Several others have suggested working on having her sit and be approached, first. She will not take food from strangers. It's taken her 5 weeks to become comfortable enough with the instructors in class to allow them to approach us, and she will take treats from them now. But strangers? That's a no-go. She isn't really so much fearful as she is distrustful, as I said before. I wish I could show you what I mean. She's perfectly fine around people as long as they don't try to touch her. If they do, she will often 'shy' away. It's like she's saying, "I don't know you, what makes you think you're allowed to touch me?" We never had a problem with her on vacation, and we were often around lots of strangers, but I did not allow them to try and pet her if they asked. On the other hand, she adores kids, and will let them do all manner of things to her, even if she's never met them before. She does both a sit-stay and a down-stay very well, but I have not been making her stay in position for more than about 10 seconds so far, and at a distance of about 10-15 feet. I use a retractable lead for the stays, and for the recall as well, so I'm not having to fumble with a long line, and to desensitize her to pressure on the lead during the stays, so she doesn't think that feeling a pull means she is supposed to come to me (so far, she hasn't seemed to care, which is good). This past Monday, in class, the instructor had an empty water bottle that she was using as a distraction (crackling it, smacking it with the heel of her hand, etc.), and Jessie didn't seem to mind that, but I haven't started walking around her or over her during the stays yet. I don't think that will be a problem, though; I can probably start doing that now, actually. I'm not going to worry so much about it, I don't think. The instructors have all commented that she's made great progress, so I think we'll pass. This Monday is the last night of class, and graduation, and they're going to do it just like a Novice OB competition, so I was just freaking out a bit is all. LoL Thanks for your help and advice, Leslye and others. Kristen On 9/4/07, Shofar Shepherds <shofar_k9s@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: > > Have you thought about working on a "sit for exam" first? ... I'd have > the food come from the strangers. ... Teach her to sit stay while you walk > around her in circles and find other distractions. When she is strong in > that stage of the sit stay, start having your strangers walk past her at a > little distance, and make her hold the sit stay. As she gains confidence, > have them gradually move closer. They should have yummy food in their > hand. Eventually they should stop slightly to one side, and offer the food. > When she takes it, they walk away. Again, gradually, you would have them > touch first her chest, then her neck, her head, and finally pet her from > head to tail. Each succeed should be rewarded. > ... > Be careful about your feeding her when she is showing the nervous about > strangers behavior. YOu may inadvertently be reinforcing the behavior you > don't want. ... Once you have that solid sit-stay, however, it's very easy > to teach the stand for exam. > ... > Five weeks is a very short period of time to do a whole lot more than set > a foundation. > ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2007. All material remains the property of the original author and of GSD Communication, Inc. NO REPRODUCTIONS or FORWARDS of any kind are permitted without prior permission of the original author AND of the Showgsd-l Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL PERSONS ARE ON NOTICE THAT THE FORWARDING, REPRODUCTION OR USE IN ANY MANNER OF ANY MATERIAL WHICH APPEARS ON SHOWGSD-L WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PERMISSION OF ALL PARTIES TO THE POST AND THE LIST MANAGEMENT IS EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN, AND IS A VIOLATION OF LAW. VIOLATORS OF THIS PROHIBITION WILL BE PROSECUTED. For assistance, please contact the List Management at admin@xxxxxxxxxxxx VISIT OUR WEBSITE - www.showgsd.org ============================================================================