It went really well! He actually said that I probably don't need their services in terms of regular lessons, he showed me some tips etc and said that if I did need more help, I could get in touch (they service more the Niagara Falls area, so not that close).

I have Teagan in the nylon agitation collar and on a 6 ft leash in the house (I got the collar in case I needed a handle to pull her away from anything) and he asked me where I got it and I said Leerburg. He's a huge Leerburg/Ed fan, he actually has a couple of Leerburg dogs! I thought that was great

I definitely have some stuff to work on - some people are so good at handling dogs and asserting leadership. But he showed me some good exercises, getting her to focus and placing me in the leadership role (like using a treat, dropping it on the floor, but she can't have it b/c it's not her treat, but my (or his, he was showing me) treat - at the end of the exercise she was allowed to have it, but only after she behaved in a manner that made it clear she respected it was not her treat).

He also showed me how to work on her being better with the small animals. We practiced w/my dominant, assertive rabbit, Teagan went for him a couple of times. She surprised Luke (the trainer) the second time, as he said, she had no body language warnings (oh do I know that). Nikolai (the rabbit) has a bit less fur but being Nikolai was not the slightest bit phased. And he also noted, unlike some dogs in prey drive that want to dominate, and not necessarily kill, Teagan went for the kill immediately - that's all she's focused on. Yup!

And that she'll always have the dominance, it's me learning to control it and her learning that I'm the pack leader, but I need to be aware she'll always be looking for an in, so to speak.

He said he thought she would be good as a working dog, b/c she does have the drive to work, but not a SchH-type dog - didn't think she'd excel there - but as a service dog or something similar. Which is interesting - I have to figure out something to do w/her, as I've said, Luc has the running w/me (Luke the human didn't see as much working drive in him, which I agree with), but I need to figure out what to do with Teagan. Time should help w/what direction we want to go.

oh, also, b/c i realized it sounds bad....when there aren't two people supervising, we're starting teagan w/small animals in a carrier/crate rather than out.

Jennifer,
while I'm certainly not an expert in this field. Why exactly does your helper feel that with such a high pray drive Teagan would not be good for SchH. work? As I understand it, pray is the primary drive to work from. Doesn't matter what else is lacking, pray is paramount. And defence is a bonus.

Always trying to learn.
Randy

we didn't discuss in detail. he did say she would be able to do it, i think it was more she wouldn't excel. there is part of me that has a hard time seeing her doing bitework, but i'm not sure how much that is me seeing her as a sweet dog (albeit one that keeps trying to kill things....so i'm not sure 'sweet' is quite the right descriptor).

i may take her out the SchH club again, once or twice, to see how she does, but i'll keep on working w/her at home and probably do that in the new year (i can't take her out next weekend anyway, and then it's all the holiday stuff).

but he did definitely feel she was a dog who would do well with a job/work.

the one thing i see making her bad at SchH is....to be honest - she's kinda lazy. maybe it's b/c she's still has a bit of weight to lose, so the runs are more tiring for her or something. mind you, when i get her to go, she goes, so perhaps that's not fair. i'm just comparing her to luc, who is mr. full of energy.

edit: the one thing i'd be nervous about if she was a service-type dog is her biting someone.

i'm having a big debate whether to take her on the hike i'm leading this saturday for the outdoor club - but it's a small group and people should be okay with her, i will be the only person bringing dogs. i'm leading a hike the saturday after doing a fundraiser for a bully (APBT, Am Staffs, etc) rescue here in ontario (where we have BSL....boo), and there's a couple of people bringing small dogs, including one that can be yappy apparently - i don't think she'll be coming on that hike.

Well of course she's lazy. She's never had to earn anything she's wanted. She stands some body down, 'I get what I want'. Give her time in that field, bet she shows and surprises.

She is in the prime of her life.
Randy

that's true. luke (the human) said she obviously had some previous obed. training (absolutely true) and it was of the 'give a treat, sure she immediately stopped doing what was asked, but she sits so well!' type-variety. i can only say, that getting her to hold her commands has been what i've mostly focused on w/her.

....heh. last sunday at the field, when we were doing me moving w/the toy and calling her to come to me, she'd come, but blow past me - she was going top speed having a great time (obvs. we need to do a lot of work on the come, she's been improving inside). then she had to lie down after a couple of minutes. i have to admit i was like 'that's my lazy girl!' but that's probably more a fitness thing.

i am curious to see how she'll develop.

(heh, i was just laughing to myself....if i bring her to the bully rescue fundraiser w/the small yappy dog, i can be like 'see! it's not the pit bulls you need to be worried about!' ....don't worry, i won't do that.)

Hahahaha. Great update, Jenn. Very cool. Sounds like Luke is just what the doctor ordered, and he'll have lots of great input if you need to work with anyone in the future. Glad to hear it.

i was very impressed w/him, his approach, and how he handled the dogs, especially teagan. completely different from the previous trainers, and in a very good way. an eye-opener for me to see that difference, frankly.

and i am glad that - well, since toronto is so far from him, there'd be distance fees applied to regular class fees which would up the cost of 8 classes to close to $1000 (gulp) - so i'm glad that he feels we don't need regular classes, but that he's willing to provide advice if i run into issues. it's good to know there's another resource there (in addition to you guys of course )

If you can get her out there and work her a bit, you may be very surprised. In addition, the only "down side" of drive building and focus work (which would be the beginning steps to SchH)would be increasing her focus and her learning to be handled during stress even if she washes out. There's a guy at my club that has a rescue that was an absolute disaster when he started wiht him. The dog damn near peed the first time out, and hid behind the handler. They never really got past a bite pillow and drive and focus work, but all of that basic work completely changed the dog. He still did not have much drive, but the confidence and bond that was built into the dog and handler was massive. He went from a bag of nerves that could bite at any moment to a great companion.

good to know. i can see it being a good outlet for her prey drive, which i kind of think i need to recognize and satisfy in some way (and not in an 'killing the small animals in the house' sort of way). we'll try it again, at least a couple of times, and see how she does.