Dutch Shepherd Forum

Cooper is scary smart and very mischievous. I understand that's pretty normal for this breed. The class we are taking starts tonight, novice obedience. They use only positive reinforcement and since Cooper is VERY food motivated, I think he will do well. I am going to let him and my Amstaff play for about an hour before we leave for class so he might be worn down enough to pay attention. No dinner though....he should be very willing to work for those teeny treats. I'll let you know how he does.

Hendrix and I start novice OB on the 30th… Let us know how it goes! And I will totally borrow any tricks you find that helps Cooper listen during class.

it went great. fortunately Cooper is VERY food motivated. He listened really well. When we were learning how to make the look at our face when told to, he was excellent at it. Sit, down, back to a sit....all really easy for him. walking on a loose leash is much harder....he wants to pull hard. We will go for a long walk this evening and see if I can make him understand. The class instructor said that when he pulls, just stop. When he walks back to my side, give him a treat and a positive word. I am impressed with the instructor. They use only positive reinforcement in the class, nothing negative ever.

Yay! What a smart boy Cooper is!

If his pulling gets too crazy, I found the Sen-sation freedom no pull harness worked well for my guy. Used that in conduction with teaching heel and after a few days he seemed to get the concept. We're back to it again after a little hiccup and it still works.

Keep us updated on Cooper's OB progress!