JakeP
New member
My Jake is turning 6 months in 3 days. Yay! But that's not what I'm excited about. (I had to pass up an opportunity to sing at the Anaheim Convention this weekend because I do not want to leave Jake alone or even hire somebody to watch over him. I guess, this is where my "Values Factor" lies hehe *if you've read the book*)
As you may or may not know, I've been training Jake 3x/day everyday since we got him @ 9weeks old. He knows the basic Sit, Down, Play Dead when shot at like "bang", Wait, Come, Give Paw and "Beside" as what others would refer to as Heel. These past weeks, I've been making sure that he gives me eye contact before I give him his breakfast and lunch. I would station his bowl right beside his nose at nose level, and he is required to look at me straight in the eye for 5 secs before I put it down on the floor. In addition to this, I just recently trained him to make eye contact with me when giving him a treat. This time, I would put his cheese on the top of his forehead and continue to make eye contact. Tried putting it on top of his nose today, but with no avail LOL. Will work on that one!
Wait is a basic command that I am trying to bring to another level. I noticed that with "Wait", Jake would actually wait but not long enough to be really called a "wait", more of a "pause". I wanted to train him to really wait - as in for 1 full minute rather than 5 - 10 seconds. So I did. I started with 5 seconds, then 10, then 30 seconds, and then finally, 60! I started by giving him a taste of his favorite treat - Greek Yogurt! Then I would tell him to wait and then I would go and hide. Worked on making it longer until he hit a jackpot. The jackpot was, I placed a tablespoon of his yogurt on a plate and placed it in front of him. I told him to wait and timed it for 1 full minute! Was I anticipating that he would defy me? Heck yes! And he did do it the first time. He moved and tried to reached his yogurt at 40+ seconds. So I approached him and said, "go back". He went back to his spot and I went on mind - hiding. Then my phone rang! Had to go to my bedroom to grab my phone and checked who called and then the next thing I know, I have a few seconds 'til a minute. When I went back to the kitchen, there lies the yogurt untouched! He was drolling and looking at his yogurt! I couldn't be more proud of him. I love him so much!
*cries*
But that's not the milestone! HAHA
Jake was playing in the living room while I was eating dinner all alone and enjoying the sound of his panting and the sound of his paws on the wooden floor. About 30 minutes, he stopped and approached me. Looked at me. Sat in front of me. Did nothing. So I just continued reading and enjoying my dinner. He walked away and went to the back door (for which I cannot see him from where I was at). After a minute or two, he came back to me, sat in front of me and did nothing. Same as before, just totally ignored him, he walked away and went to the back door. The back door is 2 rooms aways from where I was at. The 3rd time he came back to me, I had the feeling that he was calling me to follow him. So I stood up and followed him. He went to the door waiting for me to open it up and there he RAN to the backyard and go poo! I was like "WOW!" I couldn't be more proud of my baby that he made my heart dance. Of course until he waits for me to wipe his butt LOL. It's our routine that I cannot go away with.
As you may or may not know, I've been training Jake 3x/day everyday since we got him @ 9weeks old. He knows the basic Sit, Down, Play Dead when shot at like "bang", Wait, Come, Give Paw and "Beside" as what others would refer to as Heel. These past weeks, I've been making sure that he gives me eye contact before I give him his breakfast and lunch. I would station his bowl right beside his nose at nose level, and he is required to look at me straight in the eye for 5 secs before I put it down on the floor. In addition to this, I just recently trained him to make eye contact with me when giving him a treat. This time, I would put his cheese on the top of his forehead and continue to make eye contact. Tried putting it on top of his nose today, but with no avail LOL. Will work on that one!
Wait is a basic command that I am trying to bring to another level. I noticed that with "Wait", Jake would actually wait but not long enough to be really called a "wait", more of a "pause". I wanted to train him to really wait - as in for 1 full minute rather than 5 - 10 seconds. So I did. I started with 5 seconds, then 10, then 30 seconds, and then finally, 60! I started by giving him a taste of his favorite treat - Greek Yogurt! Then I would tell him to wait and then I would go and hide. Worked on making it longer until he hit a jackpot. The jackpot was, I placed a tablespoon of his yogurt on a plate and placed it in front of him. I told him to wait and timed it for 1 full minute! Was I anticipating that he would defy me? Heck yes! And he did do it the first time. He moved and tried to reached his yogurt at 40+ seconds. So I approached him and said, "go back". He went back to his spot and I went on mind - hiding. Then my phone rang! Had to go to my bedroom to grab my phone and checked who called and then the next thing I know, I have a few seconds 'til a minute. When I went back to the kitchen, there lies the yogurt untouched! He was drolling and looking at his yogurt! I couldn't be more proud of him. I love him so much!
*cries*
But that's not the milestone! HAHA
Jake was playing in the living room while I was eating dinner all alone and enjoying the sound of his panting and the sound of his paws on the wooden floor. About 30 minutes, he stopped and approached me. Looked at me. Sat in front of me. Did nothing. So I just continued reading and enjoying my dinner. He walked away and went to the back door (for which I cannot see him from where I was at). After a minute or two, he came back to me, sat in front of me and did nothing. Same as before, just totally ignored him, he walked away and went to the back door. The back door is 2 rooms aways from where I was at. The 3rd time he came back to me, I had the feeling that he was calling me to follow him. So I stood up and followed him. He went to the door waiting for me to open it up and there he RAN to the backyard and go poo! I was like "WOW!" I couldn't be more proud of my baby that he made my heart dance. Of course until he waits for me to wipe his butt LOL. It's our routine that I cannot go away with.