A Video Starring Molly

Molly and I are competing in a virtual levels training competition. This is our entry. Since we went to all that work filming and making the video, I thought I'd share it here as well. Enjoy!

Distance (aka Around) and Handling Progress

Even though I spent yesterday caught up in worries about certification, I didn't neglect Molly or her training. We practiced both handling and distance. She's gotten better at both and I've started cueing distance.

"Cueing" means adding the command word. For this distance behavior, I'm using the command "around" to tell her to go around the object. Yesterday I praised circles she made with "good around" and used the word when she volunteered the behavior. This morning she did the behavior on request. I want to practice it more and with different objects before I consider it mastered, but it is real progress.

Handling is going well, too. She lets me hold her ears and move them around. I can look into them and prod them about for 10-30 seconds without a problem. I can also touch her stomach down at the bottom towards sensitive areas without a reaction.

She is still a little unsure about her tail and paws some of the time, although we can usually get through nail trims and vet exams without stress. I think she just can't quite figure out what I am up to at this point. I'll keep working on it. The more we practice, the more she will realize that I'm not doing anything harmful. We've also never hurt her trimming her nails, but it helps that she is calm.

Handling

Any dog needs to be comfortable being handled all over its body. Molly is already quite comfortable, but it can always be better. I wasn't feeling up to moving much today, so I thought it would be a good day to work on handling her more. Being able to handle paws, ears, and tail is also required for passing Level 2 of the Levels Book. Molly is already very good with all three, but her paws can use more attention to make clipping her claws easier.

I started out working with the clicker and treats, but the clicker seemed to excite her. Instead I put it aside and worked with quiet praise and treats. It went well and Molly got better at letting me handle her ears and paws more. Her tail wasn't very accessible in the position we were working, but I did train handling her stomach and around her private parts. That the is the one area where she really needs work and it is a problem if she gets a tick in that area or we need to check if she is coming in heat or something.

So that went well and we'll continue work another time. It is also soon time to clip her claws again because they are getting a little long. She isn't on hard surfaces or sand enough to maintain them naturally.