Who’s Training Who?

So, I can’t believe it’s been like 8 months since I last wrote a blog.  Where does the time even go?! So, hubby and I decided to buy ourselves a treadmill (I suppose Christmas present to ourselves).  I figure to get the most out of our investment – everyone can learn to use the treadmill. I think we’ve had it about 2 weeks total, and we’re enjoying it a lot so far.  Being the dog nerd that I am…I wanted to see if I could get Hendrix and Cooper on board.  This was such and interesting experience…because the approach each  took was so very very different.  The video I’m going to share is maybe the 3rd time I’ve exposed each to the treadmill.  The two previous times were pretty short limited sessions.  So, the video today is only slightly progressed from their starting point. As you will see, for Hendrix – that pretty much meant she’s already able to hop on and off at will without any issues.  She’s able to start moving a bit faster and attempt some advanced moves too.  For Cooper, it’s a whole different story.  This is the third time he’s been asked to interact with the treadmill…but you see he starts out today still wary to get on even when it’s not moving. I think this is a really good exercise demonstrating how much videoing your training sessions can benefit you…it’s also a great reminder that no two dogs are the same…and successful training lies in being patient and getting creative with problem solving (you’ll see me try a few approaches with Cooper before I find the right idea for him). I’ll let the video say the rest – but I closed out these short sessions with my two dogs this morning and really felt like *I* had been trained 😀 (pardon the bed head and pajamas lol)