April 13, 2003
The Cookie Lady gave Dusty and Ikea ball. Now it's one of her favourite toys.
9:30 p.m.
We went for two long walks today so we could work on loose leash walking and stopping/sitting at the intersections . The first walk (around noon) was really good. Dusty has really caught on to this fast. I've been using the 'penalty yards' method of training for the loose leash.
Today on the clicker mailing list, someone mentioned another method, switching directions and switching around so the dog is in the correct position. I started using this with positive reinforcement (lots of treats) and Dusty really responded well.
The second walk in the evening was not as good. Dusty was distracted and I think it was probably just too much for her, even with lots of breaks to play in the park. She broke a sit-stay when another dog came at us. In the confusion, I accidentally stepped on her foot. She yelped, I got upset with myself for not being more in control of the situation. So frustrating for both of us. For now, I think I'll stick with the one walk for training and do our other training sessions indoors or work on sit-stays.
We went to PetSmart with E and Chinook this afternoon. I had misplaced Dusty's collar/leash in the morning and although I found it again, I was nervous about not having a spare (I had to use her puppy collar and training leash to take her out). I wanted to try out a harness-style collar anyways, so I bought a red one and also purchased an extra clicker.
PetSmart was fun - very busy with lots of dogs and people. We saw a black schnauzer. The 'Easter Bunny' was there, for doggy photos, of course! We didn't get any Easter Bunny photos though. ;-) I think Dusty would have officially flipped out if I handed her to a giant rabbit!