"Heheheh, Heidi is about to get in big trouble with the teacher," Gromit
Gromit is right - I am about to lose any face I had in training a dog when our new fall agility sessions start. Gromit and I are going to start bringing Chewie to class with us. Chewie will start having class on the same night as Gromit - different class, an hour earlier but the same night. What this means, is that I am going to have to crate them both during each others class....urgh
Here is our Gromit and Chewie when Chewie first came to us. This was likely the first week or two into having the ChewBug. They are sleeping on the air conditioning vent nose to nose. By this time, we had worked very hard to crate train Gromit. We had been through a couple of sleepless nights. Kristin had worked through a few rough weeks at home with Gromit. We would kennel him for 2 hours a day at various times of the day. We worked through how to set the alarm so that it would ignore the dining room glass break detector - this is the one Gromit's screeching would set off so we set the alarm for the rest of the house. I am guessing that Gromit would say that neither of us sufferred as much as he did nor did we have half the work that he did in learning how to be calm and rest.
Alas, Chewie was such a sweet boy and so affectionate - and we managed to crate train him at night but the day time was a whole different deal. Kristin would say we didn't need to crate train him - she worked at home. He had Gromit and once he was house trained what was the need? To be sure, I only argued to a certain point. For a bit we did use the crates when we left the house, but never when we were at home, like we practiced with Gromit....oh am I regretting this now....LOL! As soon as we could take those crates out of the bedroom we did - I think they lasted about 18 months in our attic bungalow bedroom - small house in South Minneapolis so hence we allotted our puppies a lot of our living space!
Chewie and Gromit pretty much adored each other and any dog that came to visit them. Here is a picture of them playing on the patio. Notice how Chewie has already been given the upper hand by Gromit - anything for a little fun.
And one more picture of the two of them below for good measure. I share these only to point out how difficult it will be for them to be apart while in the same building - pathetic really - don't you think.
So alas, if I spent as much tim training my dogs as I do writing this blog we may get in better graces with everyone in Chewie and Gromit's classes. I have tried working with Chewie. We had one foundations class where everyone brought their dogs and crates and we practiced in the crates. We started by treating our dogs in their crates. Then we had someone else treat them and we were still in the room with the dogs. Then eventually we left the room and someone else treated them. Then they tried slowing down the treats. Chewie did fine until the treats quit coming - Annelise told me it proves that in fact it isn't me that is important it is the treats...alas, I had no idea - NOT. Mind you it took me two weeks to get Chewie back into the crate before this class and I used some high value treats. He would put a foot in the crate and then get the treat and scurry away. Then I would toss the treat in further and I got two feet in - but the next transition - getting the whole body in - that took an hour or so. I did it though. Then I fed him in his crate..Gromit was stunned by this whole situation - what was I doing with Chewie...It was after this then I eventually tried him in class.
We'll see how it goes this week - I am going to have to drag out those darn crates and start getting them to go into their crates - Gromit will be fine, but Chewie - I just don't want him to get banned to the car again ....Alas...
One final picture of our inside training in the basement last year - Chewie - not happy about this situation
Here is our Gromit and Chewie when Chewie first came to us. This was likely the first week or two into having the ChewBug. They are sleeping on the air conditioning vent nose to nose. By this time, we had worked very hard to crate train Gromit. We had been through a couple of sleepless nights. Kristin had worked through a few rough weeks at home with Gromit. We would kennel him for 2 hours a day at various times of the day. We worked through how to set the alarm so that it would ignore the dining room glass break detector - this is the one Gromit's screeching would set off so we set the alarm for the rest of the house. I am guessing that Gromit would say that neither of us sufferred as much as he did nor did we have half the work that he did in learning how to be calm and rest.Alas, Chewie was such a sweet boy and so affectionate - and we managed to crate train him at night but the day time was a whole different deal. Kristin would say we didn't need to crate train him - she worked at home. He had Gromit and once he was house trained what was the need? To be sure, I only argued to a certain point. For a bit we did use the crates when we left the house, but never when we were at home, like we practiced with Gromit....oh am I regretting this now....LOL! As soon as we could take those crates out of the bedroom we did - I think they lasted about 18 months in our attic bungalow bedroom - small house in South Minneapolis so hence we allotted our puppies a lot of our living space!
Chewie and Gromit pretty much adored each other and any dog that came to visit them. Here is a picture of them playing on the patio. Notice how Chewie has already been given the upper hand by Gromit - anything for a little fun. And one more picture of the two of them below for good measure. I share these only to point out how difficult it will be for them to be apart while in the same building - pathetic really - don't you think.
So alas, if I spent as much tim training my dogs as I do writing this blog we may get in better graces with everyone in Chewie and Gromit's classes. I have tried working with Chewie. We had one foundations class where everyone brought their dogs and crates and we practiced in the crates. We started by treating our dogs in their crates. Then we had someone else treat them and we were still in the room with the dogs. Then eventually we left the room and someone else treated them. Then they tried slowing down the treats. Chewie did fine until the treats quit coming - Annelise told me it proves that in fact it isn't me that is important it is the treats...alas, I had no idea - NOT. Mind you it took me two weeks to get Chewie back into the crate before this class and I used some high value treats. He would put a foot in the crate and then get the treat and scurry away. Then I would toss the treat in further and I got two feet in - but the next transition - getting the whole body in - that took an hour or so. I did it though. Then I fed him in his crate..Gromit was stunned by this whole situation - what was I doing with Chewie...It was after this then I eventually tried him in class.
We'll see how it goes this week - I am going to have to drag out those darn crates and start getting them to go into their crates - Gromit will be fine, but Chewie - I just don't want him to get banned to the car again ....Alas...
One final picture of our inside training in the basement last year - Chewie - not happy about this situation
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