Test Night

Thursday 29th April and it is test night. I was really excited and concerned about the Big Test. Would I ever be able to get Jack to sit for a whole minute without changing position, Would Jack walk on a loose lead with and without distractions. I certainly had my doubts. My lovely husband and daughter very kindly took Jack for a walk before we set off for the Test, in the hope that a good run about before hand would tire him out just a little! Oh dear how wrong can one be. He seemed even more excited and excitable when we arrived to be examined. I did take the Bannana (see previous post) but with little effect. The test started well and Jack let me examine him and remove his collar for examination and then we did the STAY....Would he do it for me. 30 seconds, 20, seconds and several attempts later we gave up, whilst other dogs had their turn. Jack was given a second chance and with the stern eye and command of our trainer. Jack was passed this section....Why oh why does one minute (just 60 seconds) seem so long......The Recall. Well he succeded in this, her certainly flew down the hall to return to me, when called, but putting him back on the lead was a farce, ALTHOUGH I DID SUCEED. Anyway after what seemed a very very long hour. All the dogs present and their owners (including myself) were told we had passed our Bronze award! I dont think my family would have believed it if I had not returned with our certificate........Oh well onwards and upwards...Next week we move up a class and start woring out way towards the Siver Award! 2 minutes in STAY!!!!!!!

Bannana's

This morning Jack and I discovered the secret of Stay!! Bannana. Jack loves fruit and whilst my daughter was eating one, he did a "stay" being totally transfixed by the sight and longing for a piece. Of course initially he did not knowhe had done a stay but I had seen the potential. Guess what. twice in a row we dd a stay and with the aid of a trusty Bananna Jack became an obedient staying dog! Now...Am I allowed to use this on test night?....Right I am off to buy a lot of fruit, especially of the yello variety.

A Great day

Today started with a brief interview on Radio Suffolk. Mark Murphys Breakfast show. Thanks Mark. Unfortunately Jack was too busy into his training schedule to break off and chat so I had to represent his efforts to raise money....For those of you interested Jacks training schedule goes like this:
Good Nights sleep (at least 9 hours at a stretchhh...Wake up and Stretchhhh. A few gentle warm up exercises. followed by a quick nap before having a short run to limber up ready for the day. A small but nutritious breakfast followed by ten minutes of the hard stuff....Sit!. (if I must) Down (thats better) and Stay....(But why?) Then after this hard work out a dog must go for another sleep in preparation for the hard stuff later.

Tonight, We had a class with Penny and the rest of the class, although two friends were missing? A run through of test night and guess what We did OK... Staying for a whole minute was not brilliant so we really have to work on that, Only 50 seconds...Feels like an hour. However walking on the lead in a controlled manner went really well. Do I have a different dog from last week? On course I think for the Bronze.

The Pressure is on

Wow, the pressure is now on to succeed. No more hiding in the shadows, Jack and I need to succeed. People are really sponsoring us. Only 9% of our target and a long way to go but 9% is 9% and it shows people have shown some faith in us.....Thanks guys. Those Blisters on my hand will be worth it. Class tomorrow and we are going to be running through the Bronze award test. I spoke to Penny (Suffolk Dog School) earlier who is our trainer and she tells me that the test is set for 29th April! Help, I cant believe we will be ready but as I have said the pressure is on and it would be so embarrassing to fail our very first test.

Bullie runs...

Just to give you some idea what Jack can be like sometimes, have a look at a couple of youtube clips of Bull Terriers doing a Bullie Run.
Bullie Run One!!!

Bullie Run Two!!!

They're mad, I tell you. But life with a Bullie is fun and entertaining.

Well Jack and I are now about three weeks into our Big Train. Sit, down and wait are progressing satisfactorily and even Stays! are begining to happen more reliably. HOWEVER. Heel work is a disaster. To be more accurate the aim is to get your dog to walk nicely on a loose lead. My hands are blistered with the effort I require to hold him closely. A loose lead it is NOT. At our second class we attempted a Recall. To practice this, the trainer holds your dog, up one end of a large hall; when the owner is ready she releases the beast and the owner calls the dog to them. Well I was reasonably confident that Jack would come back to me. He did! but what happened then caused me great embarrassment and the rest of the class great amusement! Jack was caught but he partook in a spot of Bully running. If no one has witnessed this spectacle it is amusing, but can be alarming at the same time. Bull terriers sometime just take off at great speed and run in random patterns at full speed bouncing off anything that gets in their way. (This does appear to be a Bull terrier trait) Well Jacks ears went back (A sign of trouble to come) and his tail started gyrating at great speed (another sign of potential trouble) However I caught him and did my best to hold onto him (by sitting on him)whilst he spun on the floor in his efforts to run and my efforts to put his lead back on. A class mate described it as dog wrestling and very funny. Restraining a very strong dog who has decided he needs to run is no mean feat. Next week I am going to take Jack for a long walk before the class. Just maybe he will have spent some of that energy before he gets to class. Wish us luck.

Welcome to Jack's Charity Train

Hi, I have never blogged before so this is a First. My second first is my effort to successfully train a dog. So that's two firsts! My third 1st (Can I have a third 1st?) is my goal to raise money for a charity.

My name is Dee and my Dog is Jack. Me a middle aged but very young at heart 50 something and Jack is nearly 2. Jack is an English Bull terrier and I just adore him. However, although he is very good natured, incredibly funny and very stubborn, he is far from being trained.

Therefore I am setting myself and him the goal of working towards the Good Citizen Awards, with the first Goal being Bronze.

I will be commencing classes in April and need to put in some training before that if we are to catch up with an already established class. Jack and I did attend a few classes before Christmas but work commitments and failure on my part to put the effort needed into the training, meant we did not complete the course. However with the commitment to raising money for Charity, we intend to succeed. The Charity we are planning to raise money for will be the East Anglian Children's Hospice.E.A.CH They are aiming to raise 3 million pounds to build a new and wonderful Children's Hospice.

The Hospice's address is in the Links. I shall also be adding pictures, so watch this space! Please follow the link to Just Giving to donate online. If anyone reading this feels able to support us we would be incredibly grateful as will the Charity E.A.C.H.

Please check up often on our progress!

Thank you for your support.

Dee & Jack.