Flurry surprised me last week. I called the dogs to come up from the family room to go out for 'last call' before bedtime. Echo came flying up and
Flurry and Kaiser arrived at the bottom of the stairs about the same time. Flurry looked up at me and I looked down at her and smiled because I knew from the
look on her face what she was going to do. She waited. Waited for Kaiser to slowly make his way up the stairs. When he was finishing his bunny hop to the last
of the steps up she came. Good dog.
0 Kudo
"Good Dog!" moments...
| Started By | Comment | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 flec |
#21 | |||
|
Posts: 852 07/05/08 1:12 AM |
|
|||
|
|
||||
|
Cedricsmom |
#22 | |||
|
Posts: 1576 07/05/08 2:34 AM |
This is a small thing, but felt huge to me.
I've been working at getting Cedric calm in water where he can't touch the bottom. As soon as feet leave the ground in water, he turns into paddling madly to get his feet somewhere solid. Since I have a pool, I want a dog who is calm in water. When he's stressed, he can't think straight it seems. He has a favorite ball that we play fetch with out around the pool. If it falls in the pool, there it stays until it floats close enough to the edge for him to lean in a pick it up. He seems quite comfy with me taking him in the pool. I don't go to far from the step and point him in the direction of the stairs and he's gotten pretty adept. Still, no messing around though....get to the step and get out and the heck with the ball. Today the ball was in the pool floating in the deep end. I took Cedric in about up to my waist and let him go. He started to beeline for the stairs (good dog, thinking, knows where the stairs are....that's all I was aiming for). He gets halfway to the stairs, turns around, swims to the deep end, gets his ball, swims to the stairs and out. I just saw this as huge! The stress of not touching the ground has diminished to the point where he can opt to get the ball before finding his safe footing. Then he acts like he's dying to do it again. I had him go get his ball in the pool about 4 times. He seemed all puffed up and proud of himself. He still won't jump in the pool, but looks at me to put him in the water. Maybe by the end of the summer he'll be jumping in and out of the pool like a lab!
|
|||
|
|
||||
|
bevin |
#23 | |||
|
Posts: 1830 07/05/08 3:21 AM |
Wow, YAYH for Cedric! I too am hoping to turn Cara into a swimming dog. Nothing makes my heart soar like watching dogs dock diving. She may never make it that
far but I'd like her to swim on a hot day!
"A dog wags its tail with its heart" - Martin Buxbaum |
|||
|
|
||||
|
msquared |
#24 | |||
|
Posts: 2862 07/05/08 10:26 AM Senior Member
|
Had Mols on the beach yesterday--she fetched her wubby from the Sound for about 2 hours. At one point, a man in a kayak paddled himself to shore, and as he was
getting out, I saw her focus on him. In Molly's world, everybody loves her, even the man beaching the kayak 3 houses down, and must be greeted
enthusiastically. As she came out of the water, she took two good long strides toward him as I yelled "leave it", and she actually did. Turned and
focused back on our game. I praised and tossed the toy back into the water for her. (you think 7 is the magic number? she'll be 7 in August
 )
|
|||
|
|
||||
|
simpte |
#25 | |||
|
Posts: 1359 07/05/08 7:05 PM |
What a marvelous thread! What GOOD dogs!
May I add two, one for who I think Kenny just is, and one for who we are becoming together? First, Kenny was a Sterling Good Dog last week with a 5-month old houseguest. He sniffed the baby, licked his feet, and then parked himself facing out, to watch for His Baby. (Obviously, always supervised, but what a Good Dog.) And a team accomplishment....we've been working for 6 weeks on walking calmly past the chained-up lunging barking Rottie house. Princess is chained in the backyard but has a clear view of the street up the driveway. So, lots of Name Game and Wheeee!!! Catch My Drift and somehow in the last few days now Kenny automatically looks up at me when we approach this driveway to say, "Ok ok ok, we are playing that game now?" ~Claire |
|||
|
|
||||
|
catahoulahula |
#26 | |||
|
Posts: 62 07/05/08 10:44 PM |
We get a lot of those around here. Darren used to hate Calvin with a white-hot, fiery passion, and would attack Calvin whenever he got the chance, so we
separated them completely with the intention of working through their problems and reintroducing them one day.
