Well its only been a few days since we have started Lola’s new training regime and I thought it was time for an update. There are two main things we are working on Learn to Earn and Tether Training.
Learn to Earn forces Lola to earn her meals. Instead of just feeding her twice a day we measure out her food and then reward her good behavior (mind us when we ask her to “down” or “sit”). This she has quickly learned and will fall to the floor at the drop of a hat. We also make her earn her pets – so before we can give her praise or snuggles she has to do something for us. I woke up this morning to find her laying next to my bed waiting for a snuggle – such a good girl!
Tether training has been a different story. The idea here is that Lola needs to learn impulse control and how to quickly calm herself. Periodically through the day we are supposed to tether her on a 4′ cable to give her a chance to rest. If she does something bad (like jump at the cats, or snap her alien jaws at her parents) we are supposed to say “Oops” in a happy voice and put her on the tether. Once on the tether we are to ignore her until she is quiet and lays down. When this happens we say “Good girl” and release her off her tether.
I stitched together a few clips of her on the tether…
We have been advised to stay away from the dog park and Day care for a couple of weeks to make sure we are watching all of her bahavior. Yes its hard to be a dog, and even harder to be tough parent.
On another note, Cricket and Crenshaw had a vet checkup today – I was happy when the vet said that Crenshaw is a BIG cat and slightly overweight – I expected to throw a few blows if she said Obese. My supportive partner Mark was quick to point out that I overfeed Crenshaw. I overfeed him because it makes him like me better!
Cricket: 12.2 lbs
Lola: 18.1 lbs
The big man: 17.7 lbs – he is part bob cat you know. Its probably illegal for us to have a wild cat!