# Penny's going to boot camp...



## CrazyCash (Jul 12, 2012)

I just got back from meeting with the trainer and I've signed Penny up to start training boot camp on Monday. She'll be staying there for 10 days and then we will do private sessions after that. This isn't just to address the barking at men / guarding issues that have recently come up - it is also for her general training as well. They will get the walking on leash under control, work on general manners and begin off leash work. I'm excited to give her a kick start, but I'm also going to miss that little girl. Cash will be beside himself without her, but Cash and I will be able to spend lots of time together, so it should work out.


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

Good luck, Penny!! "Boot camp" -- LOL!! ;D ;D ;D

I remember when my nephew joined the army a few years ago. He called his Mom (my sister) from boot camp and said to her, "I think I've made a terrible mistake!" HA-HA-Ha-Ha-ha!! He was in the 82nd Airborne and had to jump out of a lot of airplanes, but he came out of the experience just fine. Hope Penny has a good experience, too!


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## CrazyCash (Jul 12, 2012)

Penny will probably call me a couple days into it and tell me that I've made a terrible mistake sending her there


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

LOL!! ;D


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## CrazyCash (Jul 12, 2012)

I dropped little Penny off at the trainer this morning, she was excited to go (I don't think that she knew what she was getting into). Cash had a rough day, when I got home from work I talked to my neighbor and Cash has been crying today when I was gone. Now he's a Velcro V times a million! I can't shake him, he's stuck to me like glue.  he's sitting on me and barking - he just can't decide what he wants, to cuddle or to play. We're off for a walk to burn off some energy. The next 10 days are going to be a little challenging!


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## CrazyCash (Jul 12, 2012)

I talked to the trainer tonight to see how things are going with Penny. Sounds like things are going well and he commented on what a sweet loving girl she is. . He said that she is picking up everything quickly, even though they haven't done much more than basic stuff (most of it she probably already knew), but they are building trust with her the first couple of days and now they will start more advanced training. He did say that she has a little fear if you reach over her or reach towards her quickly. I'm not surprised by that since she was a stray before I got her and quick movements make her a little nervous - I figured that out when I was playing with her and I reached in to grab a rope and she flinched and dropped it. She's much better about it and hopefully with time it will keep getting better. 

Cash is more stuck to me than ever, but we are having fun. I had a great walk with him this morning, no pulling at all - he's getting his own one on one training here at home while Penny is away!

I miss this cute little face, but I know this is going to be worth it!!


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## CrazyCash (Jul 12, 2012)

Somebody is missing Penny...


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## einspänner (Sep 8, 2012)

Poor Cash!  You should invite those nieces of yours over to cheer him up.


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## CrazyCash (Jul 12, 2012)

Is it Thursday yet?? I'm getting antsy to go and get my girl!! ;D

I think poor Cash has given up on her ever coming back - he's going to be soooo excited when he sees her.


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## CrazyCash (Jul 12, 2012)

My Penny girl is home!! Cash couldn't be happier. I'm happy with her progress, I'd say that I see about an 80% improvement in her. She's now the proud owner of a pinch collar and an e-collar. The pinch collar is great, makes such a different. I'm still getting used to the e-collar, I have to admit that it seems to make her a little sad, she's not her regular bouncy self when she's wearing it, but it definitely gets her attention. The trainer says to leave it on all day, even when I'm not home so that she doesn't get collar wise and to just take it off at bed time. Those of you that use e-collars, is that what you did at the beginning?

It's now time for me to put in lots of training time with Penny. I could see just today when I picked her up that she definitely challenges me more than she did with the trainer. They said that she does have a fear of men, especially if they make fast movements towards her. It seemed to get much worse when I was around - there were men working on a building nearby and she looked at them when she was with the trainer, but when she was with me she barked at them. The trainer feels that I need to show her that I'm the alpha, so she doesn't feel fearful or feel like she needs to protect me. Hmm - seems like that's exactly what Ken said when I first posted about this issue.  I feel like now I have the tools to work on this, so now I just need to put in the time. 

