Universally Lovable

Charlie's week was another reinforcement week for his training. Swap week was an important milestone for him and for learning the concept of universal correction, a term that his trainer coined to express the need for the dogs to accept correction and handling from multiple parties. When a family adopts one of our dogs, they don't expect the dog to be programmed to listen to just one person. So this past week, they worked on getting Charlie getting to a manageable state of manners and allowing others to test his behavior outside of the scope of his primary team’s supervision.

Top Notch Guy

Dear forever family,

Our trainers have just come to the end of swap week and Charlie is about to go back to his primary training team. His swap week trainer is sad to watch him go, but he is happy to have been left with such wonderful memories filled with lots of fun. And his swap week trainer would like to share the highlights with you! He is happy, happy boy and loves to play. He especially loves interacting with people. He is such a sweet dog to love on. His swap week trainer took Charlie through his commands on multiple occasions and has to tell you that he is flawless in almost every aspect. Also, his leash walking skills are top-notch. If he gets ahead of you, he will immediately jump backwards to correct himself. His swap week trainer is grateful to have had the opportunity to work with Charlie, and knows you will also see for yourself, right off the bat, what a wonderful dog he is!

Wonderful Boy!

Charlie is making great progress!  He’s learning to approach meal time and playtime with more patience.  He still has moments of exuberance, but understands that his reward comes when he settles down.  His inmate trainer says that they let Charlie burn off some energy twice a day.  He loves to run around and play on the big yard. There’s always exploring to do. 

He’s also progressing to holding commands while toys are being squeaked, thrown, and waved.  He’s getting so much better with his self control.   Charlie is a great learner and wonderful boy!  His inmate trainer says that he truly enjoys spending time and working with Charlie! 

So Much to Do, So Much to See!

This week was essentially a continuation of last week's training and evaluations. Charlie's training team has come to the observational conclusion that Charlie is much easier to train when he is allowed to play and run at least twice a day for about 10 to 15 minutes. After that he’s ready to get down to business (Working hard to master his commands).

A few training videos that his training team have suggested indicate that a tired dog is usually a more well-behaved dog. That goes for greyhounds too. A tired hound is a happy hound.

Charlie has made tremendous amounts of progress since his initial intake. His behavior and general doggy etiquette have improved tremendously and moved in a direction that will make him a great pet and sociable hound. His training should always and constantly be reinforced, but that applies to all dogs, and he is such a wonderful learner that his training team has no doubt that the implementations will stick!

Nothing Compares To A Yummy Treat!

Charlie spent his week checking out toys and learning to play a little more gently with them.  Before he would get so excited he’d dive right into the toy, sometimes ignoring the human holding it. Now he’s listening to verbal correction and learning to “sit” or “down” and stay calm when he wants a toy.  

Charlie’s inmate trainer says that Charlie understands his commands, but doesn’t like to work when he notices that treats aren’t being given out as frequently for a job well done. His primary motivation is food! Petting and affection is nice and all, but they don’t compare to yummy treats!  Now, toys are a good motivation for following through with a command request, but those treats tho…  His inmate trainer says that it’s a little more difficult to regain his attention if toys are used for a training reward. 

Charlie’s a happy energetic guy who loves to play. He curious and wants to check everything out. He keeps his trainer on his toes and loves life and all it’s adventures

Silly Star Student

Charlie is such a smart boy. He knows most of his basic commands with hand and verbal cues. He needs to improve on here and sit, but no worries. He’s got 5 more weeks to work diligently on them and his trainer is confident he will have them mastered long before graduation.

Charlie is a wonderful pal and he can really light up a room and your mood with his antics. He is an extremely fast learner, and almost way too smart for a hound!

Smart Guy

This week was pretty big for Charlie's training team. They have officially introduced him to all of the basic commands, and he seems capable of performing them all. This is a testament to his ability to learn new things, because he never entered the position known as a ‘sphinx down’ under his own power - he learned so quickly from his training! He was able to learn the position within two days and so far he has no trouble deciphering the difference between the sit and down hand signal, which are very similar gestures.

Of course they're still working on getting him to perform the commands on cue, but that comes with the repetition in training over the next few weeks. Otherwise, Charlie has been his usual self. He's extremely curious, and his trainers have been able to slightly curb his excitement down to a more manageable level. He does require correction now and then, but so does every dog. And he takes everything in stride and keeps his friendly personality through all aspects of his training.

"Leave it"

Charlie’s inmate trainer says Charlie’s nickname this week has become “Leave It”.  His curious demeanor will not allow him to pass by a new or foreign object without at least a stare of investigation.   He remembers all the places that he’s seen toys being taken out or put away.  He’ll check each of those areas at least once during his free time.  These various antics normally amount to his inmate trainer walking a few paces behind him saying “Charlie, leave it!” Afterwards, he’s content to follow his trainer around and performs commands in trade for kibble. Now, keep in mind a long lounge session on the day bed is a requirement.  

Charlie loves to learn new things; the treat rewards may have some influence on his enthusiasm.  He does just fine in his kennel, but loves to be out or lounging around relaxing in his days of retirement. 

Detective Charlie

Charlie and his trainer began week two with the plan to introduce Charlie to some more of the basic commands. He spent the first week learning kennel, wait, let’s go, and bed (or so they thought!). It turns out that when Charlie was given his limited freedom to roam off leash in the dorm, he seemed to forget all two weeks of his training! He continued to leash walk with good etiquette, but he became very anxious to explore and investigate EVERYTHING. Now, it’s just the second week, and there are so many new smells, sights and sounds to get used to and catalog in their greyhound brains. His trainer is redirecting and working on establishing Charlie’s familiarity with his new environment and the initial basic commands, and finding new ways to help him channel his curiosity of his new found world.

All is progressing well with his training and his curious personality has inspired his trainer to come up with ways to keep him both focused and entertained while learning. He wants Charlie to enjoy the learning experience while learning to be a great pet. He’s a gentle giant and his trainer has no doubts about him living up to his full potential!

Charming Charlie

Charlie has arrived for training!  His inmate trainer says that Charlie handled the grooming phase well.  He’s been very curious about his new surroundings.  

Over the last three days his leash skills have greatly improved.  He’s a very quick learner when it came to the action equals reward method. He easily traded his I’ll lead the way attitude, for a leisurely pace beside his inmate trainer.  

While his curiosity remains high, he no longer bulldozes his way into the investigation.  He’s adjusting well to his new temporary home and his inmate training team is optimistic about his potential.