Good Grief

Eli's second Puppy Kindergarten class was this morning and the pup's making me look like a liar. ;P The little booger...



We began practicing "down" in class. The trainer asked me if Eli has already been doing "down" and I told her that he has. Do you think he would do it in class? Nope!
He sat like a pro. He held his "sit." When I asked him to go "down" he would not do it. I believe the problem lies in how we work together at home. In order for Eli to be looking me in the eyes, I put him at eye level when I work with him. I also don't have his training vest and leash on him, and there aren't five other dogs and 9 other people.
He still did not want to socialize with the other puppies today. He started to slightly warm up to Petunia, the second smallest pup in the class.
When we did some leash practice, Eli was fantastic. I expect that of him, though, because he is recognizing that his job is to always be near me.
There are no issues with Eli responding to me when I say his name, but this week's homework is to continue practicing and possibly adding difficulty. People are already marveled by Eli's compliance to me when I say his name, no matter where he is or what he is doing. Does that mean we stop practicing? Of course not! I stated before that training is a life-long process.
Eli and I need to work on "down." He will sit anywhere, anytime, and he will stay sitting even if I walk away from him. The fact that he would not go "down" for me in class made me realize that we need to fortify that command and practice in a variety of settings. I like that the trainer said not to give the treat reward hand-to-mouth, but to put the treat down on the "magic ground" so that he stays down, eating his treat until he gets the marker to release. (The "magic ground" being that the treats are coming from the ground and he does not have to get up to get the treats from me.)
Guess what else we will be working diligently on this week? Potty! Eli is going to do both businesses outside this week if it kills me. (And it might! ;P)