Dog Training In Progress

Wow, time really flies by, Shannon is going to be 1 year old in a couple of months. She weighs about 4 lbs now but she's on the skinny side, I'd say she should probably weigh close to 5 lbs. I think that Chihuahuas reach their full growth by around 7 months so she's pretty much done growing. her favorite toy is the "sqeaky" (see photo), when I tell her to go get her sqeaky she searches the whole house and brings it to me.

Shannon now knows the basic commands such as sit, stay, lie down and come here. I'm working on increasing the amount of time she will stay. She also knows how to "dance" for a treat by standing up on her 2 back legs and twirling around a couple of times. Once puppies understand a command it's important to use it often to reinforce it. I find opportunites throughout the day for this. For instance if she wants to go outside, sometimes I tell her first to sit and stay and when I give the okay she come's out and this becomes her reward for obeying. Playing is also a good time for practicing commands, before your dog gets the toy have him do something for you such as lie down. Once he does what you say, reward him with play and the toy.

Guess that's it for now.