But Calvin and Darren had different ideas. We worked hard to get them to accept each other at 10 yards, then closer and closer, until they could peacefully coexist on opposite sides of a baby gate. Once we reached that milestone, a dramatic change took place in their relationship. Each dog made it clear that "the rules" they understood were "You will not interact with each other unless you're physically separated." They started napping on opposite sides of the baby gate with their backs touching. When the baby gate was taken away, they'd move to opposite sides of the house. When Calvin barks to be let outside, Darren goes behind the baby gate and shuts himself into the office. Good boy! When Darren barks to be let outside, Calvin trots into his crate and stares at us until we close the crate door. Good boy! Calvin and Darren taught me humility. You can't strong-arm a dog into acting exactly the way you want him to. Dogs are sentient beings with unique personalities, not laboratory animals. We can't reward them or punish them into entirely different dogs. But sometimes they can be all that they can be, and they can solve problems on their own. Sometimes dogs are far, far smarter than their owners. Good boy! |
|||
|
|
||||
|
gracecrazygrace |
#27 | |||
|
Posts: 136 07/06/08 1:20 AM |
I like this thread, too.
Was in the kitchen cutting up celery for a veggie tray the other day, and accidentally knocked two pieces of celery off the cutting board onto the floor. Joy and Grace (who of course were right there at my feet hoping for handouts) both froze, looked at the celery and looked up at me. Woo hoo! There was lavish praise from me as I picked up the celery and immediately forked over treats from the dog treat canister I keep on my kitchen counter... I have done work with them on waiting for permission and not just lunging for whatever falls from the counter, but still I know it's hard for them to pass up food lying right in front of them -- especially Grace, the Jack Russell, who has such an "everything is mine, nothing for any rotten Labradors" mentality!  -- so I was very pleased to see the
training paying off. Good girls!
"Qui me amat, amet et canem meum." ~ Bernard de Clairvaux |
|||
|
|
||||
|
Candyfloss797 |
#28 | |||
|
Posts: 155 07/06/08 5:19 AM |
Oscar surprised me when i got up this morning. He'd managed to hold it all night and hadnt potty'd in the kitchen
 It sounds quite a small thing but for us it's huge, it's the 1st time
that we've got up in the morning to find nothing on his potty paper. I'm so proud of him
  
Oscar, Freddie and Polly |
|||
|
|
||||
|
Salty Dogs |
#29 | |||
|
Posts: 4838 07/06/08 8:07 PM Dog Sports Trainer/Moderator |
Had one just this evening.
Someone was walking past our yard with their dog - we're on the corner, so half of my backyard adjoins a street. Liam was thinking of running the fenceline and barking - something he derives great pleasure from. Instead, he came and whined, looked at me, laid down about 3 feet from where I was sitting and proceeded to complain to be released from a down stay he'd put himself in. Once he was calm, I called him and gave him a head scratch. Funny boy. P |
|||
|
|
||||
|
talbin |
#30 | |||
|
Posts: 491 07/07/08 10:26 AM |
What a wonderful thread - I love reading about all the success!
This past weekend - the 4th of July holiday - was spent at my MIL's lake cabin with lots of extra house guests and a party for over 40 people on the 4th. We had actually hoped to kennel Brix for the weekend but waited too long to call and couldn't find a good place for him to stay. There were lots of ups and downs, but Brix was mostly a very good boy. His best and brightest good dog moment was on the 4th. I was talking with a group of people with Brix on his 6' leash (hors d'oeuvres had been served, so the long leash tie-out was no longer an option  ). At the same time, a
group of guys - including my DH - were playing bocce ball. Brix was watching them, I was talking and not paying 100% attention to Brix - and not holding the
leash as tightly as I should have been. Suddenly Brix stands at attention then takes off. The leash comes right out of my hand, and Brix is heading for a dog
that just appeared in the neighbor's yard.
