Level 1 Acting Class Graduation

I GRADUATED from my Level 1 Acting Class today!

I really had so much fun in this class, from the never ending treats to the KILLER BEE! We didn't cover anything new today, but Georgina gave us an assignment. She wanted us to come up with a little routine covering 5 or 6 things that we could do for her to film it. Georgina said it is very important for us to be comfortable around cameras (LOL tell that to a blogging dog!) and all the different "TAKES" that might be necessary if we were to really work on a film.

So mum scrambled up a little routine for me, which consisted of "Look", "Wave", "Wave" with the other hand, go to "MARK", "Speak" on mark, "Tilt head" on mark, "Turn right", then back to "MARK", and we ended with a dramatic "BANG!!" where I fell promptly to the ground with a little groan, and performed a convincing dead-dog in front of the camera.

I made mum very proud because I performed my routine to perfection. Georgina recorded all that in "1" TAKE only!! The video will be available on www.Dogstars.ca shortly under my profile.

There will be a Level 2 Acting Class sometime in November, and mum is considering signing me up for it again. However, I told mum that we should work on some of the things covered in Level 1 before thinking about Level 2. I'm such a sensible girl!!

To see the commands covered in the Level 1 Acting Class, please visit previous class entries:

• DogStars Acting Class (#1)
• Acting class # 2
• Acting class # 3
• Acting class # 4

After class, mum took me for a short on-leash stroll around the block and we drove off in SunshadeMOBILE . I thought we were headed to the beach like we usually do, but mum just kept on driving and driving, in the wrong direction I might add. So I put 2 & 2 together, the bags in the car, my bowls, my water bottle, my supplements, plus the long driving = meant we were going somewhere. Mum finally stopped at the border and I realized we were going to Seattle, WA!! She said we were going to see some family friends over in Bellevue.

The customs inspector looked very sad, but he was very nice to us. He told mum and me that he had just lost his almost 12 year old doggie and he was missing her a lot. I was a little sad to see him looking so lost, so even though I am usually very *aloof* to strangers, I tried my best to cheer him up. I stuck my head way out the window to get his attention. He saw me and smiled! However, no matter how hard I tried to convince him that I didn't carry rabies and it was ok to pet me, he never did, even though he looked like he really wanted to. Then he said to me, "I wish I could hug you, but I'm not allowed.....".

We continued our drive towards Seattle, but of course, mum had to go to the "Seattle Premium Outlets" to meet up with friends (since SunshadeMOBILE isn't suited for people...). Well, they didn't just "meet up", they went shopping and left me to pout all by myself!!!

By the time we arrived in Bellevue, it was already dark. Mum and her friends took me for a walk in Bellevue Square Park, and I was ready for bed after the walk........

Sleepy face...couldn't even win the pillow fight.......

Why was I so tired? Well I was required to stay awake the entire time to make sure my sometimes not so smart mum didn't drive us to Alaska or the Yukon instead. You have to know, my mum's sense of direction is beyond horrible! She has gotten us lost in the forest for I don't know how many times, and if it weren't for me (told me to "go find your CAR"), she would still be in the forest today!!

Finally, I got to sleep peacefully.......

Acting class # 4

Today, I had my fourth, or second to last of my Level 1 Acting Class. It was a cooler day here in Vancouver, so I was able to concentrate more....especially when those mesmerizing bees were all hiding in their hives!!!

The four new commands we learned today were: "Give kisses", "Rear up", "Circle left/Circle right", and "Back up"

Give kisses - dog licks a designated spot

1. Begin with smearing the designated spot with yummy paste (ie, peanut butter, kong filling)
2. Point and show the spot to the dog, and say "Give kisses" (or anything you would like to like to use as your command)
3. As soon as the dog licks, click and reward
4. Work towards having the dog in a "Sit" position and then pointing to a spot and sending them over to "Give kisses"

This exercise is just no my style! Why? Well maybe because I don't give "kisses", not even to mum!! The way I show my affection is by giving lots of wet, slobbery "nibbles". I will use my teeth and gently nibble you, but you would have to be a very special person. So for them to want me to "give kisses" to a spot was just too ridiculous!

