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Monday, October 22, 2007

Cheyenne's Shining Moment

I can't help but be a proud Lab mommy today.

Sunday we get up bright and early to meet our dog training club and get the Lab Brats some much needed training. I was a bit concerned when we woke up to find both Dakota and Cheyenne full of energy and obsessed with playing. Normally that is a bad sign for training, when Labs are concerned, because they are more easily distracted during the training lesson. However, we decided to combat the Lab energy with some good old fashioned run through the tall field grasses.

Labrador Retrievers seem to naturally gravitate towards the really tall grasses of the open fields and thank goodness our dog training is right on the other side of one of these fields. So, we left early and headed to the training course. As soon as we got near the field, we removed the leashes and had the girls sit and stay until we gave them the release. They were given the release command and off they went.

However, that is not what I am truly proud of. This day was to be our 2nd full day of training on a Sunday and our girls were a little behind because of the new commands and hand signals. Normally Cheyenne loves to just bark at her sister while learning the moves and although she did bark from time to time, she shocked the living daylights out of me.

Cheyenne was in standing in front of me while we listened to the trainer. Without a word, she walked slowly around the back of me, headed to my left side, and then sat down in a perfect heel position. I never gave a command or even looked at her. She knew, from training earlier that day, that when I am standing still, she is supposed to sit on my left and face the same direction I am facing. I was so amazed that I gave her tons of praise and then walked her over to the other end of the line to see her sister (and tell my husband what happened). Letting her interact with Dakota throughout training is a mega-praise for her and she deserved every second of it.

Good girl, Cheyenne! Mommy's proud of you!


Cheyenne in the snow
Cheyenne playing in the snow
(2006)

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2 Comments:

Blogger Kate said...

Hi Shannon,
Well - I think the comforter will work wonderfully. We gave it to Diesel last thursday. Granted, he hasn't been in his crate as much as usual since that day (I've been off sick for a few days, so he's been lounging around with me). BUT - he seems to be doing ok with it. The first day, he tore out a bit of stuffing, but now he seems fairly content to just fluff it all up, and lay around in it. I made sure that I kept it on our bed and we laid with it for a bit too, so it would smell like us. Of course - only time will tell - when I go home at lunch today it's perfect reasonable to expect fluff EVERYWHERE... lol - he makes me laugh so much!

P.S. - you inspire me to keep up on his training. He hasn't gone to any classes, but after reading that Cheyenne heeled all on her own (That is AMAZING by the way - congrats!!!), makes me think I should sign him up for a class!

Thanks again for the advice!

Kate

October 22, 2007 8:53 AM  
Blogger Shannon said...

I am so happy to hear that everything turned out well and that Diesel is enjoying his new bed. Tearing of the corners will happen in the beginning. Cheyenne's comforter has tattered ends from a bit of chewing but she never tore it apart. :)

Thanks for the congrats on the training. I am still in shock and noticed that Cheyenne has started to even listen better to me on a daily basis. Needless to say, I highly recommend training - just make sure you feel comfortable with their trainer and his/her techniques. A trainer should never put a dog in harm's way.

Best of luck and keep in touch!

October 23, 2007 7:17 AM  

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