Graduation is Near!

This last week Jarrod and his training team have worked diligently with Jarrod and his commands.  This past weekend Jarrod passed his basic commands test given by the Second Chance Greyhound team.  Jarrod really surprised his team with how well he performed.  They are quite proud!

There is only one issue with Jarrod and that is he will not jump up on anything shiny.  Other than that, he does extremely well.  He also does well doing "stairs", "bow", "kiss", "paws up", and "lap".  He loves to run and play during turnouts and man is he fast!

He is an extremely loving, caring Greyhound and a very laid back dog as well.  He does love his naps and his favorite treat is peanut butter and celery.  Yes, that's right!  If he gets that, he will follow you everywhere!

Jarrod loves new people and thinks everyone he meets is another friend.  However, he does absolutely dislike any sort of loud noises and yelling.

He has really come out of his shy shell since he has been in the program.  His inmate trainer is sure he will adapt to his new family and environment in due time.  Good luck Jarrod - you will be missed!

One Easy Going Guy

This week was swap week!  The inmates exchange dogs to give the dogs a chance to work on commands given by new people and to allow them to adjust to time away from their primary trainers.

Jarrod’s temporary inmate trainer says that Jarrod is a great dog who knows all of his commands!  Jarrod likes to play first thing in the morning, but tires out quickly.  Jarrod is a laid back guy who didn’t seem to mind being away from his primary handler.  He’s not crazy about shiny floors, but does okay when you walk a little faster on them.  His temporary trainer says that he had a great time with Jarrod this week and believes that Jarrod will be a big hit with his new family. 

Good Boy, Jarrod!

Jarrod has made tremendous progress all the way across the the board this week!  He does all ofhis commands when requested.  He is sitting and waiting for his meals.  He now jumps on benches, although he’s still a little shaky, and tackles the stairs with no problems!  He still has some hesitation when it comes to walking on shiny floors.

Jarrod has finally started running in the big yard and playing with more toys.  He is interacting more with the other dogs and people.  He now loves to lay out in the big day room around all the action!  His inmate trainer is very proud of Jarrod’s progress and loves to see this sweet boy coming out of his shell!  

Playing In The Big Yard

Seven whole weeks have passed!  Jarrod has come a long way since arriving as a shy and skittish boy.  He has become more social with other dogs and played with his first toy, a Chewbacca from Star Wars.  His inmate trainer says that it is wonderful to see Jarrod running and playing in the big yard. 

Jarrod is doing really well with his commands and has even learned kiss, paws up, and bow!  His inmate trainer is looking forward to the days ahead with this sweet boy!  

Progress and Then This Happens . . .

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While Jarrod has been making great progress walking on the shiny floors, unfortunately he slipped this past week so his inmate trainer has been working with him to help him regain his confidence.  Baby steps, they say!  He has realized he can't jump and bounce around on the floors first thing in the morning!

His inmate trainer has determined that the best time to train with Jarrod is before his breakfast or dinner meals.  Jarrod seems to want to lay and and nap right after meals and, well, who doesn't?

Jarrod is doing quite well with his training overall.  He walks well on leash, however, they continue to fine tune his "stay" and "heel".  He is doing stairs very well and does "jump" very well. 

Extra commands he has conquered include "paws up", "kiss" and "bow".

All in all, Jarrod is a very loving and extremely loyal companion for whomever adopts him.  He is definitely a great dog who will make a family very happy!

Rockin' The Stairs

Jarrod is doing excellent this week!  He has shown great improvement with his basic commands!  He will now sit and down by himself!  He knows the wait command really well and at short distances he knows his here command!  By next week his inmate trainer believes Jarrod will have stay and heel down pat! 

This week Jarrod learned how to go up and down stairs!  His inmate trainer says that it was truly amazing how well Jarrod learned to walk on them and seemed to enjoy them!  In fact,  Jarrod continued doing the stairs until he wore his trainer out! 

