Fine Tuning Eli

Now that Eli knows all his basic commands plus the extras "bow", "shake", and "leave it", he and his inmate trainer have been working to polish and fine tune those commands. 

They've been working to increase the response time with all the commands which is working.  Eli is a champ.  They have increased the distance and duration of the "stay" command, which could be a life saver for Eli. Hopefully his new family won't need to use it but it's always good to know your Greyhound is responsive to this particular command, in the event you have to use it!

His inmate trainer can tell him down and stay, then walk completely out of sight around the dorm. He's pretty good about staying where he is placed until he hears the "here" command.  His inmate trainer can even leave treats at his feet, ur paws, and he will not take them until given the "release" command.

They've also been working to prevent counter surfing.  Counter surfing is where the dog will jump and steal food off the counters.  They've put food/treats on a table in the training room, then they leave Eli alone.  He'll go and sniff around then lay down on a bed.  Which is exactly the reaction they've been striving for!  He responds well to "leave it"and "no".  If his inmate trainer drops food on the ground, Eli will start walking towards it and as soon as his inmate trainer says "leave it", he will stop in his tracks. 

Eli is such a smart and loving Greyhound. His inmate trainer wishes he could stay in the dorm forever but he knows he has a family waiting for him on graduation day. He is the perfect best friend. His family will soon find that out and will love him to pieces, just as everyone in the dorm does! He is one lucky Greyhound!