I blanked for a moment - I would've normally said Come, but for whatever reason yelled, "Brix, Sit" instead. And he did! He ended up sitting right next to the bocce balls, and just sniffed one and he continued sitting until I got there. For the last month or so we've been working on Sit and Down at a distance, but so far the greatest distance we've done is about 10 feet - in the living room. We've only done to the end of the leash outside. So when he sat in the middle of running - toward another dog - at about 30 feet away from me? I was absolutely shocked and amazed! What a good boy, Brixie!
Tracy
|
|||
|
|
||||
|
ekl26 |
#31 | |||
|
Posts: 226 07/07/08 2:42 PM |
I was able to call Henry off of chasing the cat for the first time this weekend. He clearly just wants to play, but there is too much of a size differential
for that, and she isn't assertive, so the house is littered with baby gates.
His recall once the cat starts to run isn't 100% yet, but we went from never doing it, to about half the time over the last week (lots of treats for coming!!). His place when she comes in the room is also getting much more reliable. I'm starting to have hopes that the maze of cat protective baby gates can someday come down! |
|||
|
|
||||
|
BrooklynFolly |
#32 | |||
|
Posts: 173 07/11/08 9:40 AM |
Hooray for small victories! Last night we all got to bed rather late, and BF forgot to actually lock the crate door, I guess it was just pushed shut. Alarm
goes off this morning, we both sit up, and there's Folly, crate door wide open, sitting and staring at us quietly from the back!!! (Not even making his
talky-morning wild-turkey noises).
|
|||
|
|
||||
|
SW845 |
#33 | |||
|
Posts: 16299 07/14/08 2:44 PM Professional Trainer/Owns Board |
Love these - you guys are an impressive group!
For me, so much of it is about safety - because you cannot anticipate what will happen in life. Today I was tossing a ball for Pip and it bounced sideways and flipped into one of the melon patches surrounded by temporary movable sheep fencing. Pip in hot pursuit, met the fence, rolled and came up tangled with it around he neck and legs. She started to struggle (naturally). I calmly said "Pip, wait" and she stopped, sat and looked at me - open mouthed and bright eyed. "Okay." I praised her calmly as I walked toward her (running could have stimmed my little bean so calm, calm, calm). She started one more time, I told her to "wait...atta girl.." one more time and got there, untangled her and tossed the ball in another direction. I like that communication adds to her safety and my sanity and that makes the little time spent daily doing it well worth it.
Sarah Wilson
Your dog can change but you have to change first. |
|||
|
|
||||
|
bevin |
#34 | |||
|
Posts: 1830 07/14/08 3:51 PM |
We were watching a movie a few nights ago. Originally we were all on the couch, BF, Cara and I but BF and I decided to turn the TV round and hop into bed to
watch it instead (yes our place is tiny!). We left Cara on the couch cos she was asleep. We forgot about her at the end of the movie, just turned the telly off
and went asleep. We remembered when we woke up and gingerly walked out to the lounge. There was Cara still asleep on the couch, in the exact same spot we left
her 8 hours prior
With that success in mind we left her out in the house for about 3 hours while we went out the next evening. When we got home she was curled up in a ball on a nest of BFs washing! She hadn't jumped on the couch or the bed, she hadn't chewed anything and most importantly, she hadn't used the opportunity to eat the cat's food. She's growing up
"A dog wags its tail with its heart" - Martin Buxbaum |
|||
|
|
||||
 coneheaddog |
#35 | |||
|
Posts: 200 07/14/08 5:07 PM |
Yay! Cara!
All I can so is WOW!! I'm so impressed with everyone's dogs!! Dixie gets very excited going to new places and it has been a huge struggle getting her to calm and sit and wait before exciting the car. All my body blocking and even putting her back in the car has paid off, as long as hubby isn't with she now is very reliable about waiting!! 3 times today even!!! Of course she choose a day last week when it was storming really bad and I was not even thinking about it to finaly "get it" and almost got the door slammed in her face cause I wasn't even going to bother and just assumed she was on the ground behind me, nope she was sitting on the seat with a big smile going this is what you want, right? ROFLMAO Not a big deal but something we've been working towards for a long time!! |
|||
|
|
||||
|
packopeebs |
One 'Good Dog' moment and one 'not so much'... | #36 | ||
|
Posts: 894 07/15/08 8:05 AM |
I was working on the computer yesterday when one of my cats came into the room looking very smug - I then heard the squeaking. As I went to the kitchen to
catch what I thought was going to be a chipmunk that was carried in through the dog door, I saw Spirit disappearing through the door. Went out on the porch as
Spirit was returning to the porch from the yard.