Jarrod enjoys running during his early morning potty break.  His inmate trainer says that this is a major accomplishment compared to the dog that came in so unsure of so many people and loud noises.  His inmate trainer believes that once Jarrod is out of the prison environment he will completely come out of his shell. 

Jarrod loves to share the big day beds with other dogs as long as he has plenty of room to stretch out and sleep.  (can’t blame him there!) 

Gaining Confidence

This week has been quite an adventure with Jarrod.  He has become very energetic and outgoing at first thing in the morning.  He likes to get in a little run during the morning potty break.  He loves walking the fence line in the big yard at a very brisk pace just checking things out. 

Jarrod is doing really well learning his basic commands and is gaining confidence.  Jarrod now walks around the dorm with his tail out and is starting to approach people to get attention!  He’s not a fan of thunderstorms but his inmate trainer hopes that as Jarrod’s confidence grows the storms will not bother him.  Over the week Jarrod has shown a lot of improvement with the bed, jump, and off commands.  He’s even started learning paws up and visit!  His inmate trainer knows that Jarrod will have all of his commands down in no time. 

Bring On The Treats

Hello world!  I’m Jarrod, yea the cute one in the photo.  So I’m working on adjusting to this new place I’m in.  I’m kinda getting the hang of things here and have decided to let my happy side show.  My inmate trainer says he likes to see me so happy and full of energy in the mornings!  I’ve even started running in the yard!  (Something I wasn’t too sure about doing before.)  I’m not crazy about all the loud noises around here.  My trainer is helping me to adjust, but this place needs to come with a volume control.  They got loud doors, rolling carts, noise making radios and lots of people talking.  That’s a lot to get used to when you come from the kennels at the track.  I’ll get use to it though it’s already getting easier to ignore.  I’ve even started laying on the beds in the middle of the loud dorm area without feeling the need to be in my kennel!  My inmate trainer says I’m training for retirement.  I’m not really sure what a retire-ment is, but it comes with treats so I’m in!  He says that all this loud stuff will help me after I graduate and move to my forever home.  He says that there I will hear ceiling fans, dish washers, vacuum cleaners, and washing machines.  Not sure what these things are either.  

Let me tell you what they do here… they ask you to follow through with an action when they make a request then they give you food!  Sweet!  I’m doing things like let’s go, wait, down, bed, kennel, and sit!  I’m working on jump, heel, release, here, stay, and hurry.  I’ll have the hang of this in no time.  Wonder what my inmate trainer will come up with next?  I like this learning thing so bring on the treats! 

Getting The Hang Of Training

Jarrod is showing great improvement!  He is walking on shiny floors and has started really responding to his name, the wait command as well as the kennel, sit, and down commands! He’s not a fan of loud noises, but this may change once he becomes adjusted to his new environment.  He’s doing really well walking on the leash and his trainer is working to help him feel confident in the presence of loud noises and strange objects. 

His inmate trainer has started teaching Jarrod the jump and off commands.  The jump command will be handy when getting Jarrod in and out of the car.  He is doing really well with the let’s go, kennel, and wait commands.  He’s a little slow responding to the release and here commands, but his inmate trainer is confident that Jarrod with get the hang of everything very soon! 

Learning New Things

Jarrod has arrived for training!  The first thing he wanted to know is why in the world he needed to walk on a shiny surface?!  His inmate trainer says that upon arriving Jarrod walked just fine on the carpeted areas, but was not a fan of the waxed floors.  After a couple of days of work his inmate trainer is proud to report that Jarrod is now walking on shiny floors without any problems! 

His inmate trainer says that once Jarrod gets used to the facility he’s going to do great!  When they walk out to the big yard for turnout Jarrod shows his free spirited side!  He’s already responding to his name and is showing great progress with his kennel and wait commands.  His inmate trainer can’t wait to watch Jarrod emerge from his shell and learn new things!