I licked up the kong filling that was smeared on mum's arm and that was the end of that. Mum gave up finally, and told me "Kiss Kiss", which is what mum usually says when I'm giving her love nibbles on the "cheek" and sometimes her "ear" if I happen to miss her cheek LOL. I happily gave mom a few wet nibbles and turned my attention to the pesky flies!!

Rear up - dog standing straight up on hind legs

1. Begin by getting your dog to put his feet up on your arms to support the weight
2. Hold a treat with your other hand and place the hand above the dog's nose to get the do into the stretched out/reaching to the sky position, give the command "Rear up", click and reward once the dog is in the position
3. Progress to holding the treat on top of the dog's nose and removing the support arm
4. Treat and reward for any amount of time the dog is able to hold in the standing position trying to reach for the treat
5. Once the dog is able to hold the "Rear up" position consistently, ask them to "Rear up" without giving any support
6. Reward once the dog stands up tall supporting his own weight

Mum had two concerns regarding this exercise with me. One being, she didn't want my elbows slamming down onto the concrete floor everytime I come down; and second, she didn't think I could hold up all that weight my super deep/broad chest carries (I'm a more "masculine" built Airedale....). However, I decided that I wasn't gonna sit out without giving it a try first, so I hinted to mum that I wanted to try by jumping up on her .....hehe! Mum got my point, and supported my front legs like instructed while I reached for my treat. But then I guess I was too heavy (it's my chest I swear) for my mum's weak arms that I just kept getting lower and lower LOL. Then it was time for mom to pull her support arm away and see if I would remain in that standing position. Guess what? Much to mum's surprise, I actually stood up trying to reach my treat for a good 2-3 seconds!!!! Not only had I done better than expected, I gave enough time for mum to grab onto my harness on the way down and set me down gently. I am thrilled and proud that I made the decision to at least give it a try. Mum says we might work on this once in a blue moon, but we will put our focus on other tricks............

SUCH AS,

Circle left/Circle right - dog circles left or right on one spot

1. Begin with the dog in a standing position, and pick one direction to work on initially
2. Hold a treat closely in front of the dog's nose, begin very slowly luring the dog in the direction you want the dog to circle
3. Once the dog has completed one rotation, click and reward with the treat
4. Slowly, distant the lure from the dog's nose and ask "Circle left/Circle right"
5. Begin leaving the lure out if the dog is performing consistently, click and treat once the dog has circled on rotation
6. Slowly distance yourself from the dog and ask him/her to perform

I am proud to say that I caught on to this trick very fast after I understood what mum was asking. In the beginning, mum held the treat close to my nose and started circling to the right. So I followed the treat with my head to the point where I couldn't reach it anymore, and that's usually the point when you move your body to keep following the treat. Well, I thought to myself, that's silly, why would I want to waste my energy moving my whole body when I can just turn my head the other way to get the treat.

Then mum took out her weapon - "Turkey Parme Biscotti", something that I could not get my nose un-glued to. She used that as my lure, and sure enough, I decided it the TPB was worth moving my big butt for!! After a few lures with the TPB, I got the idea and our instructor, Georgina asked mum to only use the lure to get me to start the circling action, then pull the treat back really fast and see if I would finish the circling myself. Well, I, Miss Sunshade didn't disappoint anybody! Finished the circling all by myself with the lure used only at the beginning.

This is a video mum took that kind of shows you what she meant by only use the lure in the beginning, and then rewarding at the end of the circling. It was kind of hard for my uncoordinated mom to juggle the camera, the clicker, and the treat.

I thought I was done, but NOOOOOOOO ..... Georgina wanted to challenge me!!! She said since I have perfected my go to "MARK" command, she wanted to try and see if I will first "sit and stay", then go to "MARK", then do a "turn right" (mum uses turn instead of circle), then go back to my "MARK" after the turn. Here are two videos that show you what I'm talking about:

This is me performing "MARK", noticed how I stepped onto the MARK (phone book) and stayed on the MARK as soon as mum gave me the command. I stayed on the MARK until mum gave me my release word, "ok".

