It's, Monday....again! Puppy Pulling Power!

Monday, Monday....
Brings us to 168 hours without power and hot showers, a whole week!
11.05.2012

      ACTUALLY..... The power came back on around 2:00 today! Yeah!  Unfortunately there is a Nor'Easter scheduled to hit us on Wednesday with rain and more wind.  The power better stay on!
     This morning, at practice, several of us were bundled up in the training room with blankets and handwarmers.  Just in case some of this training was challenging enough, lol.  As many of you who know me, bring on any challenge, I will give it a go.  My pup and I were educated about "tug", "push" and "fix."  The tug command is great for opening doors and drawers of all sorts.  You can also apply it to to tugging off a sweatshirt or socks too.  Push is good for closing those doors and drawers of all sorts.  The fix command simply tells the dog to fix their leg if its caught up in the leash,
     I also learned how to turn with the "pull" command this morning too.  I love it!  You steer the dog by applying differ pressures on the pulling harness.  Think riding a horse or the way you lean when turning an ATV.  My CCI dog mastered turning within a short amount of time.  Have I mentioned that I absolutely LOVE the pulling command?  Lol.  My pup does too; he trots along with his tail up and chest puffed out.  :o)
     Our lecture today was above advanced learning theory.  We were educated on how to advance our command or how to teach our dogs to get a sweatshirt or a soda out of the fridge.  The whole concept is very logical but also fairly new to me.  I def learned a lot this morning.
     The field trip today was to Stop and Shop.  Lots of people, lots of distractions....  My partner and I did great!  We walked/rolled around the store practicing varying commands.  I also had the opportunity to use the "pull" command down a sidewalk and back to Jeep.  Teehee!
     When we returned, we had one on one conferences to evaluate how we're are doing with the training.  My partner and I were told we were doing great and that we have bonded as a pair very quickly.  :o) I have mentioned in earlier blogs, my pup and I looked into each others eyes and were able to read each other right from the start.  Soon, I should be able to share the name of my mystery dog as well as post a pic!
     I graduate on Friday, in just 4 days.  It feels like yesterday, that I was blogging the post about 3 days till training.  Even with the challenges that Hurricane Sandy have presented us, time is continuing to fly!