I asked Spirit where the chippy was, he trotted back out to the yard and was returning to me carrying a baby rat very gingerly in his mouth. When he got about 5 feet away, he dropped it. Before I could react, my little beagle cross, Pippin, gulped the still alive rat down - no hesitation at all...honestly, I don't know how she has lived to the age of 13.  YUCK!
|
|||
|
|
||||
|
tls0118 |
#37 | |||
|
Posts: 270 07/15/08 9:43 AM |
Okay, POP, that is gross... fortunately we have had no brushes with live animals, though Bella is a good bug tracker...
Well, we had a good dog moment this morning. Or perhaps more of a smarty pants moment. I have been working with my girl on calmly looking at scary things (dogs, runners, etc.) -- she looks at the item, then turns back to me for a treat. Well, we were walking along and I noticed that Bella was making these *massive* head turns -- her head was 180 degrees to the back and then she would swivel to look at me. She'd stare at me for a few seconds, and then do it again. But there were no dogs or people around. The third time she gave me this 'come on, are you stupid' kind of look and I finally figured out that she was letting me know about the massive construction truck rumbling a block away. She clearly thought it was a good opportunity to apply our protocol and get a piece of hot dog out of it. Obviously she is much smarter than her owner....
Last Edited By: tls0118 07/15/08 10:23 AM.
Edited 1 time.
|
|||
|
|
||||
|
Naturepainter |
#38 | |||
|
Posts: 5225 07/15/08 10:03 AM Trainer/Moderator |
We have a fenced in area right outside the door, then an underground fence around the larger yard. Whenever I open the gate to let the dogs run loose in the
yard, they are supposed to sit and look at me and wait to be released. After that they may run all around the yard, incuding in and out of the fenced pen at
will.
|
|||
|
|
||||
|
Sparkiesmom |
#39 | |||
|
Posts: 2408 07/15/08 6:01 PM |
Sparkie responded to his name while outdoors in the woods, surrounded by all sorts of Interesting Smells.
If you know Sparkie, that is INDEED a good dog moment. 
Boomer had to ride in the little crate to the park and let me pick her up and put her in it. Again, for "don't touch me!!!" Boomer this is a good dog moment. Of course I have probably jinxed it and tomorrow (or 5 minutes from now) Sparkie will whoop it up at squirrels and Boomer will decide that touching is YUCKY, but at least we had this afternoon.
|
|||
|
|
||||
|
3dogsmom |
#40 | |||
|
Posts: 218 07/15/08 10:38 PM |
Well, how much fun is this, all great stories! So, my best story lately is that I was sitting in the sun room, 12 lb Jack on my lap, Sophie lying chewing a
Nyla bone, talking to my husband and one of my daughters came home. So Sophie went flying off like the whirling dervish that she is and my husband jokingly
asked me "Again, why is she living in our house?" In the meantime Jack jumped down and made himself comfortable with Sophie's bone. She
returned to the room and stood over him for a moment, then left. It took her sometime, but she soon returned with another bone, laid down and snuggled up to
Jack and chewed away.
We also just made it through 5 days of 2 6 year olds, 2 days of 1 2year old and the adults that went along with them (all dog lovers, luckily) She made it through with flying colors (and a bit of increased shedding). She also just passsed her CGC class tonight, along with Jack, so I am pretty happy with my gang right now! Sharon M. |
|||
|
|
||||
Nancy
Add Reply
- Problems and Solutions: Ask away!
- The Daily Dog
- Dog Sports: Success through Joy and Connection
- Pet Professionals: Trainers, Groomers, Pet Sitters, Day Care, Boarding, Sheltering Personnel
- Matchmaker, Matchmaker....
- WELCOME! Code of Conduct and Such
- Community Chat Area
- Plans and Support
- Pro Training Alums
