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| Andy: "I'll shake your hand when I'm good and ready to shake your hand." |
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Basic Obedience | "Shake"
Andy and I have been
working on the "shake" command for about 2 weeks now.
I've been following instructions from this video I found on youtube. Basically I'm supposed to crouch and offer my hand to the pup while saying "shake." If he gives me his paw I reward him with praise and a treat. If he doesn't respond I put my hand on the back of his leg and run it down to his paw, lifting it gently while saying "shake," after which he gets praise and a reward. Supposedly if I do this persistently enough the boy will put two and two together and know that when I say "shake" he's suppose to give me his paw.
This sounds easy enough in theory, but in reality, it hasn't gone so smoothly. Like I said, we've been working on this for about 2 weeks now and Andy will only give me his paw maybe 1 out of 5 times. 20% of the time after 2 weeks of persistent training? Those are not good percentages! Now, my pup is either dumb as a door nail, or willfully disobedient. I'm betting on the later. He is such a stubborn and willful dog. Unlucky for him I'm just as stubborn and just as willful. Another 2 weeks of patient and persistent training should do the trick! Sigh. Will let you know how Andy progresses.
I've been following instructions from this video I found on youtube. Basically I'm supposed to crouch and offer my hand to the pup while saying "shake." If he gives me his paw I reward him with praise and a treat. If he doesn't respond I put my hand on the back of his leg and run it down to his paw, lifting it gently while saying "shake," after which he gets praise and a reward. Supposedly if I do this persistently enough the boy will put two and two together and know that when I say "shake" he's suppose to give me his paw.
This sounds easy enough in theory, but in reality, it hasn't gone so smoothly. Like I said, we've been working on this for about 2 weeks now and Andy will only give me his paw maybe 1 out of 5 times. 20% of the time after 2 weeks of persistent training? Those are not good percentages! Now, my pup is either dumb as a door nail, or willfully disobedient. I'm betting on the later. He is such a stubborn and willful dog. Unlucky for him I'm just as stubborn and just as willful. Another 2 weeks of patient and persistent training should do the trick! Sigh. Will let you know how Andy progresses.
Monday, August 5, 2013
At the Park
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| It rained on and off all weekend so we ended up not making the trek out to Jacobsburg State Park. Thankfully Sunday turned out to be a lovely day and Andy wasn't completely housebound. We hit up our local park and he got in a good hour of romping, wading in the river, and sniffing other pups. Andy loves going to the park! | |
Friday, August 2, 2013
Thursday, August 1, 2013
Jacobsburg State Park
We took Andy on a hike at
Jacobsburg State Park, a small state park about half an hour from where
we live, earlier this month. It was the first time Andy got to try his
hand, or paws rather, at trail hiking. He passed with flying colors! He
had no problem navigating the sometimes narrow and precarious trail and he loved dipping his toes in the water. We made sure we had plenty of drinking water for everyone and lots of dog poop bags to pack out Andy's little piles.
Jacobsburg State Park is a great park to visit for light hiking. It's even better with a four-legged friend! There
are a number of trails with varying degrees of length and difficulty - though as far as I can tell there's nothing too strenuous. There are picnic areas and lots of nice spots near the creek (Bushkill Creek) to while away an afternoon, with or without kiddos. There's also an environmental educational center at the park that might be worth visiting.
I have the rest of the week off from work, and if the weather stays as nice as it's been the last couple of days, we'll try to hit up the park again. Andy can't get enough of the great outdoors!
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