A major obstacle to Magnet's training, besides my health, is the seasonal change his coat goes through from summer to winter. He's basically non-shedding, but without combing his hair will mat badly. The twist is that during the winter I could comb him as little as once every three weeks, and during the strongest heat this summer he's needed a combing every two days. He's super duper about sitting still for the combings, gritting and putting up with the snarls getting pulled out. Unfortunately, like any member of the animal world, and rightly so, he feels he's entitled the next day and backslides on a lot of his training.
He's extremely controllable when he does a few short barks at someone passing in the hall outside the apartment, but without calling him with "Come" he'll continue a little longer. My building is set up so all bedrooms are the furthest from the entrance, so I'm tempted to let him have his will, but being a bit cautious I give him the "Come" and then walk to the peep hole and check. When I'm not home I put a 'small dog spray bark collar' on him. I have a standard bark collar that my 7 lb. chihuahua was happy with until his last six months of life. Magnet, however, is obviously uncomfortable with that heavier version. He's nearly perfect about being quiet on the collar, with only the clear spray. For those of you lost, the spray collars are just that, usually spraying a mist of water or citronella when the sensor detects a loud noise. That's all they do, so they're very gentle, and they're also very effective, comprising a scientific breakthrough.
He adores his rawhide twists. He goes through one a day. He likes bully sticks too, even more than rawhide, but they stink a bit, and he's almost as happy with the rawhide sticks, so that's what he's been getting. He did knaw on the hoof I bought him the first week, about a month ago, for about an hour, but he hasn't gone back to it.
I make sure he doesn't go without his rubber ball. Youtube video coming soon.
