Who's Training Who?

So, the pups have been with us for over a month now.  I have been coming up with many creative excuses as to why we can't start training these dogs to be the ultimate poster kids for obedient dogs everywhere.  I started with "They just got here and have to get to know us first."  Okay, that might have had merit in its day.  Then there was "They're getting into a routine, they just have to adjust to it."  Not sure why that makes sense, but it worked at the time.  And of course "They are very young, they won't understand why I'm trying to get them to do."  That worked with my kids for awhile but I'm not sure the same rules apply here.  These excuses did, however, fill the need to feed my procrastinating tendencies to "get to it tomorrow."  That also might have been valid when the pups were 12 pounds.  They are now 23 pounds, a lot taller, and way the hell louder.

Time to start learning some manners, my friends.

We have already established how well the leash training is going, and how everything hinges on getting that part right, so I started with the easiest one I could think of that does not really require a leash: "sit."  Granted, the book tells me to teach it with a leash but I figured, one trauma at a time.  Dog treats are a great training aid if you have a puppy like Leila, who is easily bought.  She'll do an Irish jig while calculating your taxes if she thinks there is a meaty treat at the other end.  Bodie is not so convinced.  When I show him a treat, his first instinct is to think "It must be a trap" and he's usually right.  I tried using treats with him to put the leash on and we see how well that worked.  He waits to see what his sister does and if she gets a reward for it before he is going to take the plunge.  No fool he.

So we started off slow, with me showing them that I had a treat in each hand and saying "Siiiit?"  It sounded more like I was pleading than commanding, which is pretty much true.  Leila would stand there and look at me blankly, confused as to why I had a treat and was not giving it to her.  Bodie eventually sat but I think it was more out of boredom than obedience.  After going over this several times a day, me with a treat in hand and begging them to "siiiit?", the breakthrough finally happened where they had obviously learned something.

They learned where the cabinet was that I kept the dog treats in.



Before.....



....and ten seconds later!



Like a cat that comes running at the sound of the electric can opener, whenever I open this cabinet now, two wide-eye expectant puppies magically appear as if from nowhere, sitting and waiting for their bounty.  Mind you, this is a big cabinet that holds many a human food item, not just dog treats, but as far as they are concerned it is theirs alone.  The doors on this cabinet don't even squeak, so how they know when I open it to sneak a granola bar or raid the kids' candy bowl is beyond me.  All I know is that there are no puppies anyway nearby, the coast is clear, so I open the cabinet door ever so slowly, get what I need, then tip-toe away to another part of the kitchen.  Then I turn around and aaaagghhhh!!!  There they are!  Sitting side-by-side in front of the cabinet, grinning at me, bearing an eerie resemblance to those creepy twins in the movie "The Shining."  It is rather unnerving, to say the least.  But at least they are sitting!  At this point in the training, I'll take what I can get! 

So the question remains: who is the better dog trainer, me or a cherry-wood cabinet door?  Maybe I should keep the leashes in the cabinet as well?  Stay tuned....