All in all, I'm happy with where she's at, she's by no means a perfect dog - but with 10 days of training that wasn't going to happen. This just gave her a good foundation to get started and now it's up to Penny and I to keep the momentum going. We have a follow-up meeting next week to see how things are going now that she's home and to tweak anything that needs to be tweaked.


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## SteelCityDozer (Aug 25, 2011)

Sounds wonderful for you. Glad her training program is working out. About the ecollar, it is important to try and avoid collar-wise, but its probably inevitable. You can attempt what the trainer suggested but I would advise to also remove it if you are going to be home. I would never keep any collar on my dogs when home alone bec if they decide to wrestle around you don't want one getting hung up on the other's collar and i can attest that it does happen. That's all. Safety first!


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## TAIsMom (Mar 7, 2013)

I'm so glad Penny is home!! The family is back together!! I'm sure Cash is beside himself.  

Keep us posted on her progress. I'm really interested in hearing about how the follow up meeting goes. Good Luck!


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## CrazyCash (Jul 12, 2012)

Penny has been home a couple of days now and I'm encouraged with her progress. We still need to work on the door, she will sit for a second but then she still tries to bolt out the door, but I am seeing a noticeable difference in how she is listening to me. My Dad came over today and her greeting to him was calmer than usual which is great. At one point today she saw my Dad through the window and he had a hat on and she started barking, so we still need to work on that too - she's clearly afraid of the hat.

On the good side, a little bit ago I took off her e-collar for the night and then I told her to go to her place (which is a new skill for her) and she's still there!  She doesn't seem sad any more when she has the e-collar on and I've tried to make our training sessions fun - a little work then a little play. We'll keep plugging along and hopefully I'll keep seeing improvements.


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## CrazyCash (Jul 12, 2012)

I see a noticeable difference in Penny today! Since she's been home, she's been testing me a bit and I've really had to make sure that I'm following through and being consistent. Tonight my Dad came over to drop his dog off at my house for a few days and Penny was noticeably calmer. We went for a walk tonight and she is soooo much better, we passed two dogs with hardly any pulling. We also saw my neighbor outside, who she barked at when she saw him the other day and today we walked up to him, I told her it was ok and she went up to him all wiggly and gave him some licks. I think the biggest thing that we still need to work on is the door. She will wait at the front door when we go out, but the back door she still bolts out and runs directly to the fence to see if the yappy dogs next door are out.

We're still working away over here, but I'm feeling good today - I think that something is starting to click. ;D


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## TAIsMom (Mar 7, 2013)

Good for you both!! I know how hard it is trying to stay consistent, especially with a visiting dog in the mix.

Keep up the good work!! ;D


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## CrazyCash (Jul 12, 2012)

We had our first follow up lesson today and Penny did great. For the most part she's starting to pick everything up. She got a little confused when I was standing next to the trainer and told her to "come" - she wasn't sure if she should come to me or to the trainer.  I got some pointers on keeping her from bolting out the back door when the neighbor dogs are barking, but the trainer was pleased with her progress. His one suggestion for me was that he doesn't think that I turn the e-collar up enough when she's not doing what she's told. I have to admit that I do tend to keep the level very low and that does make me repeat myself more than I should. 

Our big test at the end of the session was to walk past two big pit bulls and see how she reacted. She passed with flying colors - walked right past them, with just a little glance over and no pulling. I'm feeling really good about her progress!

I was a little unsure about the pinch collar and the e-collar at first, but I have to say that now that I've been using them for a week, I'm really starting to like them. The pinch collar has made a huge difference in their walks (I also got one for Cash), so now instead of them choking themselves as we walk down the street, it's much more calm and almost no pulling. Now that I'm comfortable with the e-collar, I feel confident that I know how to use it correctly and effectively. Nipping her bad habits right when they start and stopping them makes such a difference over trying to stop her after she's already in the middle of it. 

Love my Penny girl and I'm so excited that she's coming along so well!!


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

congrats... Never thought it was possible to read this on HVF.. Congrats again.


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