[PyrNet-L] Heidi in puppy pre-school

Hi, Gang! Sorry it has taken so long to report on last week's session. Hubby is on vacation & we are remodeling our kitchen. Chewbear HATES change of any kind & is particularly upset to notice kitchen appliances being moved around & pots,pans & dishes in living room. His world is topsy-turvy & he's not taking it very well. Heidi, of course could care less. Just love her & pet her & feed her & life is good.

Anyhow, for the last couple of weeks, Heidi refused to make eye contact with me (remember when "Look at me" command caused her to look at me, no matter who gave the command?). Sherry (the trainer) said it's because I have managed to establish myself as the Alpha Female of the pack & that is a sign of submission on her part. This is good & not good. Being Alpha is important, but it's also important to be able to get her full attention. I worked on changing my tone of voice when giving the look command. She now looks at me if there's nobody around. Our new command for the week was "Stay". First I put her in a sit & then require her to stay for at least 10 seconds (apparently a long time for a puppy). She stays for up to 3 or 4 minutes sometimes. We're still working on the come when called command. Most of the time she's pretty good at it. Sometimes, she waits to see if Chewbear is going to come first & then races him to the finish line (me). She has a really sweet personality & truly adores her Daddy. She will do all commands for him. I think she does them out of pure love & is very happy to please him. He has no need to be Alpha with her (most of the time, he talks to her in baby talk) & she will follow him anywhere......ain't true love grand???? Chewbear seems to be my true love. He is the same way with me as Heidi is with Joe......it's great to be loved so unconditionally!!!!

Regarding the aggressive puppy messages, I have an interesting observation as pertained to Heidi. When we first got her & she misbehaved, if I spoke to her in a loud harsh voice or shook my finger in her face & came at her in an aggressive manner, she would growl & nip at me. I changed the way I corrected her. I now get down to her level & speak to her in my ALPHA VOICE (deep but not overly loud) & she takes me seriously & changes her behavior. This is how I finally got her house-broken. I think that she perceived me as the enemy, so to speak, when I was yelling & flailing my arms at her. I suspect that the Pyrs need a calm environment for the most part. I also think that young boys tend to play rough & Pyr puppies misinterpret some of their movements. These are my own observations only & not meant to be critical.