Arrrgggghhhhh!

What a night! Putting the seats down in the back of the Jeep didn't help at all. Moped was able to get out of his harness and off the tie down. We had to stop three times on the way to our private session to get him hooked back in. Finally I just sat in the back seat and held him so he wouldn't go into the front seat. Very stressful. The front passenger seat was squished up against me; I was sitting with one of my legs underneath me, which was very uncomfortable; and we left during 5pm traffic time, which meant that it took about 25 minutes to get across town. I thought I would die before we got there.

But we did get there and then there was the stress of getting them out of the Jeep and into the facility without them taking off or pulling my arm off. David brought Skooter in and I took Moped in. Not a fair deal, I'll tell you.

When we got into the training room, Ruth said we could let them off leash to get out some energy and to explore. That gave me a minute to get ALL the treats out. After a few minutes we started working with them. I realized right away that my training technique sucks. The dogs aren't progressing because I'm holding them back. Not that I'm getting down on myself or anything :-)

Skooter was completely stressed out, panting and shedding. Moped was his happy go lucky self. Skooter wouldn't even sit for the first 15-20 minutes. Moped did 'sit' and 'flat' on cue. Skooter was just too stressed and distracted. He peed on the floor. We tethered them to the wall and worked with them. Skooter just didn't want to 'sit' or 'flat' or pay attention. He was just ADD tonight. Moped did well with sitting and flat.

David had to take Skooter out during training to go to the bathroom. He really had to pee (even though he had already peed on the floor).

After another short break we worked on 'quick'. Skooter did pretty good with this. Moped took a bit to figure it out. He didn't do as well as Skooter did. Skooter was too stressed to do any more than that, so we stopped. Skooter was kind enough to poop on the floor before we left. What a great night.

Treats were a big issue. Skooter didn't want anything but pepperoni and 'oinker roll'. Moped would eat any treat he was given. I need to train Skooter to eat what is offered to him or he won't get anything. I think that Skooter would have done better if he had peed and pooped before training. And I should have seen which treats he wanted before we started training. Having him hack of pieces of cheese that didn't meet his requirements for a treat were to say the least embarrassing.

Here's what I learned tonight (besides that I suck and Skooter needed to pee and poop):

1. I bend over to the dogs level too much while training. I need to stand up straight or the dogs will only perform behaviors when I'm bent over.
2. I repeat commands.
3. I don't treat at the right times and I don't treat near enough when they do the behavior.
4. I I don't give the dogs enough credit for knowing the behaviors. I keep treating them into doing behaviors when they already know the cue and can do it without a treat.
5. Skooter is obstinate (what a surprise that is). He completely ignores me while training and wants to do the behaviors ONLY when he is ready to do the behavior.
6. Moped is TOTALLY out of control.
7. My dogs are poorly behaved and don't know even basic obedience commands.
8. My dogs pull on their leashes to the point that I'm sure my shoulder is coming out of the socket.
9. Only use 'quick' for emergencies and training. Otherwise use 'come'.
10. Only treat them when you ask for the behavior not every time they do it.
11. I really need to spend more time practicing my technique more than I need to practice training with the dogs.
12. I suck. (Just thought I'd add that in case anyone forgot).
13. My treats suck. Skooter didn't want any of them except for the 'oinker roll' and pepperoni.
14. I don't use cold enough or the right way.
15. The dogs should be sleeping in our room, in there kennels at least.

On the ride home I was contemplating finding homes for the dogs. It's so stressful just to get them to and from training. I had to hold Moped the whole way home too. And then there was the big scene getting them out of the Jeep and into the house. Skooter took off after a rabbit but came back when called. Moped about pulled David over trying to drag him into the house.

How I feel:
1. I feel like I suck.
2. I feel like I'm ready to give up.
3. I feel that my dogs are the most poorly trained dogs in the world.
4. I feel hopeless.
5. I feel embarassed.
6. I feel worn out.
7. I feel sad.
8. I feel that I'm not the best owner for the dogs.
9. I feel like my training hurts more than it helps.
10. I feel like crying.

