to the training building, and having Brian’s first little training session.  While watching the other dogs train, the first day Brian put up quite a shriek of protest, and I had to just wait him out for a quiet moment in order to give him his turn.  I did learn that covering his crate so he can’t watch also helped.  He is a very quick learner and loves to “do stuff.”

In our first session, I unfortunately blocked the camera, so here’s a partial session from the next day. (The entire session was maybe 8 minutes, with lots of play, cuddles, and silliness.)  We started with engagement–just me and him, no toys or food–then shaping onto a platform.  I’m still learning about shaping, so my timing isn’t always the greatest, but he caught on quickly.  Then we played with his natural retrieve.  When the dog is so willingly bringing it back, I don’t want to always be taking the object from him immediately, hence the chasing around and petting him with the toy in his mouth.  He’s a great little guy!