Liam Goes to School

We signed Liam up for 7 training sessions; the course is entitled Basic Canine Behavior Class; all the basics like "wait, leave it, stay, watch me." I am the designated parent to go to the sessions. By rights, Paul should be going, as he needs as much training as Liam. It seems we have been doing very little correctly. Over the 15 months that Liam has been with us, we have gradually eroded any boundary line between human and dog. Liam started in a proper crate. He quickly learned to do his business outside. He did not sit on the furniture, he did not sleep with us, he did not bark for play, he did not jump on people. He was a docile little puppy at 6 months He did always pull on his leash and jump for squirrels; one such leap leaving me with a Van Goghish shiner However, all that changed after a bad day at the groomers during which he was caged for too many hours awaiting his bath. Upon returning home, Liam refused to go back to his beloved crate. We tried, but the howling, crying and battering of the crate walls were heartbreaking. This sad event occurred the last week of June, 2008. That is when Liam started to gain the upper hand. He began sleeping near me in his bed, then joined me then sat on one chair, then on all. He began barking when he wanted to play and we cooperated.
Liam pulls on the leash during his walk and has the power to drag you down when he spies a squirrel. Paul took over the walks and only recently have I learned what goes on during the "Paul and Liam walk." Paul encourages Liam to lead. Liam is allowed to stop whenever and wherever he wants, He is permitted to poop on neighbor's lawns; and those lawns would be in the Oaks, the richest part of NHP. Liam leads the way out of the house and leads the way back into the house. Paul and Liam also have a bowl of popcorn together every Friday after we return from Crabtree's Then as the evening wears on they fall asleep together on the couch I have also been bad. I have allowed Liam to lick the last lap of foam from my lattes let him steal my PJ's and sleep on them have his blanket and his own pillow at my feet while we watch late night TV. As you can surmise we have a tough road ahead.

Week 1-March 26-April 2

Training has hit snags. The treat reward itself seems to distract Liam from the task. We complied with the suggestions of the instructor; got a choke collar, put away the prong collar, got a clothesline for in house obedience and stopped some bad habits such as tug of war, and letting Liam ram into us for fun. The idea of the clothesline (tether) is to pull it when there is unwanted indoor behavior. We were told to soak it in Listerine so that the dog would not chew it off. I did and Liam chewed it off, undeterred by Listerine- he seems to like its jarring odor and antiseptic flavor. An alternate suggestion was to immerse the rope in hot sauce and rub Cayenne pepper on it. Liam wore it for about an hour, while sitting on top of the couch where he is not allowed. Paul hated it as the house smelled like New Orleans BBQ ; and Liam loved it-a bouquet of Mardi Gras of smells. The tether training was a failure . Water guns came back out to stave off his forays at our food during dinner Liam was told that he had a chair and should stay put during the evening

Week 2-April 3- April 9
We have the "wait "command, the "here" command and the "leave it" and "watch" to practice with treats. Liam is already a sausage dog still trying to lose those 3 pounds gained from the surreptitious Ruth McNiff treats during the holidays. Paul insists "no treats" the dog must perform just for the praise; which he actually does most times. Liam is a true LEO; he will take anything he can get.
A problem though; when we say "wait" Liam sits and "gives paw" when we say "here " he rolls over. These are the tricks he has learned and he is not giving them up so easily. They got him treats up to now.

From the handout:
"Do Not Repeat Yourself. Saying sit, sit, sit, sit is merely teaching the dog to disobey you. If the dog is not deaf, he is not responding because he is either confused as to what is expected, distracted, or stubborn, not because he didn't hear you."

Sunday, April 5-I have finished My "watch me" command segment with success and have gone off to another room. I hear a non stop litany of "sit, sit, sit , sit, sit, sit, sit," then "good dog", from Paul to Liam. . Oh no, this is exactly what we are not supposed to do.

Monday, April 6, I did some of the commands with treats. I stopped doing latte licks, licks of coke (that would be coca cola) and sharing dollops of peanut butter. Moreover, we weighed the little sausage dog and all the treats have contributed to his permanent new weight of 33 pounds.

Tuesday, April 7 Liam is only half pulling on leash; a real breakthrough. But at home he attacks two hair squishes and strips them of all sequins and baubles-the "drop it command" is totally ignored. Poop should be very psychedelic and easy to spot in the yard. It is.

Wednesday, April 6, early. I get up at 3 AM. I have severe sleep issues. Restless leg, sleep apnea, night sweats-the whole sleep disorder package. I sneak out to the kitchen and open the fridge door. Liam appears. He knows I am sneaking a snack and he wants in. He also has me trained-if I do not share, he barks to wake Paul. I make a sandwich. Turkey on pumpernickel I do two halves; this way I trick myself into thinking I have two sandwiches- In addition, another bit of blarney thought I have incorporated into my brain is that middle of the night snacking does not count as overeating. . I make the 2 half sandwiches, luscious-turn to put the bread away and Liam leaps 5 feet into the air. swipes both halves with his paws and wolfs them down -yes, both at once. woofy good. Liam is licking his lips, do dogs have lips? Well, he is licking what would be lips if dogs have lips. When Paul gets ready for work, several hours later, I tattle on Liam to Paul, he says "he'll be 35 pounds now."

Thursday, April 9, Lesson three tonight. Paul and I both think Liam has learned some commands; and I think Paul has learned some also. Most important though, who is the pack leader in the McNiff/Nikol household? The three of us all seem to have our moments. Are we a family of equals?

From Basic Obedience Training Guide:
"Dogs are pack animals that live by a social hierarchy. It is imperative for obedience and stability that the dog sees the owners as authority figures. If there is no clear pack leader, the dog will assume the role in order to ensure the integrity of the pack."

We are the pack leaders, I am sure of it.

Liam's version:

My parents, Carol and Paul , have enrolled me in obedience class. Up to now my life has been going along perfectly. I have my own chair I sleep whenever and wherever I want I watch TV I steal clothes and I walk Daddy Paul when we are out; he does not walk me. I bark at my parents when I want them to play with me; they are very obedient. When I want to go out I ring my poochie bells, if Daddy or Mommy do not come right away, I bark until they do. On the weekends I let Daddy Paul sleep a bit later, but by 8:30, I climb on him, lick his face until he gets up and feeds me.
I own the yard I rule the birds and their bath I survey my estate And I can always go next door to Rosie and Shady if things over here get tough

I am the pack leader Woof, woof. Arooooooooooooooooooooooooo