intermediate obedience

[debbiej]

finally they got a class together. so we start the 24th. the woman asked if:
my dog could hold a sit/stay and a down/stay for one minute. If it had ever attacked or bitten another dog or a person. Now we never let her off lead around strange dogs or people. she plays fine with dogs she meets when the meetings are arranged. she is fine with people on and off lead. she has only done sit stays and down stays with distractions on lead. think that is what she meant? I wish I'd asked.

[Patty1231]

From my experience intermed. sit/down stays are off lead - this was required for us for completion of the basic obed. level. She probably just wants to get an idea of where your dog is in its training.

[Rott-Wiley]

I agree with Patty. If I were you, I'd start doing some off lead stays now. You've got 12 days to get her ready.

[debbiej]

ok, we will get to work. last night in the driveway she did a sit stay off lead while a jogger went by. I held my breath and she held her stay. but I'd like to be more confident. thanks!

[Patty1231]

Originally Posted by debbiej

ok, we will get to work. last night in the driveway she did a sit stay off lead while a jogger went by. I held my breath and she held her stay. but I'd like to be more confident. thanks!

You might want to start working with this inside or in an enclosed area to avoid any potential mishaps. If she would have decided to go after the jogger, at the very least it would not be good PR for you or your dog.

[debbiej]

inside she is fine with sit or down stays off lead. it is outside where the distractions are. in our yard, she can't see out, so again, no tests. perhaps a very light long line?

[Rott-Wiley]

To proof on the stays you need to introduce the 3 D's; Distance, Duration, and Distraction. Gradually introduce each individual D seperately. If she's solid on a 15 second stay at 5 feet with minor distractions, add 5 seconds to the same distance and same distraction level. Add a few feet without changing anything else. If she breaks the stay, simply go back to the previous level of the D's that was successful. That's what works for me.

[debbiej]

I'm not sure how, but I almost missed reading that helpful answer! I think I would have to use a long line to work at a distance while distractions are around, wouldn't I? I have to find somewhere to go to work with her to see if she is steady with distractions, and there would be so many distractions out of my control.

Another question I have is concerning treats. She is almost totally sucessful with quite a bit of distance and duration, even off lead outside at home, if she knows we are doing it for treats. Distractions here would be a jack rabbit, a lizard or two, and once a jogger went by. She is a lot less focused on what we are doing if there are no treats. What to do about this? I am trying to not treat as frequently, and she does obey commands without treats, it's just she isn't real excited about what we are doing. If I have hot dogs, I KNOW she will stay....

[Rott-Wiley]

If she is steady while using treats, by all means keep using them until she gets the idea of what is expected of her. I would find out where she is steady off lead and then progress from there by increasing one of the D's at a time. Don't increase the distance and reduce the treats at the same time. Don't rush into using a long line if she isn't steady on a short one for now. If she isn't staying on a short line (like 6 feet), then she doesn't quite get it yet.

[debbiej]

If she knows we are doing "work" with treats, I can sit her, tell her stay and drop her 6' lead and walk about 25' away, count to 60, walk back and tell her good stay. this is in the driveway, I wouldn't do this anywhere else. we live in a subdivision that is at the end of BLM land and there aren't many distractions. So we'll go somewhere and practice on 6' lead with distractions. then on to longer time, then I can consider a little longer line, etc... THANKS!