Once you have gotten your MARK command, you can incorporate other commands into the MARK command, like a little routine. Georgina took a video of me doing "MARK-turn right-MARK" in class, but it was on her camera. So mum decided to re-create it at home on our camera!! See how mum lured me into turning right, but didn't actually hold the treat in front of the nose the whole way??

Georgina was very impressed at how fast I caught on to this whole thing, but I told her, hello? This is Miss Sunshade you are talking about!! Mum, however, told me I had to be modest......she said this was a good start, but we still had to work on leaving the lure out using just hand signal, and of course, distance work. GEE....why does she always have to spoil my moment??

In 20/20 hindsight.....I think I will just pretend I don't understand anything in the future, because look at what I had to do for being shooomart... The other doggies from our class didn't have to do anything but watch, while I was doing my little "MARK-Turn Right-MARK" routine!!

Back up - dog walking backwards

1. Begin by positioning the dog between a wall and an object (ie, a bench) so the dog can't move left or right, only front and back
2. Take "one" step towards the dog as you ask "Back up"
3. Click and treat as soon as the dog moves backwards
4. Progress to taking "two" steps towards the dog and ask "Back up", click and treat if the dog moves back
5. Then stand still and ask the dog to "Back up", click and reward behaviour
6. Progress to you standing still while asking the dog to "Back up" until you stop signaling

Sooo......I was squished between the wall and a chair!! I backed up alright...but I did it in my own kind of special way ...hehe. I sat down as soon as mum took a step towards me because that is usually my signal to "sit" after mum calls me to "come" (**so mum says "come", I go up to her, she takes one step towards me, I "sit", then she breaks me from that sit). When mum took that step towards me, I thought that was what she wanted. Then mum just kept walking towards me and I had no choice but to move back - in the sitting position. Everybody had a good laugh about it, and I had fun doing it. So I guess this is what it's all about - HAVING FUN!!

Previous class entries:

• DogStars Acting Class (#1)
• Acting class # 2
• Acting class # 3

Acting class # 3

My not so smart mum decided to take a short cut to my acting class this morning, but little did she know, the supposedly "short cut" turned out to be a loooong haul. We were stuck bumper to bumper in traffic for over 15 mins due to construction, and because of that, I was late for my class...... (my mum is no Airedale I tell ya LOL!)

Today was my 3rd acting class, and we were introduced to three new commands: "Lick", "Shake head", and "Wipe face".

Lick - dog licks on command

1. Begin with a treat in your hand and stimulate just above the lower lip
2. When the dog licks-click immediately and reward with the treat
3. May also smear something pasty or juicy around the nose/lip area to stimulate licking-click when behavior happens
4. Progress to requesting a lick without stimulus

My buddies were already half way through with this exercise when we arrived, so mum quickly grabbed some Kong filling (pasty stuff) and smeared it all over my nose. I, of course, licked everything off and mum went crazy clicking trying to keep up with my licking... This was the coolest exercise ever because I just had to lick the yummy stuff off my nose and that was it! After a while, our instructor, Georgina asked mum to stop smearing the filling onto my nose and see if I would lick when given the command..... Well, I gave mom that "you must be joking right?" kind of look and started ignoring her (hehe...Miss Sunshade's best trick!!).

Okay, let me explain myself, I have a command for cleaning up my food bowl at home. So when the licking is associated with a bowl, I will lick the bowl on command doesn't matter how many times I'm being asked to lick. However, this "Lick" exercise requires me to just basically stick my tongue out and lick the air when given the command, and I'm just not sure I'm up to it without the yummy paste. I mean, what's the point here?? If you want me to lick, you give me some of that yummy paste or FORGET IT!! Mum says we'll have to work on this, but I doubt she'll have any luck LOL.

Shake head - dog shakes head on command

1. Begin by blowing into the dog's ear - click and reward with the slightest signs of shaking
2. Maybe also tickle or drip little bit of water around the ear to stimulate shaking of the head
3. Give a hand cue and verbal cue to start with and then progress to combining this behavior with others - ie, sit and "Shake head"

Now this command wasn't too hard because mum has a command for me to "shake shake" when I'm wet, and I will shake my whole body on command (ie, after a bath). However, this only happens when I'm semi-wet or completely wet. So to get me started, mum decided to drip a couple drops of water in and around my ear, and told me "Shake head" as soon as she saw I was about to shake. I performed it successfully a few times in a roll so mum stopped to let my ear dry.

