# Halo bragg!



## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

Halo is doing very well in class, she has her last week of Puppy 2 next Monday, but I've noticed that what she's good at she's VERY good at (rock solid stay, incredible focus in a sit or down position, speedy recall, great mat work, nice wait), but what she's not good at she's REALLY not good at!







Her heeling leaves a lot to be desired, especially with focus - I tend to lose her in class to surfing the floor for dropped treats, and her polite greetings need work too. She's pretty good at the exercise where all the puppies are tethered to the wall and the people walk around the room, reward those pups that sit calmly when approached and walk away from the ones that don't, but this week we tried it while in motion - not so good! A lot of the people in class are couples, and everyone handling a puppy had to walk up to those without a puppy and stop, greet them, and shake their hand while the puppy sat calmly and didn't try and jump all over the person. Well, that's how it's SUPPOSED to work.
















So part of our homework this week was to practice getting our pups to sit calmly when people pass by while on a walk. I took Halo out for a nice hour long training walk tonight, and didn't encounter a lot of passersby, but it was a very busy street, so it was a highly distracting environment - great to work on training. Although her heel is not great, she's got a pretty nice loose leash walk and I did a lot of clicking and treating for attention. On the way back I stopped next to a gas station around the corner from us to let a car out. There was another car behind that one and a jogger down the street with another jogger about a half block behind him, so I stopped there for a few minutes, had her sit, and just waited for eye contact to mark and reward. She watched the joggers go by, but was very calm, and did not break her sit, even though they were just a couple of feet away. After the joggers there was another car about to exit, so we waited for it too, and as it was right in front of us the woman rolled down her window and said "I just wanted to tell you that's a beautiful dog, and you're doing a great job with it. I've been watching you, and I'm so impressed!"









A little affirmation is a good thing!


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

Go Halo! Smart puppy and an excellent handler!










She's going to teach her brother Keefer a thing or two...right after she lets go of his neck!









I love those random drive-by comments. Rafi gets them because of the ever present ball in mouth!


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

> Originally Posted By: BowWowMeowShe's going to teach her brother Keefer a thing or two...right after she lets go of his neck!


GAWD, I hope so! Unfortunately, I expect it will be the opposite - he'll teach her all his bad habits, LOL!


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## 3K9Mom (Jun 12, 2006)

Good Girl Halo! Why am I not surprised?


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## Kayla's Dad (Jul 2, 2007)

Great job Halo and Debbie!!

So with this session coming to an end, what's next for you two?


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

Samuel, I have no idea! I usually take the Agility Basics class at MHS after puppy classes but it's not on the schedule, so I don't know if they're not offering it anymore, or just not right now. 

Family Dog 1 would be a total review of what we've already learned, but I don't know that we could demonstrate the requisite skills to jump ahead to Family Dog 2, which they will allow if you make an appointment for an evaluation. I may ask our Nicole, our Sirius trainer, if she's got any recommendations for the next step for us. 

I should mention that although Halo has a really nice loose leash walk when it's just the two of us, she's beyond horrific when Keefer is there! Partners in crime, I tell you.


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## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

> Originally Posted By: 3K9MomWhy am I not surprised?


yeah really









good job ladies!


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## kelso (Jan 22, 2007)

Way to go CM and Halo!!


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## rokanhaus (Mar 20, 2006)

Awesome!!!


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## GSDBESTK9 (Mar 26, 2002)

Good girl Halo!


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## Deejays_Owner (Oct 5, 2005)

Good Girl Halo!!!!


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## 3K9Mom (Jun 12, 2006)

> Quote:
> Partners in crime, I tell you.


There seems to be a lot of this going around lately.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

I'm used to the beautiful/gorgeous/cute (yes, cute) comments about my dogs, and when we'd take them to the brewpub D & K often got comments about how well behaved they were, but this is the first time someone has gone out of their way to make a comment to me. It was really surprising for a complete stranger to stop her car, roll down the window, and lean across the seat to tell me what a great job I was doing training Halo. 

I didn't think I was doing anything particularly earthshaking (maybe she's never seen someone train a dog before?







) but it was still really nice to hear. I remembered later that I had also put her in a down, stepped away a couple of times and walked in a circle around her before stopping in heel position and putting her back in a sit to wait for the the joggers to go by. And we were on the sidewalk right next to the driveway of the gas station on a noisy 4 lane road with constant traffic, so the distraction level was very high for a young dog used to our quiet neighborhood. But it wasn't exactly advanced obedience. But I ain't complainin'!


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## 3K9Mom (Jun 12, 2006)

If someone risked stopping on a busy 4 lane road in the Bay Area to compliment Halo, she must've been pretty impressive.









I'm thinking I can just to drop my future puppy (if/when I have one) off at your house for training... how long do you think you'll need to keep him before he's perfectly trained?









It sounds like you'll just need a couple of weeks?


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

> Originally Posted By: 3K9MomIf someone risked stopping on a busy 4 lane road in the Bay Area to compliment Halo, she must've been pretty impressive.


Nah, she was pulling out of the gas station onto the road when she stopped apparently she was watching us while filling up. But Halo IS really cute!











> Originally Posted By: 3K9MomI'm thinking I can just to drop my future puppy (if/when I have one) off at your house for training... how long do you think you'll need to keep him before he's perfectly trained?


Ask Keefer.


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## 3K9Mom (Jun 12, 2006)

Keefer's perfect


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## Kayos and Havoc (Oct 17, 2002)

> Originally Posted By: 3K9Mom
> 
> Keefer's perfect


All Deb's dogs are perfect puppies!!!









I know when I walk 2 at a time no matter how well trained they are it seems to become a pull fest. They compete to see who can be in front.







I hvae to keep them right next to me or the walk becomes a drag!


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