Lita: RAD class 2, session 4. Progressing in leaps!

We've made so much progress in the last 2 months!!!

Firstly, we "graduated" RAD Class 1. Well, kind of. The session was 6 weeks and we finished it. We weren't deemed ready to move on to a non-RAD class though (2 of our classmates were, WOO!), so we started Class 2 with two other pups from the group. Roo, a white male pit mix, who, I am fully convinced, should be Lita's boyfriend. And Moss, a male aussie. Just the 3 of us. Last week was our 4th session and it was a big one. BIG. Lita has come such a long way! Sometimes the progress is *very* difficult to recognize, but this time it was clearly apparent. Lita is much calmer in class. Not pulling nearly as much (sometimes not at all!!!). She is able to pay a lot more attention to us as well. We focused a lot last week on the Look at That! game, which she is clearly understanding since The Husband reports she is now offering the behavior on walks. !!! Also, not only was she able to respond to "downs" appropriately, she also offered one on her own for the first time in class. "Downs" are far more difficult than sits for reactive/stressed dogs because it puts them in a more vulnerable position. Roo was able to approach her while we played Look at That! and neither one of them reacted. He made it to about 10 feet away! This was HUGE for both of them. Outside of class, we still struggle with loose leash walking on walks. But we're working more on integrating games (at least touch for now) during walks to be able to get her attention.

In the house she is doing fantastic things...
~I can now get her to jump off her feet for a high touch.
~She will put her front feet on top of a large paint bucket for treats (achieved through shaping).
~She's learning "woof" (our version of "speak").
~She is becoming bilingual--her new release word instead of "okay" is "Vamos"!
~She has a new Nina Ottosson toy (the tornado) that she is learning to master.
~She has a baby size swimming pool for hot days that she will walk through/stand in and even sat a few times, but hasn't laid in yet.
~AND she had a head to head loose dog encounter with Ernie, a little terrier dude that lives near us. Thankfully, he didn't bark and Lita didn't react! So much happening!!!

Our trainer thinks that we will probably be able to advance to the FOCUS class next session, which is more traditional obedience in a group setting. For that we need to learn mat training and Lita's new mat arrived a few days ago. She has already laid down on it with no prompting. :)

This session I have also started assisting with the level 1 RAD class which meets right after us level 2ers. It is completely fascinating to watch and recognize all the little things that I'm not able to pay attention to when I'm trying to work with my own dog.

This is quite the change from the last gloom and doom update, huh? That's the way it goes, I guess! Our next class is tonight. *fingers crossed*