Boot Camp!

Our First Week of Work - Gunny Boot Camp!

Where do I start after Gunny's meltdown? What are his main issues??? Thinking back to last year when we were preparing for the GSD National Speciality, I realized that Gunny and i spent a lot of time working on his basic behavior, especially around dogs. Also, Daisy Mae was showing  alot, and he was at agility trials almost every weekend. I realized that we have not been to an agility since Thanksgiving weekend, as Daisy Mae has only trialed twice in Santa Rosa since then...and Gunny and Pirouette were left home as it was a local trial. So, it was almost like starting over.

Monday and Tuesday we went to Western Farm Center to work around people and dogs. Gunny did very well with no growling or undue interest in the other dogs. So off we went to Rincon Valley Community Park. We worked around the outside only, as their were lots of dogs and people walking.  He was really interested in some of the dogs, so we kept good distance. This was my first time working with the clicker. It was not a strong enough signal for him, even with high value treats.

On Wednesday we went to Howarth Park and went up on the trails. This time were worked on "look At That" followed by a turn-away and reward. He picked up on that right away. I also utilized the turn-away while dogs passed us. He had one minor upset, but the approaching dog was growling at him...the good news was that he came back down very quickly...I call that a success!