Day 2: Getting to know your Dog

The volunteers are divided into two groups with 5 members each. The first task will be to get to know your dog by name recall. Your dog must recognize your voice and will immediately recognize his name once you called him.

"Ok then. You can get your dogs now"

Shoot. Dog run again. This time, i'll be in the dog run 2. This will be my first time entering the run. *heart panting*

Good thing there's someone else taking a dog in Dog Run 2. *sigh*

As we enter the run, the dogs were just barking nonstop. They keep on nibbling my pants trying to get my attention. This time I wore loose pants. I wouldn't want those nibbling straight to my legs *wink*

Ok. 'I'm looking for John' was what I've been thinking. But how can I get him out this dog run with all these other dogs standing along the way? Sigh.

It took me roughly 5 minutes to get the leash to John. 10 minutes to get his attention. And another 5 minutes to get him off the dog run. Our trainer basically had to carry him out just so we can avoid all those dogs blocking the exit.

John is a young dog. He is really that playful, enthusiastic and just eager dog. The challenge was how to get his attention to me. Good thing we were provided with food treats (chicken liver) and a clicker on the other hand.

It's a must for me to name a dog something that sounds sweet and inviting. John is no way near that. It's so monosyllabic. 'Here John. Come here John.' I was having a hard time calling out his name. 'Ok let's rename you. Johnny' :)

I'm getting the hang of it. We are somehow getting along. Wow, this is really hard. Getting your dog to trust you as his leader is no easy feat. I looked around and everyone seems to be having a hard time as well.

Well, not for Alfie. After 10 minutes or so, he's done. 'What??? That fast?'

Wendy was a disciplined and refined dog. The getting to know part just took a few minutes and they are already bonded. *Sigh*

John is not so eager with the liver treats. I guess he's full considering the dog food in the dog run.

Next week, i'll be bringing my own treats. 'Know what motivates your dog. Some may be motivated by food. Some, by strokes.' I did the strokes just to compensate for the liver treat. Next time, i'll be bringing some hotdogs and cheese for John & Wendy. The easiest way will be to know what food they like best. ;)

Loose leash walking. Name recall. Our lessons for the day. Next week, Alfie & I will take our dogs to bathe. This will be exciting :)

Day 1 - Choosing a dog

Choosing that one dog is no easy task especially if your surrounded by at least 15 others vying for your attention.

Entering the dog run scared the hell out of me. It was my first time entering a dog run with ultimately no knowledge on what these dogs attitudes are. As we enter the dog run, all the dogs rushed to us and really jumping out just to get your attention. They know we are the trainers. They just know. They bark nonstop. They walk in circles and even fight with other dogs just so to keep your undivided attention.

Dog Run 1 has alpha and omega dogs. These are dogs that rank #1, for the alpha dogs, and for the omega dogs, they are those 'i don't care' dogs.

It took me at least 10 minutes to get in the moment. My heart was beating so fast and I was so scared thinking any of these dogs can leap into me. *palm on face*

Alfie found his dog, Wendy. Wendy doesn't like to be stroked in the head. She can easily snap back and growl with that short period of stroking. I dislike her at first. I know we couldn't get along. But Alfie found something in her, more like a challenge, that made him decide to get her trained.

Most of the dogs in the Dog run 1 are old dogs. I think more of myself as a puppy kind of dog lover so I decided to take a look at dog run 2. In dog run 2, dogs here are the beta (ranked #2) & omega dogs. The dogs here are more ecstatic to see people. Too bad I didn't get a chance to go inside and bond with the dogs.

I was still searching for The Dog. Ms Gwen, our trainer, advise us to let the dog sniff our hands. More like a kind of introduction. If the dog likes you, he'll wag his tail enthusiastically and lick your hands.

That what John did. Although a lot of dogs has been sniffing my hand, he's the only one who licked my hand. From then I knew. I'll take John.