Layla's first day at Board & Train and she's fitting in like a champ! It didn't take her long to get all settled in and figure out the essentials like where the back door is located so she can go outside to use the bathroom.
I first gave Layla some time to explore around the house by herself. When she started to look pretty comfortable, I started introducing my dogs one by one. She did great with the little puppy, Rhett. She's very playful with other dogs but she does a lot of very appropriate body signals that let the other dogs know she' ready to play.
It look very little time before she was playing with everyone and having a grand time! She and Kravitz are getting along really well.
Play is a really important component of a dogs' life. It helps them burn off energy, it helps keep their focus, and it provides an excellent opportunity for training. Part of how I build a really solid recall (coming when called) is rewarding a dog for randomly checking in with me. I have been working with Layla on name recognition and attention throughout the day so she's already keyed into me. So anytime she comes up to check in with me, I give her praise and give her a treat. It's a pretty big deal when a dog stops playing with other dogs and checks in with their humans.
I've started to teach Layla "touch" which is the beginning of an alert (her way of telling people when something is needed). I'll eventually move this "touch" to a poke on the leg.
We practice a lot right before mealtime so she starts to get the idea that she needs to let people know when it's time to eat.
We worked on a lot of things today and it was exhausting. But it's so nice to have friends to curl up with.
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