Wipe face - dog wipes face with paw

1. Begin with sticking a ( or 4... ) small piece of tape on the dog's muzzle ( or all over the face..... )
2. Click and reward when the paw goes over the muzzle to remove the tape
3. Progress to two times with the tape and once without using the tape

Ok, mum thought this one was funny, you know why? Well because I had "4" pieces of tape all over my face (one over my muzzle, one on my eyebrow, one in between my eyes, one on the side of my muzzle), and yet I was determined to NOT do anything about them!!! Usually if there is anything obscuring my vision, I would not hesitate to use my paw to paw it off. However, I could not believe they would actually put "tape" on our faces to get us to paw, so to make my point heard, I decided to endure my obscured vision, not to mention the humiliation that came with having more tapes added onto my face each time I failed to move my paw.

I stand for JUSTICE, and I don't believe those hoomans are justified to put tapes on our furry faces just to get us to do something pointless (in my opinion!!). OK, I'm done venting! Thank doG mum didn't press down on the tapes so they came off rather easily without hurting me.

Our class ended with a review of the "MARK" command (dog is directed to a designated mark), and this is where I shined because I hit my mark successfully everytime.

Here are two videos of me demonstrating the "MARK" command. The blue thing is my mark. (recorded on Aug. 23.2006)

Almost...........

Got it!!!

Details to teaching the "MARK"/other commands can be found at:

• DogStars Acting Class (#1)
• Acting class # 2

Acting class # 2

I had SO much fun in class today!! I "played dead" almost the entire time.......caught flies.........and KILLED a bee!!! You terrier buddies must be so proud of me right???

The class started out fine. Georgina, our instructor asked our moms to show her our "go to your MARK" command that we learned last week (you can read about class #1 here: DogStars Acting Class ). As soon as Georgina said those words, I sensed panic in mom even though she appeared all calm and smiley on the surface. Why panicking? Well because my L-A-Z-Y mom only practiced "MARK" (what we use) with me for a day since our last class, THAT'S WHY!!! However, I thought about the Maui Ribs that mom had sitting in the fridge, so I thought I would surprise mom with what I actually knew, and maybe I'd get some Maui ribs for din din.

So, after mom put the wooden block down on the ground, with her doubtful eyes, she told me "Sunshade MARK". Motivated by the Maui ribs, I readily walked two steps and put my one foot up onto the block with my third step. Mom screamed "good girl", then clicked, then treated me, or wait......maybe she clicked, then screamed, then treated me, or maybe...she treated screamed then click?? Anyway, one of these orders. Mom was hysterical and it was REALLY embarrassing to say the least. My mom needed to calm down. So the next time mom told me to "MARK" I decided I would purposely walk just past the block and stop there. It worked. My mom was very calm, a little too calm......she didn't scream, didn't click, and DIDN'T treat me! So again, I needed a change of plan.

Maui Ribs VS. being embarrassed by mom in public

I gave it a long thought and ultimately decided to go with the Maui Ribs. Oh well, what's another hour of public embarrassment when you've had to live with that for the last six and a half years right?

The next time mom said "Sunshade MARK", I again went right onto the block, but this time, I did it with two feet, which is the most correct way (one foot is okay). Mom again went crazy screaming and clicking and stuffing my mouth full of treats that I could barely swallow fast enough. We did a couple times more where I hit the mark with precision each time. Georgina came over to take a couple pictures of me hitting the "MARK", she thought I was a very smart girl too. When the exercise was finished, mom gave me a nice long ear rub where I let out a loud moaning noise (now that's embarrassing). She whispered to me, "Sunshade, you are my smartest girl!!" DUHH...mom...you are talking about an Airedale here. Apparently I was the only dog from my class to actually understand what "go to MARK" means since I went up onto the mark as soon as I heard the command "MARK" without mom having to do any luring or indicating of the block.

Then the FUN BEGAN when it was time to learn new tricks...................

These are the new tricks we learned today: "Crawl", "Head Down - and Lift", and "Shake a Paw".

