Woof! Bark! And also Whiiiiiiiiiine.

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BaronessBL Nov 2015 3:45pm, 16 Nov 2015 4,767 posts	0 BaronessBL It was our last dog class for a while today so we played games and our teacher brought puzzles for the dogs to try to work out how to find a treat. A simple one which can be played at home is a cake/muffin tray with a tennis ball in every hole and a treat under some of the tennis balls. The dog has to remove the tennis balls to find the treats. The other puzzles were proper 'dog' puzzles with treats hidden on a tray with sliders that the dog has to move with its paw to open and find the treat...it's to get them using their brain. Wanda's brain clearly works a bit differently as rather than be bothered to slide open all the little windows she picked up the tray, shook it and turned it upside down and all the treats came out.....so much easier than faffing about opening little windows
Red Ant Nov 2015 3:51pm, 16 Nov 2015 1,986 posts	0 Red Ant That makes me think of Dexter. I bought him one of those balls which you put treats in and then the dog pushes it around until eventually a treat manages falls out of the small hole.... within five minutes he had figured out that if he took it to the top of the stairs a pushed it down, the force of the ball bouncing down the stairs would cause the ball to crack open and all the treats to fall out!! Clearly Wanda and Dexter are super smart when it comes to all things food related
BaronessBL Nov 2015 4:05pm, 16 Nov 2015 4,768 posts	0 BaronessBL Wanda has had those balls too (note: plural!) Repeated smashing on a tiled kitchen floor has the same effect as bouncing it down the stairs
Red Ant Nov 2015 4:07pm, 16 Nov 2015 1,987 posts	0 Red Ant Ah Wanda is a
D2 Nov 2015 4:23pm, 16 Nov 2015 7,747 posts	0 D2 I've not tried those dog games toys as the breeds I've always had aren't really food motivated but that's very funny, clever dogs! I always thought my Eb was quite sensible until today when she (carefully and slowly) pushed her head through a very small hole in one of my wire stock fences and got stuck.... I can still hardly believe it, daft dog.
Helegant Nov 2015 6:59pm, 16 Nov 2015 2,883 posts	0 Helegant I can believe it - both Eb and the foodie dogs. We bought Jet a slo-feeder. He turns it upside down and eats his food off the floor. So much less faff.
BaronessBL Nov 2015 6:11pm, 18 Nov 2015 4,773 posts	0 BaronessBL I went to look at a new obedience class today - our instructor is about to be off work for three months for health reasons and I want to keep some sort of training going in that time. This class is at a dog training 'centre' (ie a barn and a field used only for dog training rather than in a local village hall) and everything is done in 'courses' of about 3 months e.g Beginners levels 1,2,3 Intermediates 1,2,3 and so on. I'm looking at joining an Intermediates group who are a month into their course (which would work well for me assuming our instructor returns to work as planned). I was very impressed today. I think the classes will be more expensive (perhaps double what I currently pay) but I saw techniques today that we have never done. I also like the idea of a structured course after which you move up to the next level with more 'measurable' progress. Although I feel that I should take my gold test with my existing instructor for loyalty reasons as much as anything - should she not return to work as planned or not run a class as convenient for me it's useful to know there is another option, and this place also does Good Citizen tests. There is one dog in this new group that I know Wanda is likely to have an issue with and I have explained it to the instructor and why and she is still happy for me to join. Between now and next Wednesday I'm going to practice some of the things they did today so we're not caught too much on the hop when we turn up next week!
BaronessBL Dec 2015 12:50pm, 2 Dec 2015 4,798 posts	0 BaronessBL Today was week 2 of new dog class. Wanda is way more relaxed about going there than I imagined she would be. It's different from our old class in that we sit anywhere around the hall (rather than all sitting in a line at one end of the hall in our usual class) and we all work together rather than one person getting up and doing their recall (or whatever it is) at a time. It does mean that with everyone on the floor you have to be very space aware and don't have quite so much room as when using the whole of the hall but Wanda is fine with it. One woman kept bringing her dog right up to Wanda (despite on our arrival the teacher explaining that Wanda would need some space) and on the 3rd occasion Wanda growled and lunged (as did the other dog)... but when all were working Wanda was completely focussed even if other dogs were barking. The instructor says Wanda's body language says 'playful' rather than 'aggressive' which is good to hear. And in 2 weeks she's learned 2 new 'things' - improving her targeting and a 'stand stay' It's going to be quite a hard decision about the next step when this 'course' comes to an end and our regular instructor returns to work after her operation.
D2 turtle doves Dec 2015 1:04pm, 2 Dec 2015 7,869 posts	0 D2 turtle doves She is such a star you must be really proud BBL
BaronessBL Dec 2015 2:18pm, 2 Dec 2015 4,800 posts	0 BaronessBL Thanks D2 I'm lucky that she really loves going to 'school' and is desperate to please so always tries really hard. Plus the best treats (frankfurter sausage or liver cake) only tend to come out for school!