Preparation

I don't go back to my new home and Penny until Friday, so I have had a lot of time to think about how I am going to go about training this girl.

She already knows sit and shake, and is VERY good at taking cues from people. She looks where I point, instead of looking at my hand, which indicates to me that she can be trained to go where I point. If she had looked at my hand when I point at something (like my Dad's rat terrier mix) then I would probably focus more on target training (which I hope to do anyway because it's just fun). In target training, the dog is reinforced for touching the palm of the trainer's hand, which can be moved on to other tricks such as turning lights on and off, getting leashes, and cute parlor tricks. Penny could benefit from target training (and any dog who will sniff your hand when presented with it could learn quickly, as evidenced by our rat terrier mix who will now jump to shoulder height to touch the palm of my hand. I learned about target training from Underdog to Wonderdog, a show on Animal Planet) and it would be fun to teach her some silly tricks. That's not my first priority, though.
First, I plan to kennel train her. Especially since I will not always be able to work only four hours a day, she needs to have a den. I've researched into kennels and have decided on a plastic one other than a wire one. Plastic kennels are more den-like and I have heard some horror stories of puppies who strangle themselves while trying to get out of wire kennels. Considering how she acts now in her enclosure, I think a plastic kennel will be the best choice for her.
In addition to this, I hope to train her to heel very quickly. I'm hoping to keep up a steady habit of one walk a day in the mornings, followed by a morning meal for both of us. Cesar Milan (the dog whisperer) advocates for 30 minutes to 1 hour of walking in the morning followed by a bonding meal experience, and I like his logic behind it. This way, the dog earns his meal and eats with you in a calm submissive state (after a walk, theoretically, the dog's excess energy should be spent). I thought about getting a harness for her, but I think I will try walking her on a short leash with the collar high up on her neck like Cesar suggests first and see if I can control her that way. A harness redistributes pressure on a dog when walking, preventing choking or throat injury from a collar, but a well-trained dog will not pull enough on the leash to hurt himself.

Also, Penny is what I will call an enthusiastic door greeter. Victoria Stilwell (of It's Me or the Dog) is basically my role model for all these situations because she gives great one-word commands and shows everyone how to teach their dogs these commands through a reward system and making the dog think for himself. Dogs are more intelligent than we give them credit for, and Penny seems to know what's up and can read people pretty well. So, using simple one-word commands, I hope to make sure Penny is polite at the door when guests come. Perhaps I will send her to her bed (in the kennel with the door open) or onto the couch by the door where the other dog in the house sits for people to be let in. Good doggy manners are a top priority on my list, though she is a friendly dog and I don't foresee any aggressive manner problems, only "oh my gosh I'm so happy to see you!" manner problems. A wonderful command I learned from "It's Me or the Dog" is the "enough" command, which blocks off the stimulation for a dog to bark and conditions them to calm down when they hear the word. By steps, I was able to teach the dogs at my parents' house to respond simply to that name. They may be barking at the window, but as soon as they hear the command, their ears go down and they walk out of the room. The problem is it doesn't prevent them from starting to bark, which is why they tend to wake me up in the mornings.

One of Penny's little quirks is that she really likes ice. Not chasing it or playing with it, but actually chewing ice cubes. It might be fun to find a trick that has to do with that, but I don't know what it would be.

And then, of course, once winter is over I plan on taking her to the river to learn to swim and fetch in the water. I am very excited about having a ready source of water and a dog, especially one who looks to be some sort of lab mix (they love the water). Tubing the river is very popular there, so if I can get her a life vest and float her along with me! I know what you're thinking, a life vest, for a dog? But most places I've read recommend getting one to teach dogs to swim so they aren't as scared and don't have to work as hard at staying afloat. Swimming is not quite as instinctive in dogs as we would like to think. In addition, there are a few parts of the river where egress is not quite possible, so if she were to get tired to the point where she couldn't paddle while floating down the river, I would not be able to do much to help her. Hopefully we can be intentional about going down once a week or so (maybe more) during the summer and taking a nice cool-down walk or something until she's dry.

I'm sure all of this is mostly interesting only to me, but if any of you would like to learn more about Cesar or Victoria's methods, here are some beneficial websites:It's Me or the Dog, and Cesar's Way, and Victoria Stilwell.

*Edit* Since writing this post, I have come across some articles which seriously criticize Cesar Millan's work. The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior has released a statement citing the suspect science behind dominance-related behavior repression, and frankly from what I've seen in the five dogs I've trained in my family growing up, I have to agree. Dogs and wolves are completely different animals, and basing what we see on a wild animal who has not been related to the domesticated form for thousands of years is a dangerous thing. I feel it is important to note that understanding dog behavior from many sources, especially those who study animal behavior for a living, is the first step in correcting problems with dogs. Many things I read suggest that alpha rolls, a common treatment of Cesar's, is too aggressive a move to modify behavior. In fact, I have been more successful with positive conditioning than any fear tactics when training my dogs. Without anthropomorphizing dogs too much, think about being a small human living as the pet of a giant. Would you respond better to a kind master who rewards you for doing something good or one who dominates you through body posture and cowls you into obedience? And honestly, is it too hard to say a "good boy" every now and then?
So, everyone, let's keep our Pavlov in mind
and I will continue to post my progress with Penny as it comes along (hopefully with video if I can figure it out). Don't expect anything until Friday, when I finally go back to the house for the semester!