We worked hard to day on distinctions. Zoltie gets so excited to see people that he sometimes jumps up on them. We are still focusing a lot on teaching him the alternate behavior of sitting for greetings so lots and lots of praise and pets when he offers that behavior. If he forgets and jumps, just a quick turn away from him while I'm saying "ah!" I want to make sure he knows I don't care for that behavior but the sitting, I love the sitting.
Continuing with the "say please" exercises help a lot too. Want outside? Sit please. Want your food? Sit please. Want the water bowl filled? Sit please. Want your leash on? Sit please. Want attention from me? Sit please. With lots of reinforcement he'll soon learn that sitting is a great way to get what he wants.
Another distinction we are working on is the distinction of the threshold. I like to have a physical cue for the dog to know which line to stay behind when I am first teaching "wait." In this case, I can use the bottom of the dog gate so he has a clear idea of the boundaries. I teach him by using my body to block him from going through the threshold and rewarding him when he remains on the other side. He can sit, lay down, or walk around, he just can't cross the threshold. It's a little bit different from a "stay" where he should stay in his position (sit or down).
It's a good thing Zoltie doesn't mind sharing. As I'm typing this, I look at the dog bed behind my desk and he's laying on top of Rosario. Silly boy...certainly no distinction of personal space. Rosario seems quite content having a Zoltie blanket on her and Rhett was perfecting comfortable sharing the water bowl with him. Good boys!
We have definitely worn Zoltie out this weekend! So much to do here...
Looks like he's ready to go home and rest up from his mini-vacation.
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