serijules
just seri
- Joined
- Sep 19, 2002
- Posts
- 1,941
So...an amazing, long awaited thing has finally happened.
My dog learned to shake.
Yes, shake. I know what you are thinking; "What's so great about a dog learning to shake??". Well, you will have to listen to my story to understand.
I got Wyatt Earp, a Pembroke Welsh Corgi, when he was 8 weeks old. He was supposed to be T's dog, but Wyatt took a liking to me immediately. He never left my side from the day we picked him up. Over the course of a few weeks, I decided that Wyatt may just be the perfect hearing dog for me. Hearing dogs can be any breed, but not any dog will make a good hearing dog. They need to have a high working drive yet be calm and mild mannered. They need to be smart and well socialized. It isn't until the dog starts training at 6 months of age that you can really tell if they will be suited for the job.
The first 6 months I had Wyatt was spent socializing him. He was perfect. Loved everyone he met, was friendly without being overly rambunctious, had no fear of dogs, people, carts, wheelchairs, loud noises, etc. He followed me everywhere as if he KNEW it was his job to be by my side. He wasn't clingy, simply devoted.
At 6 months we started his basic obedience. Basic Obedience consists of sit, stay, heel, come and down on leash with verbal and visual signals. Advanced Obedience consists of all of the above plus extended stay, finish, place, and all commands off leash.
Most dogs learn one command a week and over the course of the 12 week class, the commands are tightened up and the handlers work with them on an ongoing basis until the commands are well learned. My great danes both went into class at 6 months old as well, and it took them the full 12 weeks and then some to really learn and obey well. Some commands took a good week of daily practice until they were doing them without correction. This is the norm for most dogs.
Not Wyatt. He learned the entire course plus the assistance commands (alerting me to alarms and public behaviour expectations) needed to qualify as an assistance dog in less than 6 weeks. I showed him what was expected of him once and he did it, simple as that. Very few corrections or practice sessions were needed. He just caught on quick and retained the lessons with ease. Two of the other dogs in his class were also corgis, in fact his full sisters, and while they did well, they didn't pick up on it nearly that fast.
So in other words, my dog is brilliant (haha). Seriously though, he is smart. He *understands* his job in a way that trainers spend endless hours evaluating and training into assistance dogs. It's a very valuable trait. He also has an uncanny comprehension of english. I can tell him things like "No, Wyatt, you can't come with me right now" and he will sigh and sit down and give me a sad, suffering look, but won't make any effort to come with me. At night, he sleeps with me, usually either behind my head or at my side. Sometimes he decides to sleep ON me, and being he weighs 40 pounds, this isn't comfortable. So I say "Wyatt, geez, you are smooshing me, go lay somewhere else" and he will roll his eyes and move somewhere else. He just....gets me.
However....
He refused to learn to shake. My friend got a corgi and then shortly after, another one. I helped her train them, but she taught them both to shake. It's the cutest thing ever. Corgi's have stumps for legs, seriously. Wyatt weighs 40 pounds, is all of 13 inches tall and twice as long...but his little legs are all of a few inches. It's beyound adorable seeing this little stump of a leg waving in the air.
Ok, maybe you had to be there.
For almost 4 years, I've been trying to get Wyatt to shake. I've bribed, I've demanded, I've pleaded and begged. He flat out refused. He would just sit there and stare holes into me with a "This is SO beneath me" look on his face. This little dog who learned dozens of commands in a matter of weeks with damn near perfection on the first try, would not do something as simple as lift his paw and shake my hand.
I used to get frustrated and whine that he was dumb. T assured me that Wyatt was actually displaying just how smart he was. He's regal, he's important, he has a job, he's smart and knows it. Why on earth would he be like the OTHER dogs and do a measly trick like that?
Snob...
A few days ago I decided to renew my efforts after playing with Sh's corgis and once again being reminded how cuuttteee it was when they shook. This time, I tried to make it really really exciting. Wyatt doesn't get excited easily. Usually it takes a herd of cattle or sheep to get him really riled up (he's also a herding dog). If I shout a lot and smack him around a little, he'll get into it and play with me and wiggle his cute little ass all over and jump around for a bit before realizing he's acting like a mere DOG and stops. So I get all excited and I smack him in the chest and face a bit while saying "shake!" and eventually on pure coincidence his paw would make contact with my hand and I'd go nutso with praise. He seemed to rather like it, but I knew the shake part was a fluke.
I was excited anyhow and showed off to Sh. The fluke worked a few times in a row and it actually looked like he was shaking, never mind the fact that I had to say "shake!" about 40 times and get him all riled up first. Not exactly a model trick there.
I tried to show off to T, who has long found this obsession of mine humourous, but of course, Wyatt wouldn't even give me a fake shake. He just sat there and looked at me like "why are you acting like an idiot and smacking me in the face?". T teased me for days about it, but I kept insisting he could shake.
So last night I'm at mom and dad's and I'm bored, so I'm trying again. I tell Wyatt to sit, praise him, then ask him to shake.
To my complete and total amazement, he lifts his paw and shakes.
I do it again, convinced I've dreamed this. Sure enough....shake....and he shakes! No shouting, no pleading or begging or slapping him around to get him all riled up. Just a simple "shake" and he well, shakes.
I was thrilled. Wyatt looked miserable, as if he couldn't believe he finally gave in. I showed off to dad. I showed off to mom. I gave the poor dog carpel tunnel last night I think. When T came to pick me up, I proudly showed off to him.
When we got in the truck, Wyatt in his usual place on the seat between us, I saw T mumble to him "sellout".
Wyatt looked like he agreed.
He's currently hiding under the desk avoiding me at all costs.
