Graduation is Near!

Although Gracie had her inmate trainer a bit concerned in the beginning because of how timid she was, she has blossomed and slowly came around to be one of the smartest and most obedient Greyhounds in this class. This is largely due to the fact that she had a great support team helping her every step of the way!

She performs all of her commands with no trouble and also does many extras which are quite entertaining, if you just try them with her.  She has even become playful and has never shown any signs of aggressive behavior toward any of the handlers although sometimes she'll warn other dogs if her space becomes invaded, especially while she's laying on her dog bed.

She is definitely one of the best Greyhounds he has trained to date.  Good luck Gracie!  You will be so missed but everyone knows you'll have a wonderful life!

Swap Week Time

Swap week time!  This week the inmate trainers exchange dogs to work on commands and to give the dogs an opportunity to receive commands from someone new.  Gracie’s temporary inmate trainer said that at first he felt like he was abandoning a child swapping his assigned Greyhound for a week, but quickly fell in love with Gracie. 

He says that Gracie is a real sweetheart who already knows her commands.  Thanks to the excellent work her primary trainer has done Gracie’s temporary trainer was able to spend some of the time enjoying Gracie’s playful personality.  He says that Gracie performs “Bang Bang” like a champ!  She is a favorite at the prison because of her beautiful face, wonderful personality, and fun tricks.  Her temporary inmate trainer says that he has no doubt that Gracie’s new family will fall in love with this sweet girl.  

Gaining Confidence

Another week has come and gone.  Gracie’s inmate trainer says that her training team is going to miss this sweet girl when she graduates.  He says that it has been wonderful watching her open up to trust and learning to follow instructions. 

Gracie loves going to new places and investigating.  Her trainer says her confidence has grown so much!  She came in shy and nervous without trust and now she’s investigating new areas!  He is very proud of her progress!  He is also proud to report that Gracie knows all of her basic commands with hand signal or verbal only cues!  

Toys And Bones

Gracie is a cute girl who can be silly, loves to eat and is starting to play with toys and chew on bones.  She enjoys being in the company of other dogs and likes people!  She can get carried away while playing so her inmate trainer stops the play session until she calms down. 

Gracie is doing great with training!  She knows her basic commands well and is doing great with bow, bang, shake, play dead, belly, lap, crawl, and climb over!  Her inmate trainer is proud to report thatGracie knows all of her commands with verbal and hand signal ques!  Her inmate trainer is now working to come up with new things to teach this smart girl! Any suggestions?  

What a Sweetie!

Gracie is becoming much more playful but she continues to have stage fright when performing in front of a crowd.  She will do them, without fail, with her handler in the training room.

Recent tricks she has learned include "shake", and climbing over and under chairs. 

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Extra commands she has learned include "shake", "bang bang", "crawl", "climb", "jump up", "paws up", "chair", and "belly".

She has really come a long way since Day One. Her inmate trainer is quite proud of her progress.

She is a cheerful and loving dog.  She now displays happiness when her inmate trainer opens her crate door to get her out.  She will jump up and show signs of joy, wanting him to pet her.

All in all, she is a smart, fun, dog!  Her inmate trainer is confident her new family is going to love her as much as he does!

Sweet, Playful, And Loving

Gracie is such a sweet girl, but she doesn’t like to perform her commands in front of people (or it could be the padded floor mats).  Her inmate trainer believes she may have stage fright.  He says that she will comply with her commands but not as happily as she does when she’s not center stage.  Her inmate trainer is trying to determine what’s different between the times she does her commands and the times she doesn’t want to perform them.  So far the only difference seems to be the padded mats in the training room and everyone watching. 

Aside from disliking the spot light Gracie is doing great with her commands!  She responds quickly and efficiently when a command is given.  Her inmate trainer says that she is becoming more playful and loving as well!  He’s enjoying his time with this sweet girl and can’t wait to see what they learn next! 

Gentle Girl

Gracie was a very shy and uncertain when she first arrived at the prison.  She wasn’t too sure about following the training routine, but over time she gained trust and an understanding of treat rewards!  Nowadays she quickly responds to most of her basic commands.  She responds to all of her commands with verbal or hand signal cues! 

Gracie is a gentle girl who’s smart and a little shy.  She is coming out of her shell and showing a bit of her playful side.  Her inmate trainer is looking forward to helping Gracie grow and learn new things!  

Relaxing, Playing, And Training

Hi, my name is Gracie.  I used to live and work at the race track.  I had fun running around the track, but decided I wanted to try something new.  I’m now trying out this training for retirement thing.  I can’t say that I really know what it is, but my inmate trainer thinks it’s a really good idea.   He offers me treats when I respond to his requests so it’s shaping up to be a pretty good deal.  I’ve been a little reserved while I see how this was going to work out, but I’m beginning to open up.  I mean, really the dude is offering me treats so I don’t see any harm in cutting him some slack.  At first I was a little shy about being petted, but I really like it just had to get used to the new person and place.

So now that I’m getting the hang of this new place I’m jumping into this training bit.  I seriously get treats for this how awesome is that?!  I’ve gotten the hang of hurry, let’s go, kennel, release, sit, bed, bang, and belly!  My inmate trainer says that we’re going to work on my response to wait, heel, here, down, stay, bow, lap, and jump.  I’m starting to understand what he wants so this is going to get easier!  I can’t wait to see what I get treats for next!  

Working On The Basics

This week Gracie and her inmate trainer worked on sit, down, stay, bed, bow, and leash skills.  She is already doing really well with hurry, let’s go, kennel, and wait.  Her inmate trainer is proud to report that Gracie is coming around and settling in. 

She doesn’t have any problem eating her food, but has been a little shy drinking water so her inmate trainer adds more water to her food bowl. 

She has no problem meeting other people or dogs and seems to enjoy the attention.  Her inmate trainer is looking forward to the fun days ahead and can’t wait to see what Gracie learns next! 

New Training Days

Gracie seems to be slowly settling into her new surroundings.  She’s a little unsure about this new place, but her inmate trainer believes that with time she’ll find her comfort zone.  She already knows her name and realizes that her kennel is the place to be for meal times.  She enjoys being outside and gets excited when she sees her inmate trainer pick up the leash and muzzle.  

Gracie seems to like the softer foam of the training room floor.  Her inmate trainer says that she has expressive eyes.  He is looking forward to the exciting weeks to come and can’t wait watch Gracie grow and learn!