Well, I said yesterday was gonna be a long day, and I was really right about that! First thing, we worked with our old friend Juneau once again. We even left the dogs in our rooms, because this work was very new and important, and the dogs would have mutinyed if they'd seen it. We were learning about clicker training. It's very popular among animal trainers, but until recently has been viewed as a particularly visual method of training. One of the trainers here has figured out a way for blind people to use it, and it is surprisingly effective. The idea is to "click" at the very instant the dog does the desired behavior, and by doing this, to shape the behavior into what you want the final result to be. It sounds simpler than it is, at least so far. Oh, and I forgot the critically important detail that as soon as the dog hears the click, it knows that a food reward will follow. Hence the excitement of the dogs when they discovered that we knew about this most favorite of their games! But that came later. In the morning, with Juneau's help, we learned the principles of the thing, how to hold the clicker, harness and leash all in one hand, and signal the dog and feed it with the other. I felt like I was learning to dance!
After that, we went for a walk with the (as yet) unsuspecting dogs. We went to a very sniffy neighborhood, some of which had no sidewalks, just to practice doggy distractions. I opted for sidewalks all the way, since I rarely go where there are none. Still, Posh found things to interest her, but she was strong and resisted temptation, well, mostly anyway!
After lunch, we split into two groups. My half first worked on the clicker training with our real dogs, which proved to be much more challenging than it had been with Juneau. The object was to teach the dog to show you an empty chair. It was only a start, since there weren't actually any full chairs for contrast, but it was a lot of fun, and Posh was pretty inteerested in showing me all the chairs she encountered for awhile! I know that, with a bit of persistence, I can teach her to do this, which will be invaluable in future meetings. Who knew!
Then we went to the vet's office, where we, or rather the dogs, had their pre-graduation exams. Posh is doing just fine, although we're still working on clearing up that sore spot on her ear. She had gained about seven tenths of a pound, which wasn't as bad as I had feared. They have her on four cups of food a day, which is quite a lot for such a little dog! But she can handle it! I may cut her back a little when we're home, but apparently she has a pretty high metabolism. By the time I, along with the other five in my half, were done being examined, it was nearly feeding time, but first, we gathered for a lecture from the vet, covering general issues like flea and heartworm prevention, tooth care, weight control and vaccinations. Just enough time to feed, water and relieve the dogs, and it was our dinner time. (Roast turkey and mashed potatos and veg, and the most amazing apple pie imaginable. Wish I could say I resisted, but I hate to lie!
We had an hour or so free, and then it was time for the night route. We went to Gresham, where we know our way around, and did a fairly uneventful route. Posh was just about perfect. The only really interesting thing she did was to lead me straight to the steps of the Italian restaurant where we had gone on Saturday! It made me laugh, and I told her she was a good girl, even though I didn't want to go there this time. Well, I wouldn't have minded, truth to tell, but we just didn't have time! Still, I loved having the option! And it made me laugh!
We got home around nine thirty, relieved the dogs, and faded fast. But all in all, it was a most satisfying and fun day!
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