Crawl - dog crawls on the ground and underneath objects

1. Begin with the dog in a down position
2. You may need to have your dog go underneath something as to give them the right idea to begin with
3. Move both hands as to mimic your dog's paws moving while saying "CRAWL"
4. When the dog first starts to move one or two paws towards you, this is the start of crawling (YEAH RIGHT...), click and reward
5. Progress to having the dog crawling a little futher each time as you kee your hands low to the ground
6. Once the dog is comfortable crawling on your command, progress to slowly standing up and requesting this behavior

So did I crawl? NOOOOOOO

Mom made the mistake of clicking and treating me when I was actually "pawing" at her hands from a down position (refer to # 4). Well, so I thought that's easy, I just have to paw and scratch the heck out of mom's hands and I get treats. I kept pawing and pawing at mom's hands, and mom kept treating me.....until that EVIL Georgina came over and told my mom not to fall for my trick. She told mom that I was just "pawing" and had no intention of moving my butt at all. Of course, mom stopped giving me treats when I pawed at her. I was wrecking my brain out trying to figure out what mom was trying to get me to do. Mom kept scratching the floor with her two hands in front of my face while saying "crawl". Had my mom gone mad??

Eventually, I decided to pull out my secret weapon trick that had never once failed me on my quests for treats - I played DEAD!! Well guess what, it FAILED!!! Mom did laugh, but she still didn't give me any food reward........ She just kept doing that weird thingy with her hands. So finally, I gave mom that "Ok, you go CRAWL" look, and went back to playing dead. I thought if mom was going to be so stingy that I might as well just be DEAD.

Dead I was, I was totally dead.....absolutely refused to get up. My eyes got smaller and smaller at the same time too.....

Head Down - and Lift - dog places head down flat on the ground or object and lifts up when asked

1. Place dog in a down position to start
2. Bring hand (with one finger pointing to the ground) close to dog's nose, then slowly lower hand to floor so dog follows hand
3. Ask for "HEAD DOWN", once the head is down on the ground, click and treat in that position
4. Ask the dog to "LIFT" his head with your hand moving up and your thumb aiming up
5. Click and treat once the head is off the ground
6. Repeat and slowly move your hand further away from the dog's nose
7. Then begin standing up and moving away and asking for "HEAD DOWN" and "LIFT"
8. Increase the amount of time the position is held

My head was down the whole time alright throughout this exercise! Except it was down flat on the side, which is my play DEAD position!!! Everytime mom got me into lying down in the upright position, I would slide back down onto my side and bang my head down to the ground and started "playing dead" or some of you might call it......."sleeping"??

I did wake up a little when some annoying flies were flying around in front of my eyes. They were so annoying so I started "air-snapping" with my jaws trying to catch them. Boy you should have heard the loud clamping sound I was making with my powerful jaws!!!

Shake a Paw - dog's paw makes contact with your hand

1. Begin with the dog in a sit position
2. Lure dog to one side as to off-set their balance a little
3. Try to work on one side at a time
4. As the dog leans to one side, gently lift the paw that is not bearing much weight, click and reward
5. Continue to lure the dog to one side and dog will start to offer their paw to get the reward
6. Progress to asking for the dog's paw without the lure to one side

Well, I get to "play dead" throughout this exercise since I have already MASTERED the shake a "paw" technique.

BUT THEN................

I heard this big BUZZING sound coming from the windows. It was a bee. That BUZZING sound brought back bad memories from before when a little, seemingly harmless, flying, black and yellow striped bug all of a sudden shot a needle right into my paw. I was just trying to "pet" it you know...... but the mean buggie still shot me!!!

SOO, when I saw this bee (what mom calls it) flying around in my classroom, I was determined to get my revenge!!! I ran as fast as I could up to the window, jumped, and grabbed the bee the first try. However, from my previous experiences, I have learned that you have to grab the bee with your front teeth only and quickly give it a shake and throw it down on the ground. After you have successfully knocked the wind out of the EVIL bee, you can than bite it, or pounce on it, or shake it with your teeth, or do all that, then watch it slowly go-to-h%ll!

