What a great day it was today! My first Canine Good Manners class of 2009 graduated today here in Ventura. Such a lovely group. Dogs were showing off their skills by checking in and paying attention to their guardians during discussion time, as well as all the other manners skills, while practicing their loose leash walking, going in and out of the studio, and the ever popular "leave it!"... Brandy even learned to ignore the enticing paper napkin his "parents" tempted him with.
Riley is getting better at remaining quiet and sitting to greet. Ferris was meeting dogs and people without hesitation. Dickens stayed focus during the more difficult exercise of dogs walking around him in close proximity. And Kona, who is one of the youngest, really showed off her sit and down stay with increased duration and distance...
All of the guardians really figured out how to troubleshoot as they went along, and that was one of my main goals; this is what I find to be rewarding... Sure it's great for dogs to perform all of the general behaviors in the studio here in Ventura, but it really means a lot to me when I see the human handlers getting what they want their dogs to do with the skills I've taught them. And then being able to figure out what they need to do in case their dog doesn't "get it" the first time. Click-treat for the humans!
