This week, Nakina and I took another step forward as our training, trust, and growing partnership continue to come together.
🐾 So Much Love
I am amazed by how much I love this girl.
Training
I was able to get Nakina and me a working slot in a Canine Cognition Test coming up in early September. That should be a lot of fun, and I’m really looking forward to seeing how she does.
On Tuesday, we attended our Prep for Beginner Novice & Novice Competition class. Nakina was awesome. She held both the long sit and long down perfectly, and she handled greetings from several people flawlessly. We’re going to focus more on Stand/Stay, Leave It, and Look.
Our AKC Tricks Performer class and private training sessions were good. She wasn’t quite as focused as she has been recently, but not every day is going to be perfect. That’s part of training, too.
Our AKC Scent Work Imprinting & Beginners class was not held this week because there was a trial at the club.
We worked on a number of tasks this week to prepare for both the ATT Test and the Canine Cognition Test. We also continued desensitization with the calming cap and Gentle Leader. We got back to work on crate training with the travel crate and zipper, and we began working on dumbbell holds and chin rests.
Socialization
Nakina continued working on walking calmly and not jumping on her favorite people.
What's Next
- Emergency Stop & Hand Targeting — reintroduce and build consistency
- Down vs. settle — continue creating a clear distinction
- Stay — increase distance, duration, and distractions
- Recall — continue on leash in more distracting environments
- Travel Crate — zipping with no stress
- Grooming — begin grooming desensitization on the table
- Continue elevator desensitization
I love Nakina so much and I couldn’t be happier with the progress of our partnership.