Sandy did some good training tonight! She is getting great at backup and I am able to go into the heel position and put my hand kind of to the side with the lure instead of right in front of her and she still understands. She is also in the very beginning stages of learning over. I was proud of how she did with the loud chair coming towards her while doing a stand stay. I have not been using her e collar on breaking stand stays right now because I figured it was new enough. @Amanda Taulborg Should I be??? She is very good at understanding that she is allowed in my lap when I say snuggle and is very consistent on going right where she is supposed to!! Sorry I cut it off in the video. Thanks!!

Hope you and your pups all have a wonderful Christmas! Sandy went Christmas caroling last night with my grandparents and I. She also did some really good comes this morning! What are your dogs doing this Christmas?

We did a “kids” picture for our cards introducing Saffy. So it seemed like a good tome to work on Saffy’s desense and down/stay while being in the holiday spirit. Pippa briefly joined the photo shoot sporting her Santa Paws Dress. I had to make a tiny compilation video of them together. I was so proud of them for staying together for me to get a photo for Christmas cards! Treats were definitely involved🤣

Post pics and videos of your holiday potatoes 🥔🐶🎄 Griz and Ollie potatoes 👇

Now that Bruno is settled in, I worked on some obedience with him this morning! Just ran through some heel, sit, and stay, and started introducing “down” too. Rewatching the video, I know I forgot to mark with “yes” a few times… 🤦🏼‍♀️ I’ve been a handler for 4 1/2 years and I still make mistakes! I already know how to fix that for next time which is the important part! I also tried luring him around me into a heel and also luring from a down to a sit, but I think we’re too early in the game for those skills so I won’t worry about that for now. Overall; he did great! He got distracted once because he could see my mom inside but he redirected well. Heel is hard for me to train since my left side is my blind side, so my mom is going to work on tbat with him. With Atlas, since his head is in a different spot than a non-mobility dog’s heel would be, I can see him and know he’s in the correct spot. The others get a little out of my peripheral vision. Did I do kind of the right thing for “down”? I remember watching @Sherry Smith and Mingo (omg I LOVE Mingo, Sherry please hug him for me) when Mingo was just a little baby working on down at a training class when Atlas na dI were in college, so my memory was 4 years old… I wasn’t sure when to stand up straight or if I should really be luring with food or just stepping on the leash and pointing… feedback welcome! Moral of the story: even experienced handlers mess up sometimes and it’s totally ok to make a mistake or not know what to do. Amanda is the bestttt and will give advice and tips!