We had our second advanced training class and tenth session overall. This week was pretty intense like the previous session. Last week we had 10 dogs in class and this week there were TWELVE! This is good for Bella to see new dogs but a bit too much all at once (more than 1/2 were new dogs she hadn’t seen before).

The worst part of the high number of dogs was that a few came in really late while we were already working. What a distraction!!

But we worked through it and Bella was pretty good. We tried the pinch collar on her to help her pay attention to me and my movements. What a difference! I was tentative at first because I personally don’t like the pinch, but whatever works is fine with me at this point.

I am switching gears a bit. Each morning and evening (if time and weather permits) I am going to walk Bella on “fun walks” where we don’t train (or train loosely but without choker). Then, I am going to have 2-3 10-minute sessions daily to focus only on training and not SEEKING. This intense focus should help her and that way the walks become her reward. (She loves walks!!)

Regardless, Bella has improved so much and is just a bit stubborn at times. She needs to work through the distractions and I need to do a better job allowing her to think on her own and then pay attention to me. Thankfully, even with a lot of barking and pulling in class, I kept my composure and the frustrated feeling left quickly.