Well we did it! Reyna has officially passed level 2 of Sue Ailsby's Steps to Success! I can hardly believe it, and the change that Reyna has gone through is remarkable! She default relaxes when I come home from work...she now sees my truck pulling in as a cue to relax and won't get up until I release her!
The other incredible thing is that I don't get angry or frustrated with her during training sessions...if she is having trouble I don't drill it anymore, I was soooo bad about that. Now I just make it way easier and remind-reteach-rethink I am gradually learning to treat everything like a game of chutes and ladders.
Lessons learned...
- Never say never...Reyna wil NEVER learn to relax on cue
- Never say can't...she just CAN'T sit on the wood floor without sliding her feet
- Train the dog who shows up...just because I trained her to do xxx doesn't always mean the dog she is in this exact moment can perform xxx
- Do not hold on to the past except to enjoy it and learn from it
- Chute back to the start after the second missed attempt it saves so much time in the end.
- Pre-brief...Be brief...De-brief
- Play!!!!
I love these levels!
Congratulations both of you! Love the lessons learned. I'm going to steal those as reminders, especially "Chute back to the start after the second missed attempt it saves so much time in the end." Not only saves time but lots of frustration too.
ReplyDeleteTHANKS!!! I looked back and it is almost 4 months to the day since we started Level 2....Level 3 will take A LOT longer because she's so crazy about other people....but then again I never thought she would be able to relax on cue soooo...
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