That was exactly what I did to the bee who intruded our class!! OH, did I mention everybody (two and four legged) stopped to watch the Bee VS. Sunshade drama unfold? They were all cheering for me of course! Afterwards, Georgina came over and thanked me. She said "Thank you Sunshade for saving us all from...........a beeee..." LOL. I am so proud of me too!! (mom is giving me an extreme eye-roll as she watches me type this)

Overall, I think I did extremely well today, I mean I saved the world from a killer bee!!! Mom seems to have her opinions about how I "behaved" and "performed" in class today, but wutever... everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion.

Did I get my Maui Ribs?? Well I got my beef rib alright, and mom said they were from Maui........

DogStars Acting Class

I have been hinting mom for the last six and a half years that there are "star qualities" within me. For examples: being able to unlock car doors from the inside ("Un-locking" car door for mom), being gentle and protective to critters I was bred to kill even though I was not socialized with them at an young age, opening hamster cages and taking the hamster out of the cage without harming it in anyway (Introducing "Georgie" - My GIANT pet bunny ), being the only dog to do a convincing "sleeping position" at a photo shoot with no previous modeling experience(Modeling experience), etc.

Finally, mom got the point and signed me up for Level 1 Acting Class at DogStars Hollywood Animal Talent Agency.

www.DogStars.ca

Today was my first class and mom told me I made her proud (I mean, don't I always??)!!! Mom was a little concerned at first because I can get quite "sensitive" about dogs being in my space while I'm on leash. However, mom kept a close eye on me and I behaved very well. I even played with this cute Bichon named "Baby"!!!

The method of training at DogStars is 100% positive reinforcement (treat/toy reward, praise and LOV'IN) which means no harsh, corrective methods (reprimanding, jerking of choke collars, physical punishments) are used. Mom believes in the idea of positive reinforcement because it makes her the happiest when she knows I'm obeying her commands because I WANT TO please her, and not because I'M WORRIED what kind of punishment I'd get if I don't obey her commands. I wholeheartly agree with mom on this one since it means there will be lots of happy doggies, and happy mommies/daddies!!!

In the beginning of the class, we learned about clicker training. Our very nice instructor, Georgina, explained to us the clicker with the reward that comes afterwards lets me and my doggie friends know when we are doing the behaviour correctly. The clicker sound will also indicate to us when the behaviour is finished. So to get us to start responding to the clicker sound, our moms started to "click" with their one hand and following immediately with a treat from the other hand. Seriously, I think this was the easiest thing I've ever had to do. I mean, you just basically had to listen (or pretend you are listening like I did) and eat, listen and eat, listen and eat. Even if you still really couldn't understand what your crazy mom was doing to you, you still got to eat anyway. Ahhh.....I wish life were like this all the time!!!

Then the real work begun.............

We were introduced to four basic commands today: "on your mark", "nudge it", "Take it, hold it, and drop it", "look or watch". The following is from the handout provided by Georgina.

On your mark - the dog is directed to a designated mark

1. Position yourself on the opposite side of the mark and lure the dog with a treat to walk over the mark.
2. Once the dog steps on the mark, even with just one foot - click and reward.
3. Release with your release word and reward and praise.
4. Repeat the request "MARK" while encouraging the dog to step on the mark once again.
5. Say "go to MARK" - once they are on their mark - reward them with a treat while they are still present on the mark.
6. Release with the release word and reward and praise.
7. "OK" - praise and reward when behaviour is finished.
8. Try to get both feet on the mark - click and reward the dog while both feet are still on the mark.

I personally think I did ok on this exercise........ I am such a good girl that I have gotten into the habit of zigzagging my way through all the junk mom has scattered across her bedroom floor. So naturally when you put a wooden block in front of me, I would want to walk over or around it instead of stepping "on it". Doesn't that make sense?? I mean, wouldn't any dog owner be happy about not having any muddy pawtographs on their belonging?

