Our five week obedience class finished up on July 21, 2021. First day of class, trainer Baylie and I were wondering what we had gotten ourselves into? Most of the dogs came pulling their owners around and there were a lot of bigger strong dogs in the class. A couple of the dogs were very reactive to the other dogs. Week by week, things improved. We did a lot of group heeling in various patterns where dogs had to pass each other and work in close proximity of the others. Learning how to use the chain collar correctly, teaching the dogs not to pull and walk on a loose leash takes a lot of practice to get the feel of when to apply tension and when not. By the third lesson the dogs were looking quite civilized. Everyone had a lot of fun working with their dog and as a group, the behavior transformations were amazing. By lesson five the dogs would stay down on “place” just a few feet apart from each other. Their owners could drop the leash and walk 10 – 12 feet away facing their dogs. They were able to call their dogs individually to come and assume a heel position while all the other dogs stayed in “place”. Hats off to all the participants that put in hours of work on their own and showed up at class every week. The results were amazing!
Debra
