Saturday we picked up our new GSP foster dog named Jake. He is the sweetest dog who loves anyone no matter what. It is so much fun watching him develop and thrive in our home. His training is a great real world example of what this blog is about.
When he first arrived, we let him get to know the yard, and took him for a short walk around the block. I had someone else walk one of our labs in front of Jake, so that Jake could get used to him from afar. After he was nonreactive to the sight of our lab, I brought Jake closer until he was able to sniff and greet our lab for a few seconds. Once they were bored with each other, we brought them into our yard once again and let them run and sniff together. We repeated this with our second lab.
Once the introductions were over, we let Jake into our house on leash, watching him very closely. He had recently been neutered so he had the urge to pee on everything, even our couch. After a few hours we were able to trust him to wander around parts of the house without following him.
He sleeps in a kennel so that he doesn't pee in the house during the night, and is not allowed to go outside unsupervised.
Jake has a problem with sitting when told. To help this, I take a hand full high value treats (cooked chicken) and let him know I have them. I tell him to sit in a happy voice and when he does I praise him very enthusiastically and give him his chicken. Soon I will not show him that I have the chicken, it is important not to bribe your dog in order to get him to do what he's told.
Jake was also afraid of the bathroom and hardwood floors. This was easily fixed by feeding him his meals in places he is unsure of.
Soon I will take him out on a long leash and practice recall and more commands. Until then happy training!
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