So I have this rescue dog, a shih tzu (most likely), not the smartest breed in the world. But this Little Guy is the best dog I have ever had. Somebody did a good job training him to stay, come, and walk on leash.
He is also a rather emotional dog. If he is bored, or if I am depressed, he goes into his own funk. I decided that just playing fetch wasn't enough so why not do some agility training. Know that I am not trained to be a trainer but how hard can it be, right? So I read up on it. Set up a bar to jump over, he did pretty good at that. Bought one of those children's tunnels and he did pretty good with that but he isn't wild about going in that tunnel. So I would toss a treat in there, he would look at it, think about it, then tiptoe in, get the treat and slowly back out.
Today we were playing fetch and I tossed his favorite little toy into the tunnel. He just stood there. Tossed a treat in after it, and he reluctantly went in for the treat, leaving the toy. Did that a number of times till he would finally go in for the toy. After about 10-15 minutes, he was losing interest so we quit and I tossed his toy into the tunnel, sat down at the computer, which is in the same room as the tunnel, and started playing my favorite game. After a couple of minutes, he came over, and started pawing my thigh (he can just reach the chair seat). Usually when he does that, I gently nudge him down, say "No" and he goes to his bed and settles down. This time, he kept pawing at me and just wouldn't quit. So I thought, well, it's about dinner time so I will feed him. I stood up, turned, and right next to my chair was the toy! He had gone into the tunnel, retrieved his toy, dropped it near me, and was pawing at me for his treat!
Good Boy!!! Well, we all know that to confirm an hypothesis, one must repeat it. So, after giving him his treat, I tossed the toy back into the tunnel and sat back down at the desk. This time I watched him out of the corner of my eye. He stood there for a minute, you could see his little doggie brain working, into the tunnel he went, got the toy, brought it to me, and I gave him his treat. Confirmed! I don't know who was more excited, me or him.
I am gonna continue doing agility with him. I also bought a hula hoop and will hang it from a tree in the back yard and that will be next (once the weather warms up a bit). This is so much fun!
He is also a rather emotional dog. If he is bored, or if I am depressed, he goes into his own funk. I decided that just playing fetch wasn't enough so why not do some agility training. Know that I am not trained to be a trainer but how hard can it be, right? So I read up on it. Set up a bar to jump over, he did pretty good at that. Bought one of those children's tunnels and he did pretty good with that but he isn't wild about going in that tunnel. So I would toss a treat in there, he would look at it, think about it, then tiptoe in, get the treat and slowly back out.
Today we were playing fetch and I tossed his favorite little toy into the tunnel. He just stood there. Tossed a treat in after it, and he reluctantly went in for the treat, leaving the toy. Did that a number of times till he would finally go in for the toy. After about 10-15 minutes, he was losing interest so we quit and I tossed his toy into the tunnel, sat down at the computer, which is in the same room as the tunnel, and started playing my favorite game. After a couple of minutes, he came over, and started pawing my thigh (he can just reach the chair seat). Usually when he does that, I gently nudge him down, say "No" and he goes to his bed and settles down. This time, he kept pawing at me and just wouldn't quit. So I thought, well, it's about dinner time so I will feed him. I stood up, turned, and right next to my chair was the toy! He had gone into the tunnel, retrieved his toy, dropped it near me, and was pawing at me for his treat!
Good Boy!!! Well, we all know that to confirm an hypothesis, one must repeat it. So, after giving him his treat, I tossed the toy back into the tunnel and sat back down at the desk. This time I watched him out of the corner of my eye. He stood there for a minute, you could see his little doggie brain working, into the tunnel he went, got the toy, brought it to me, and I gave him his treat. Confirmed! I don't know who was more excited, me or him.
I am gonna continue doing agility with him. I also bought a hula hoop and will hang it from a tree in the back yard and that will be next (once the weather warms up a bit). This is so much fun!
