Simetra's first Obedience lesson.

[Mirg]

I cant believe someone would try to train such a smart dog by smacking her!

I just got done with Simetra's first real lesson in Obedience. She is so smart!

Just in today, i taught her Sit, Down, and Contact (eye contact). Im sure she isnt reliable with those yet, but she knows what they are and will do them if you ask, now. Even Sophie didnt learn that fast.

I think i definantly am training her right. I cut up a hot dog and didnt use any corrections on her, i would just lure her into a Down/Sit and then give her a piece of hot dog.

I dont know how her previous owner was training her, but she seems scared to sit up. When she goes from the Down position to the Sit position, she ducks her head and flinches. I dont see why anyone would hit their dog for sitting up.

Other than that, the only thing wrong with her is that she wasnt socialized very good. When someone walks by, she will just explode with barking. Once she accually tried to charge at them and instead ran into the fence. Judging by her body language, i dont think its aggression, shes just trying to protect her property. Hopefully its because she likes it here so much more than her last home.

She is a great dog. She gives to pressure really good, like if i slightly pull on the leash, she will go with it. She eats all her food and takes her vitamins without a fuss. She sleeps all night, unlike A.j., but A.j. is my alarm clock. She hasnt shown aggression towards any other animals, she is kind of rough with the cats, but she will learn eventually.

Simetra is accually a really tough dog, despite how sweet she is. She is dominant over A.j. I realized that a few days ago, when they are playing, A.j. is always the one on bottom, pinned down, and Simetra always shoves through the door before him. Maybe this could be a good thing, maybe she could teach A.j. to "turn off" in the house if she is the leader.

I think thats all i have to say for now. If it is sunny tomarrow like it was today, i will put a harness on her and see if she would make a good team with A.j. If she is, ill have to save up money and get her a custom fit harness. For now, im just planning on tying her to A.j. and A.j. will be the only one pulling, since i only have 1 sled harness and the other 2 are a walking harness and a no-pull harness. Maybe i will get pictures of them hooked up together with the sled.

[Doglover1988]

I'm glad to hear she is learning fast! I had a similar situation with Lucy. The family that had her before spanked her all the time. So much so that I still don't have a reliable recall and it took her 2 months to enjoy being petted. She is a great dog now. I can't believe this family thought that if she peed in the floor the right thing to do is chase her down rub her nose in it smack her and throw her outside keep in mind that she was a 14 week old puppy.

[Mirg]

Thats kind of what Simetra went though. I tried to correct my friend when she did it while i was there, but her mom did it, too, and i dont like to correct people that are older than me. Simetra wasnt fully housetrained until about 8-9 months old, and after that point, if she had an accident, they would practically beat her head in with a newspaper. Obviously it didnt work. I housetrained A.j. by just praising him a whole bunch when he relieved himself outside, and when he did it inside, i would say no and take him outside, then praise him when he relieved himself out there. I didnt crate train him until about 4 months old because he liked to sleep on my bed with me.

I hate when people treat dogs as just "things". I even correct my family if they accidentally call one of the dogs an "it".

Id better stop typing so much and go feed Kittiwi, shes scavenging my room eating every little piece of popcorn or dogfood she finds.

[Doglover1988]

This whole family did it as well. They also kicked her if she did something bad like chew up a shoe or what not. I also can't believe people treat dogs this way..This girl actually had the nerve to ask me to breed Lucy. omg

[Mirg]

Ugh, sick people. It seriously makes me feel like im going to barf when i think of someone's big food colliding with some poor dog's body.

[Rivsky]

Those poor puppers - at least both Lucy and Simetra are in homes where they're getting all the love and attention they deserve - and I'm sure they are forever grateful to you both for that!

[Swiftwind]

Oh gosh.. Well after hearing a bit about Simetra's history, it's great to hear just how well she's taken to your obediance training! Poor girl to have to go through that (same with Lucy). I will NEVER understand how people can treat their pets in such an abusive way.

Just think how much Simetra's quality of life has improved since she's been living with you. It's a wonderful thought!

[Mirg]

Simetra definantly acts like shes happy to be out of there! While A.j. is always running around when i go outside, Simetra likes to sit or stand near me until i tell her to go play. She loves to be in my lap, too (what dog doesnt like to be in a lap, though). Its kind of funny to see her face, after she flinches when she sits up, when she looks up and sees me not threatening her, her face just brightens up and she perks up her ears. My freind was always wondering why she never perked her ears, now i know why, she was scared. Im very happy i got her out of there!

[Mirg]

Yeah, the Boone x Andi litter (A.j., Simetra, and their siblings) were a great litter, all (from what i know) very eager to please. It amazes me that Simetra would still be eager to please humans after all that.

[trainingrixie]

I'm so glad that she's doing so well. You are doing such a great job with her and I can't believe how much progress she is making in such a short time! Keep up the good and dedicated work!!

[Mirg]

Thanx! I cant believe it either! Im hoping we will keep her, my dad was talking about selling her last night but then Simetra came trotting out of my room with A.j. and dad stopped talking about selling her and started talking about how nice of a dog she is. Dad is a big fan of Sporting/Hunting breeds and especially a big fan of dogs, he loves them all, so im hoping Simetra will make him love her.

Thank you! I will! Its really nice to go from training a hyper dog to a gentle dog. Having 2 dogs that their attitudes are so different, it really makes me appreciate them both a lot more!