Training Sadie

Training Sadie

As anyone with a dog can probably tell you, there’s more to training than “sit” and “come.” Even knowing that going into it, we were still not entirely prepared. Training a dog is hard work and more than almost anything else requires consistency. Let me tell you, there’s nothing like attempting something that requires consistency to show just how inconsistent you really are. It’s hard to find time to work with her everyday, and it’s hard not to get frustrated when she misbehaves. I hear that’s hard occasionally with kids too, so maybe this is good practice 😉

Well, here’s an update on how Sadie’s been doing recently and what we’re working on this week. I’m hoping if I share periodically with you it will help me find some of that elusive consistency. Sadie loves her crate. She goes in happily in the mornings before I even tell her to and she spends a lot of her “free” time in there when she doesn’t have to. Even at bedtime she just hops in there and waits patiently for her treat whenever I said “crate.” It’s been such a blessing!!

She’s gotten really good at “sit,” but she’s started to do it only when she feels like it. Needless to say, that is not what we want. With all of these commands, we want her to do them consistently, no matter where we are, even if she’s distracted. That’s not easy, and you know what it requires? Yep, you guessed it. A lot of consistency. So this week I’m also going to start not repeating my commands if she doesn’t do them the first time. I don’t want her to learn that I have to say “sit” 5 times for her to do it.

She’s also gotten lazy about the “come” command. She knows what we mean now, but when we’re outside and she’s smelling something interesting, she’s probably not going to come when we call. We’re going to practice inside for the next few weeks until she’s really got it and then work on it outside again.

Training aside, she really is doing well. Crate training helped her separation anxiety SO much. She’s happier and not stressed, and we’re happier and not stressed. She still doesn’t like it when I leave and Stephen stays at home, though. She loves Stephen, but she’s a mama’s girl. Stephen tells me she whines a lot and stares out the window until I come back. Silly Sadie.

We found out last week that she doesn’t love thunder storms, but she did go to bed before it was over without much fuss. She will NEVER say no to a tummy scratch, and has gotten very good at asking for them. How can I resist those hound dog eyes? My favorite thing right now is when she’s dreaming. She’ll growl or bark softly while her feet move a little. It’s adorable!

That’s our girl! Always has her nose to the ground =)

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