Heavy sigh~

What went well tonight:

1. Moped does his sit and flat beautifully.
2. Moped did 'quick' well enough after a shaky start.
3. Skooter did eventually 'sit' when commanded to for a treat.
4. Skooter did really well with 'quick'.
5. David and I were open to constructive criticism.

Skooter needs to be ignored a lot more than he currently is. He should only be getting attention if he is 'sitting' or 'flat'. Otherwise he should be ignored. And right now he's getting all kinds of attention for doing unwanted behaviors and for not doing commands when told to.

* Ask for the command once.
* Wait for Skooter to do the behavior.
* 'Cold' Skooter if he is not complying and do NOT give him any treat for NOT complying.
* Ignore Skooter.
* Go to Moped and work with him and give him Skooter's treats if he does the behavior.
* Go back to Skooter and say the command one time.
* Wait for Skooter to do the behavior
Repeat as above.

I have an appointment with Dr. Marten tomorrow, so I will have to schedule training sessions around that time.

Ruth seemed to have more success with Skooter than I did. She was calm and assertive and stood tall. She kept her hands up by her waist and only gave the command once, then waited for a few seconds to see if he would respond. Most of the time he did.

I'm really wondering if we should re-home the dogs. I love them, but they are so much work. I don't know that we offer them the lifestyle that they need. I know they'd have a hard time relocating, but maybe they'd have a better life living with a more active family that has more yard for them.

Graduation is just a dream. They will not be able to do the required behaviors by graduation time. And that's okay with me. I wouldn't mind taking the class again. I really need the training myself. On Saturday I could just see how well other people were doing with training and how horribly I was doing with the training. I'm not competing or comparing so much as I'm stating reality. Ruth said that her first dog had to take the class a second time because neither she nor the dog were ready to go on the the next class. That's how I feel.

Part of the problem I'm having is that my dogs are so smart. They know what is being asked of them, they just don't want to do it at that moment, especially if no treat is involved. Moped will sit and go flat before you even ask him to. That can't be rewarded. He's got to do it on cue. When asked to do a behavior, then he can get a treat (not necessarily food).

The dogs are settled in their kennels right now and they are quiet. Yay! It's almost bedtime and I look forward to sleep, sweet sleep. I'm sure I'll be up by 4:30am. The dogs may have to be let out again before we go to bed. I'll try to leave that up to David.

I talked to David on the way home and told him that I deal with the dogs all day long, all night long and it is very demanding, exhausting work. At times it is stressful. I'm not saying that I want to get them re-homed and I'm not complaining, just needing to vent the stress so I can do better with the dogs.

Tonight's private session was invaluable to training the dogs. I feel a bit more of a focus. I still want to remember that their behavior is the priority, not their obedience. I need them to behave; obedience will come as their behavior improves.

What can I do to help them learn control and to help them improve their behavior? What I'd like is:

* Moped to settle down so that he's not stealing stuff and jumping on the furniture
* them to stop pulling on the leash and to stay with me
* them to perform a behavior no matter where I ask for it from
* Skooter to stop ignoring me

How can I accomplish these things:

I need to ignore unwanted behavior. I need to walk with them on the leash more. I need to practice getting them to do behaviors not matter where I am when I tell them to do it. I need to be consistent with Skooter and not let him get away with not performing a behavior, whether it's 'colding' him, ignoring him or giving his treats to Moped for performing behaviors.

I need to stop focusing on the behavior and put all my attention on the dog. I don't touch them enough, talk to them enough and don't cut them enough slack. They are just puppies.

I just let them out for the night. Skooter is on tie out and actually off the deck! I didn't think he'd ever get off the deck. I'll give them a few minutes to run around and get some energy out. I'm sure I'll be doing the same at 4:30am too!

I'm blogged out. I think I've said everything I need to say for tonight.