Today was great. We took Slugger on some difficult tracks through the woods and tall grass. He even went on one where Cole and I back tracked, which is difficult to follow. He did awesome. Brian was totally confused as to why he was going a different way, when he could see Cole and I in the trees, but he went with it and was glad when I told him after they found us that Slugger followed our trail exactly. The trainers said that he will be able to distinguish more between fresh and old scent as he matures. Regardless, he followed the track perfectly and found us! Plus, I did a better job handling him when it was my turn and did not have any injury to add to my growing list. Including the broken nose...which Cole, not Slugger, inflicted. It might not be totally broken, but there is a big red bump and it is super tender. That pirate sword can inflict some damage!
We worked on some more tricks in class and also off leash commands. We did a little tethering and Cole showed Slugger how he goes out at the knees and then tries to get away. Slugger stayed put-awesome.
We also worked more on just hand signals, or just voice commands. Slugger did well. He needs a lot of encouragement for roll over, but he performs just like a circus act when it comes to shake, high-five, bang and give five! I think that we are going to try and turn bang into the force, so Cole doesn't run around pretending to shoot people all of the time.Slugger also was very obedient with staying on his place during class. I was trying to listen and watch Cole (who kept on trying to leave the building) while Brian was once again trying to have someone resurrect my phone. Yep, it's dead.
Here is Cole trying to show Slugger the picture he was coloring, cute! Slugger was an angel as I ran back and forth trying to handle Cole. I would really recommend to anyone coming to training to bring a third person that does not need to learn how to handle the dog. Even with our make-up sessions with each other in the evening, we are still missing things. Bug was great though, he stayed put and only got off of his place once while I was running around. I was a proud mama.
We went to the mall to practice after class. Slugger is getting more used to tethering and did great.
We shortened the strap and had less tangled mess than last time.
It was so great to know that he wasn't going any farther than the tether strap. It was nice to not have to keep my eyes totally peeled for places that Cole could hide.
It didn't stop him from taking stuff off of displays, but hey-Slugger is only so incredible!
We also did two short tracks just by ourselves without the trainers. Slugger really shined! He was amazing. The first time, I forgot to take off his gentle leader. I wondered why he didn't just bolt and get into it in the beginning, but after I talked him up a little more he took off and found Brian and Cole. It was like he was looking at me to say, Uh...mom, take this thing off! I don't play the game with this thing on! Still, he tracked and found his boy in a really short period of time. It gave me more confidence. The second time, I took it off like a good mom and he found the boys even faster. Once again, proud mama. I was handling him a lot better and wasn't being dragged to and fro. We let Cole play at the play area for a half hour. This was one of the first times that I relaxed a little in that kind of an environment. I knew that if Cole left the area, Slugger could find him. If he had a seizure, Slugger could help me to comfort him. It was a great feeling. Cole kept going up to people and saying, "I'm Cole!" like usual, but then he added, "That's Slugger!" and pointed over to his buddy.
After the mall, I took Slugger to Disneyland for pets to really test him. In Petsmart, he was incredible. There were un-trained, yippy dogs everywhere that were totally getting in his face. He stayed by me and didn't break command once. Except for when I put him in a down at the cash register and the lady behind me kept telling him how beautiful he was. The nickname Big Head has lots of meanings :) I was proud of him though. He is my second child. Watch out-I am going to start sending people pictures in the mail and expecting to see him on the refrigerator at my relatives, lol!
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