July 27th 2009 10:20 am
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At first we didn't really know what we were doing...but then we actually knew once we did some research. Leia's problem was that she hadn't been socialized with dogs OR humans...so she has attacking/biting/barking problems. So we searched the world for our clicker...which we had gotten when Leia graduated Pet-Smart's Obedience Class. When we got the clicker and brought her outside into a comfortable enviroment , she was instantly distracted by goodness knows what , and we couldn't even get her to look up. So we clicked and gestured for her to come near us , and she obeyed. So she understood the concept of 'Speak' and 'Shhh!' and 'Stop'. So then we decided to put her to the test. We took her out on a walk , with the clicker , treats , and a little dog toy on hand. Whenever she was good, and didn't pull, we would reward her with a throw of the toy. When she would pull and try to show us who was boss, we would click and she would resume her spot at our side. Then there was another dog on the other side of the street , in a driveway. We made a 'Shhh!' noise and she kept calm, and didn't even pull. But when we got closer to Sammie and Casey's house, there was a minature schnauzer coming from the opposite direction. Leia freaked out! So we walked her away using the clicker. Everytime we clicked her head would turn, but when I stopped clicking she would regain focus on the schnauzer. But once we got away from the dog and we were on the opposite side of the road, she calmed down and continuedher training.