[QuickSilver]

I didn't realize how much I would enjoy this, but: Thor is now a jedi master of Sitting. He's started anticipating Sits on street corners, ATMs, and waiting in line. It's also a really good, strong Sit, with his little butt flat on the floor, even if people walk by or something distracting happens. We worked for sooooo long on this, more than a year! For the longest time, if I asked him to Sit at a street corner, his whole body would tense up and he'd scan the scene, making sure it was safe to Sit. Often it would take him several minutes to decide, and it he did Sit, he'd kind of hover so he could explode into action if necessary. I tried treats. I tried corrections. I tried treats and corrections together. Nothing worked.

I think what really clicked for him was upping the ante - I started giving him 2x or even 3x his normal treat size for Sitting, and that seemed to be a strong enough motivator. Now I don't treat very frequently, but he's still great, and he immediately turns his darling little face up at me, looking for his next command. Well, looking for his treat, but he's still totally attentive.

Also, we're starting to make real progress on meeting other dogs. He's still very asocial, but he's definitely learning that he's much better off walking by a strange dog without barking his head off. Now when we see another dog approaching, I see him alert - and then he turns around and looks at me to see what to do! It's so cool!

The key for better manners with dogs was also treats. I used to try to get him to do a command before I would reward him when he saw another dog, but he would just totally unglued and he'd bark, get no treat, and not learn anything. I started giving him treats right before he saw the dog, and that got him relaxed enough that he could start focusing on me for guidance, rather than just reacting.

It's really nice. So much of the time, he's this sweet, calm, obedient dog, rather than a quivering ball of jelly. And I get to praise him all the time instead of correcting him. Everyone's happy.