I don't know what those weird humans were thinking ....geez.. However, I was so annoyed by mom constantly luring me with a treat but not giving it to me when I stepped "over" the block that I thought I would step on it for a change, and guess what? I GOT MY buffalo jerky!! Then I got the idea that when my paw is on top of the block, I hear a click which is usually followed by a treat (when mom is thinking clearly that is). So being the smart girl I am, I thought I could just "paw" at the block without actually stepping on it (since I really don't like stepping on weird stuff) and still get treats. Unfortunately, my EVIL mom stopped treating me when I pawed, and only treated me when I had my foot or feet on the block!!!!! I am still quite %#$& at her for this!!!!!

Nudge it - the dog is given the command to push the indicated object with it's nose

1. Show the dog the treat
2. Place the treat under a bowl
3. Indicate the bowl to the dog (ie, tapping it lightly)
4. As soon as the dog's nose makes contact with the bowl - click and reward - the open the bowl and let the dog have the treat underneath as well.
5. Repeat it until the dog is touching the bowl with it's nose on a regular basis
6. Then only click and reward when the dog has actually moved the bowl with it's nose

Now I did MUCH better with this exercise since mom plays similar games with me at home where she would hide my treats somewhere, a lot of times it's under something (like a pillow, etc) and I would have to basically use my nose to nudge things out of the way to get to my treat. So I did really well at the beginning, but then I got smart (so I thought), and started to "paw" at the bowl instead of using my nose......... Well, looking back, I think I should have just stuck with using my nose since I would have gotten more treats that way from my EVIL mom. SIGH.....it's not my fault that I like to use my hands or paws for everything. Hey, didn't they say dogs that like to use their hands/paws instead of their mouths are smarter???

Take it, Hold it, and Drop it - your dog takes an object in its mouth and holds it until told to drop it

1. Place an object in front of the dog's mouth and offer it to him while you say "TAKE IT".
2. Once the object is in the mouth - praise dog for taking it.
3. Then tell the dog to "DROP IT" the object right away - click and praise
4. After 5-10 tries, the dog begins to understand what take it/drop it mean, have the dog "HOLD IT" in its mouth for one second, and then say "DROP IT" for him to release the object.
5. Repeat until the dog is able to hold the object in his mouth for 5 seconds, and drop it on command - click and reward when he completes and performs the exercise correctly.

Well....um........... okay.... I really did not do very good on this exercise. Our instructor gave mom a roll of duck taped newspaper as the object I was supposed to take it and hold it. Much to my "highly developed" brain's (this is my "personal" opinion) dismay, I could careless about the roll of duck taped newspaper. I mean, what's the point of having newspaper if you are just gonna put duck tape over all the readable stuff?? So ass soon as the newspaper roll went into my mouth, it "rolled out" HAHAHA. Mom couldn't even say "drop it" fast enough - even more reason to laugh seeing mom's tongue get stuck while she was busy trying to click and treat with her hands. BUT hey, it is NOT my fault since it was my mom who forgot to bring my favorite AirDog Tennis toy which I never have any problem "holding", only "dropping" (even though I am trained to "drop it" and "leave it" on command LOL).

Eye Line - Look or Watch - Asking for the dog's attention

1. Get the dog's attention by holding a treat in your hand and putting it in front of the dog's face and say "LOOK" or "WATCH" - click and reward for focusing on your hand.
2. Keep your hand fairly close to dog's nose to start with especially in a new environment
3. Click and reward if the dog kept it's focus on your hand
4. Keep your hand in one position - try not to move your hand around at this point in training.
5. Click when the dog looks at your hand with the treat in it, reward after 2 seconds.
6. Progress to a 5 second "LOOK" or "WATCH", then slowly increase the time.

I did quite well at first when there were no distractions. However, when we put in distractions (ie, people walking by), I couldn't help it and looked away for a brief second. Georgina thinks that I just always have to be aware who is in my "personal bubble". Mom thinks that I was just checking if the other person had treats that did not require intense staring to obtain LOL. Of course, then I got smart again, and started "talking back" at mom about not giving me treats. When "talking" didn't work, I started to play dead, when that still didn't work, I started throwing random punches at mom (this is how I "paw" at mom...). Well punching definitely DID NOT work!

Overall, I give myself two paws up for being a relatively good girl and not totally embarrass mom. Mom says there is a lot of work that needs to be done before my "star qualities" can shine through, but patience, hard work, perseverance, and determination (this I do not lack), are all it takes.