Barks and Babies

I attended a 2 hour seminar called, "Barks and Babies" last weekend. It was 2 hours chock full of great training tips and suggestions for running my "pack" more smoothly when the lil non-fur child arrives (aka Lulu).

Here is what we have been working on this week:

1. All dogs must wait at the threshold of an open door. No barreling thru without a command.
(I wish there was a class like this for cats)

2. If the dogs want to follow us from room to room (including the nursery) they are welcome to, but they hang out on their
beds, not under our feet.

3. Dogs may bark once (or twice) when the door bell rings or when someone knocks at the door, then look at me. Gone are the
days of Wroo Wroo Wroo Wrooooooo Wroo symphonies.

4. Treats are no longer dispensed from the kitchen area. If dogs want their treat, they must return to their dog beds for them.

5. Baby sounds will be played at varying volumes from different parts of the house.

6. Dogs may greet us at the door but may not continue to entrap out legs until we fall over to pet them. After greeting, they
return to their beds to wait for when we have a minute to say hello properly to them.

7. While we, human bipeds, are home (key words here), dogs are only allowed on furniture when invited. Once we get off the
furniture, all quadripeds must leave the furniture as well.


I think we're on our way to a very good start. It is amazing what we can still teach our dogs. I was quite skeptical that Riley and Sabrina could learn all these rules, but alas, when you are pack leader (*grin*) much is possible. I will fill you in to let you all know how it's going...