Heart Like a Dog

The Good, the Bad, and the Oh My God of living with dogs!

Most Improved

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Well hello, most improved the instructor said in a high-pitched meant-to-praise-and-reward-your-dog tone of voice.

It worked.

Delilah lifted her head up as Jackie our instructor reached down and took Delilah’s face in both hands, bringing her own face down to deliver a kiss on the end of Delilah’s nose.

We had just completed the last class of our Intermediate Dog and Handler class put on by Pet Education and Therapy.

Jackie looked up at me and we shook hands.

Thank you, I said.

Thank you very much.

It was my pleasure, really.  You know you could title her in Rally with no problems, Jackie said.

Really? I may have sounded slightly incredulous, I mean this is Delilah we were talking about after-all.

Oh yes, no problem.  She’d pass first time in the ring.

If she did as well in the ring as she did in Tuesday night’s class, yes she could pass in a Rally ring.

Our class was held outside.  We started with a quick recap of sits, downs, looks and stays.

Then we went advanced.

We did Figure-Eights.

Using two cones and starting in the middle, work your figure-eight with your dog in a heel position.

We worked on recalls.

Jackie had us line up and then she walked up to the first dog, took the leash from the handler and the handler crossed the field and recalled their dog.  She did this super quick, so we were running.  On the second pass she didn’t tell us, but she was holding a handful of treats.

I had to call Delilah twice, the first time she didn’t even look at me. 🙁

Using a jump, we practiced our wait command.

This is Mopar, he is nine months old; waiting was hard for him.

We then worked our stay commands.

Delilah was the one of only two dogs who did a three-minute down WITHOUT breaking.

Three minutes, that’s nothin! What else ya got?

She was the ONLY ONE who did a one minute sit.

Jackie says the sit stays are really hard, because some dogs want to just lie down.

Lastly we walked past another dog, making sure we had a loose leash.

I think this class was really good for Delilah and me.  I really do feel like we have formed a bond.

And I’m really grateful that Sara has no problem with me checking out another trainer.  Sometimes I think it’s good to hear the same thing from someone different.

I know there are things that Delilah and I learned in this class that Sara has tried to teach us.  Maybe it’s because I’m so comfortable with Sara that I don’t pay attention enough. :-0

Surprised, eh?

Me too.

What surprised you the most, that Delilah and I were most improved or that I don’t pay attention? 😉

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Comments

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Comments

  2. Wow! Clever Delilah….and Jodi of course 😉 You are winning and she seems to be loving the praise. I hope she got some nice treats for that 1 minute sit 🙂 Avis x

  3. Woohoo! Congratulations to both you and Delilah! You’ve done such a good job working with her.

    When I used to teach, I often had to think of different ways of saying things because what might make sense to one student, just doesn’t click with another. And I think that’s almost automatically true of different trainers. One trainer just using a different word to convey the same message might resonate better with you. At the very least it sounds fresh even if you’ve heard it before.

    Congratulations again on your wonderful achievement.

  7. Well hello, most improved Jodi and Delilah! Congratulations to the both of you!

    P.S. I think it’s a little unfair that you don’t get a certificate Jodi.

  10. Excellent!

    I don’t think our training place even offers the intermediate class anymore, from what I can tell. I’m glad to see your class so full.

    Not that Silas would pass such a thing any time soon, anyway. (I have a lot of eggs in that “maybe when he’s older” basket.)

  11. That is just wonderful Jodi! So much improvement and so FAST. Sometimes we just need a new way of doing things. Not everything works for every dog. Glad you found this place!

  12. Congratulations!! I am not the least bit surprised you passed so well. You have been working so hard with Delilah and now you are finally getting the recognition. Just think about one year ago today. I bet she was a completely different dog then, wasn’t she? I am so happy for you both.

    Also, just because Sara may have told you the same things it doesn’t mean you weren’t listening. Sometimes the same thing can be said in many different ways and only one way will actually click. I’ve had two agility instructors and I find one explains things in a way I understand much better than the other. It doesn’t mean the other instructor isn’t just as good, more that her approach doesn’t click as well with me on a personal level.

  15. Great job, team! Does the 3 minute down stay work when you’re making dinner? We haven’t gotten a recent update. 🙂

    BTW, maybe you’d have a better attention span when Sara tells you something if she gave you her cell number. 🙂

  16. Congrats!! As someone who has a dog that challenges me, you and Delilah inspire me and give me hope that it can and does get better (and that even when it doesn’t and it’s not perfect that’s still ok). Woo, go Jodi and Delilah!

  17. I think sometimes things just click with one instructor more than another. Congrats to Delilah on her graduation! Good job!

    So will you take more classes there?

  20. Woot-woot! Congratulations! That is awesome! I’m like that too, with training and such, I don’t pay attention. I look like I’m paying attention but I’m really not:(