WHY STAND WHEN I CAN SIT???!!! – 10.21.2010

Tonight was Orso’s first conformation lesson with Sheila Lieberman of Loving Obedience Dog Training.  We were supposed to head out to the weekly conformation class that is hosted by Sandy Herzon and the Miami Dog Club in the FPL parking lot, but Sheila thought we would be better off starting him one-on-one at her house.  I totally agreed, especially since I didn’t want to make a complete fool of myself in front of all these Miami show people! 

At 7pm, Sheila, Orso and I had our first conformation class in Sheila’s driveway.  I had spent all week gathering different types of conformation show collars and leads for tonight.  The truth is that I have no idea what he is supposed to wear in the ring, so I came with a box full of different things, including a couple of collars that Mary Majchrowski from Bravo Dog Training mailed me.  Thanks, Mary!

I also came armed with treats, or “bait” as Sheila likes to call it.    Orso is just learning the stand command and I haven’t been very successful in getting it to stick.  He LOVES the sit command and seems have taken quite a liking to the down command, but the stand command needs a lot more work.  Orso’s lesson was about 10 minutes long and I am not sure which one of us learned more – him or me.  I definitely know that Orso has a ton of respect for Sheila.  He was acting up at the beginning and she straightened him out real quick!