BUT MY DOG CAN SHAKE!
My dog learned to shake.
Yes, shake. I know what you are thinking; "What's so great about a dog learning to shake??". Well, you will have to listen to my story to understand.
I got Wyatt Earp, a Pembroke Welsh Corgi, when he was 8 weeks old. He was supposed to be T's dog, but Wyatt took a liking to me immediately. He never left my side from the day we picked him up. Over the course of a few weeks, I decided that Wyatt may just be the perfect hearing dog for me. Hearing dogs can be any breed, but not any dog will make a good hearing dog. They need to have a high working drive yet be calm and mild mannered. They need to be smart and well socialized. It isn't until the dog starts training at 6 months of age that you can really tell if they will be suited for the job.
The first 6 months I had Wyatt was spent socializing him. He was perfect. Loved everyone he met, was friendly without being overly rambunctious, had no fear of dogs, people, carts, wheelchairs, loud noises, etc. He followed me everywhere as if he KNEW it was his job to be by my side. He wasn't clingy, simply devoted.
At 6 months we started his basic obedience. Basic Obedience consists of sit, stay, heel, come and down on leash with verbal and visual signals. Advanced Obedience consists of all of the above plus extended stay, finish, place, and all commands off leash.
Most dogs learn one command a week and over the course of the 12 week class, the commands are tightened up and the handlers work with them on an ongoing basis until the commands are well learned. My great danes both went into class at 6 months old as well, and it took them the full 12 weeks and then some to really learn and obey well. Some commands took a good week of daily practice until they were doing them without correction. This is the norm for most dogs.
Not Wyatt. He learned the entire course plus the assistance commands (alerting me to alarms and public behaviour expectations) needed to qualify as an assistance dog in less than 6 weeks. I showed him what was expected of him once and he did it, simple as that. Very few corrections or practice sessions were needed. He just caught on quick and retained the lessons with ease. Two of the other dogs in his class were also corgis, in fact his full sisters, and while they did well, they didn't pick up on it nearly that fast.
So in other words, my dog is brilliant (haha). Seriously though, he is smart. He *understands* his job in a way that trainers spend endless hours evaluating and training into assistance dogs. It's a very valuable trait. He also has an uncanny comprehension of english. I can tell him things like "No, Wyatt, you can't come with me right now" and he will sigh and sit down and give me a sad, suffering look, but won't make any effort to come with me. At night, he sleeps with me, usually either behind my head or at my side. Sometimes he decides to sleep ON me, and being he weighs 40 pounds, this isn't comfortable. So I say "Wyatt, geez, you are smooshing me, go lay somewhere else" and he will roll his eyes and move somewhere else. He just....gets me.
However....
He refused to learn to shake. My friend got a corgi and then shortly after, another one. I helped her train them, but she taught them both to shake. It's the cutest thing ever. Corgi's have stumps for legs, seriously. Wyatt weighs 40 pounds, is all of 13 inches tall and twice as long...but his little legs are all of a few inches. It's beyound adorable seeing this little stump of a leg waving in the air.
Ok, maybe you had to be there.
For almost 4 years, I've been trying to get Wyatt to shake. I've bribed, I've demanded, I've pleaded and begged. He flat out refused. He would just sit there and stare holes into me with a "This is SO beneath me" look on his face. This little dog who learned dozens of commands in a matter of weeks with damn near perfection on the first try, would not do something as simple as lift his paw and shake my hand.
I used to get frustrated and whine that he was dumb. T assured me that Wyatt was actually displaying just how smart he was. He's regal, he's important, he has a job, he's smart and knows it. Why on earth would he be like the OTHER dogs and do a measly trick like that?
Snob...
A few days ago I decided to renew my efforts after playing with Sh's corgis and once again being reminded how cuuttteee it was when they shook. This time, I tried to make it really really exciting. Wyatt doesn't get excited easily. Usually it takes a herd of cattle or sheep to get him really riled up (he's also a herding dog). If I shout a lot and smack him around a little, he'll get into it and play with me and wiggle his cute little ass all over and jump around for a bit before realizing he's acting like a mere DOG and stops. So I get all excited and I smack him in the chest and face a bit while saying "shake!" and eventually on pure coincidence his paw would make contact with my hand and I'd go nutso with praise. He seemed to rather like it, but I knew the shake part was a fluke.
I was excited anyhow and showed off to Sh. The fluke worked a few times in a row and it actually looked like he was shaking, never mind the fact that I had to say "shake!" about 40 times and get him all riled up first. Not exactly a model trick there.
I tried to show off to T, who has long found this obsession of mine humourous, but of course, Wyatt wouldn't even give me a fake shake. He just sat there and looked at me like "why are you acting like an idiot and smacking me in the face?". T teased me for days about it, but I kept insisting he could shake.
So last night I'm at mom and dad's and I'm bored, so I'm trying again. I tell Wyatt to sit, praise him, then ask him to shake.
To my complete and total amazement, he lifts his paw and shakes.
I do it again, convinced I've dreamed this. Sure enough....shake....and he shakes! No shouting, no pleading or begging or slapping him around to get him all riled up. Just a simple "shake" and he well, shakes.
I was thrilled. Wyatt looked miserable, as if he couldn't believe he finally gave in. I showed off to dad. I showed off to mom. I gave the poor dog carpel tunnel last night I think. When T came to pick me up, I proudly showed off to him.
When we got in the truck, Wyatt in his usual place on the seat between us, I saw T mumble to him "sellout".
Wyatt looked like he agreed.
He's currently hiding under the desk avoiding me at all costs.
BUT MY DOG CAN SHAKE!
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