LEAVE IT - on your paws !!

[kidkhmer]

Last night it was absolutely pouring down here in Phnom Penh and I finally got around to sorting out a very nice room we have in the back of our villa that overlooks the .....well.....not much really Anyhooooo.......

After that I was pretty hot and sweaty so i flicked the AC on, sliced up some hotdogs,popped a cold beer,grabbed the clicker and took Karma into my new "den". I decided yesterday's lesson would be LEAVE IT and as she was hungry, I thought this was going to be interesting.

Without a word of a lie she got it basically first time. I dropped a piece of hotdog on the floor and said LEAVE IT in a deep voice and she made a small move for it but when I corrected with another LEAVE IT she backed straight off.

For the next 6 - 10 commands the hotdog was placed in various positions in front of her and she left it every time so I decided to ramp it up a bit. I put her in the perfect down position ( like the sphinx ) placed a hotdog bit on her right paw and told her LEAVE IT. She made a half arsed attempt at getting it but again, with correction, Karma ( all of 11 weeks ) left it alone.We did this a few more times and then I decided to ramp it right up....

I placed hotdog treat on BOTH paws , said LEAVE IT ! ( well....leave THEM lol ) and Karma excelled. She just sat there patiently looking at me. All of this was done in about 15 minutes. I then called in my wife and daughter thinking there was no way Karma would concentrate with everyone in the room but once they sat down Karma was good to go. SIT click reward, DOWN click reward, LEAVE IT (with both hotdogs on her paws )click reward !! My wife was suitably impressed "She is a bloody smart dog" ( and that coming from a Khmer is high praise trust me ! ) and I allowed Grace to give Karma her bonus treats which my daughter loved doing.

I am charging my little video camera as I type this so I can actually show anyone that cares and will get some photos tonight.

We then played some fetch as a reward and with a LET GO, clickand reward, she was soon also letting go of the fetch toy 70% of her returns.

I need a bumper sticker for my truck that says "GSDs ROCK ! "

Man I love my ( um....our) dog.

ps ; Did I mention she now ( as of a few days ago ) bounds up into my 4x4 truck in one fluid motion with a GET UP command ?

[Lilie]

That is so cool! It just makes all the work we do so worth it. Love them GSDs!

Remember as she is so young don't try to put too much stress on her joints by having her jump up and/ or down from your truck. My GSD is 11 months and I still make him 'load' in the back of my truck by putting his front paws on the tail gate and then I lift up his hind end. As my GSD is now 92 lbs, I can't lift him out when we unload but I make him wait and I put my arms around his body and help him out so that he doesn't take all the weight of his coming down on his front legs.

[kidkhmer]

I hear you about stressing the joints. What I meant was Karma is actually using the footwell to get into the truck's cab ( it is a Ford Ranger so not too high ) and I am right behind her in case she falters. She is way to young for the trayback. I am about to start training her to ride in the back but on the first attempt a few days ago she wanted to bail out so I figure I need to be out there with her calming her down and making it fun. If I let her play in the back of the truck at home I always let the tailgate down and then lift her out. She is way to precious ! I probably will not let her ride in the back until she is much older ( assuming she wants to as it is hot here and I dont care if she wants to sit next to me up front! ) and that is going to be VERY interesting because the distractions around are many and varied. For a start when you pull up at a set of lights there are about 60 people within arms length on motor scooters !!