Training in Earnest

Training in Earnest

Well, it's time to really start working on our training.  We've had Buster for a month now.  He is growing incredibly fast.  With that growth comes independence and he is trying to exert it. His attention span is about as long as it takes a hummingbird to flap his wings.  He has selective hearing.  He is getting stronger.

He has the basic Sit understood although if there is ANY distraction at all, that's out the window.  If there is a scary noise or something going on nearby, that's also a reason to bolt.

We've been working on the Stay and if there is a bowl of food in front of him, he is pretty good.  If any of the above referenced conditions are present, poof he's gone.

The Down has been a challenge.  When he sits the first thing he wants to do is scratch his collar, so I have no attention.  Then, when I offer the command and get no response, if place him in the down position.  Just the act of touching him makes him forget what we were doing.  I started using the step-on-the-leash technique I saw championed at Petsmart.  We'll see if it helps.

Monday night Ranae was out playing tennis.  She had text-ed me she was on her way home.  I put Buster outside to greet her which he did admirably.  When she let him in, like Paul Revere, he thought it was his duty to alert me.  He dashed through the kitchen into the living room.  At full speed he leaped to the coffee table, slide a bit, then hopped and crashed next to me on the sofa.  I wanted to laugh so hard, but this was not a behavior we want to encourage.  It broke my heart to give him a big "NO" and set him back on the floor.  The thing I'm learning about Catahoulas though, is that's not going to stop him.

Oops, forgot to put his weight down. He officially doubled his weight in four weeks. He now weighs in at 23 lbs.