Yesterday, Venom attended his first ever conformation class!! I taught my 12:00 class and then Yvonne (my friend, assistant trainer, playgroup supervisor) came and taught the 12:30 class so Venom could have a try. During the 12:00 class I had Venom hang out in his crate while I taught so he could learn to be crated even when I am interacting/working with other dogs. He did great, with minimal whining. It is important to prepare our dogs for the things that they will be expected to do in their lives while they are puppies. Venom will be a show dog, a field dog, a demo dog and a nosework dog. He will need to learn to cope with being crated while I work. This is a great way to get him started. He also came out and was held by a few people who came to watch other dogs in the class. He was so good and I was really proud of him!
After the first class, Yvonne arrived to teach the second class. Venom had never been on leash before and I put a small, black Resco lead on him with a simple loop. He came with me and got clicked and treated often for walking (well, running crazily) with me! I didn't care how he moved, the only criteria was moving which he did wonderfully. It is important with puppies to train in baby steps, only asking for the smallest piece of the finished behavior so that they can get it right and get reinforced. If I asked Venom to move correctly, at the right speed and in the right position the first time, he couldn't possibly have been successful and would have gotten very frustrated with me and show training in general. So, I only ask for baby steps at first to ensure success for the dog and strong final behaviors. I (stupidly) did not videotape it, but will try to next time! His table and floor stacking was very good too.
He visited briefly with some of the dogs in class including Beckham, an English Cocker Spaniel and Teddy and Bouncer, both miniature longhair Dachshunds and he did great with everyone!
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