Brito – Training Day 5

by Denise Fenzi | Oct 27, 2013 | Brito | 4 comments

For those who are worried that Lyra may have disappeared...no worries.  She's doing very well and, if anything, has been rather brilliant this week. But...she's getting to be a "trained" dog, which means there is less and less that I can show of her training.  Mostly we're working on generalization - that's her weakness.  I plan to take a video camera on the road, and I'll try to document Lyra's training when that makes sense. So today I'm back to Brito.  Here you can see my attempts to make him comfortable very close to my body.  I'm teaching him the basics of heel position on both sides, plus to stay close in front after a recall.  I'm working to make sure he's comfortable on my body and under my body as well as close up against my sides with my hands and arms over the top of him. We're practicing a bit of tug and fetch. Mostly, we're making friends.  I want the few minutes a day that I spend training him to be the highlight of his life.  And since his life is good (he's already loose in the house most of time and best friends with Lyra) I'll have my work cut out for me.  Fortunately, he's highly interactive and he's enjoying his training time. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-LECJmdTQQ

4 Comments

  1. Ashley
    Ashley on October 27, 2013 at 4:37 pm

    If he shows the drive and personality for it, do you plan on taking him into protection sports? He seems like a cool little dog!

    Reply
  2. pauline hosenfeld
    pauline hosenfeld on October 27, 2013 at 4:42 pm

    Denise, your post was so helpful. I have never trained a small dog (mine have all been 22 inches plus at the withers) and I enjoyed seeing how you make the positions close to you very rewarding. Cabritos (like the name) seemed to come alive when the toy came out. Woo Hoo! how nice to have a dog that likes toy play. Good luck and keep the posts coming. I feel like he is one special dog to have landed in your care.

    Reply
  3. Patricia Bridges Koontz
    Patricia Bridges Koontz on October 29, 2013 at 11:30 am

    He’s a real cutie, no wonder he had to come home with you! In addition to my 2 Dobermans I have a vivacious adopted Border Collie/Papillion who just had to come home with me :-). I would love to train her in the semi-kneeling position you are using but can’t do that since I have a total knee replacement (not enough flexion in that knee). I use a short little plastic step stool and it is easy to spin around like you do but I can’t do the moving to the side as you demonstrate. I would love to be able to do that. Can you think of any ideas other than kneeling for me to be on the dog’s level and move to the side while reinforcing the pocket hand position? Thanks! Have gotten so much from your online classes, blog, and everything you so generously share.

    Reply

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