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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (June 3, 2015)
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, 2015 HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3 FROM PAGE A1 TRICKS: weave through, and the han- dlers only have eight minutes to memorize the course before continued from page A1 leading the dogs through it. close the door and to do a “Every course is differ- handstand by walking her ent,” she said. “The dog never back legs up a wall. sees how the course is until Some of the expert tricks you actually do it. It’s chal- were actually part of Jazzie’s lenging, very challenging, agility training, which O’Ble- and fun. It’s quite addicting. ness began working on simul- The more I’ve trained, the taneously. Jazzie attained the more I’ve wanted to train.” highest agility rating, master, O’Bleness started training and she now competes at dogs for agility in 2010 and various agility contests in the soon after began training oth- 3DFL¿F 1RUWKZHVW 2¶%OHQHVV er people to work with their said the dogs must navigate dogs. Through her business courses with tunnels, bridg- Smarty Dog, she offers Ca- es, teeter totters, and poles to nine Good Citizen, trick and agility trainings in Hermiston and the Tri-Cities. O’Bleness said working with the owners helps them build relation- ships with their dogs, which is important for the training process. “I just enjoy helping peo- ple out with their dogs,” she said. “Dogs are easier to train than people.” O’Bleness said she has more than 20 current students and welcomes others. The classes cost $65 for a one- hour class once a week for eight weeks. ³, ¿QG WKHUH¶V PRUH UH- wards than just money,” she said. “I try to make it afford- able, so anybody can take the classes and improve their dog’s behavior.” O’Bleness said it is im- portant to reward positive behavior and ignore negative behavior when training dogs, and she always has plenty of treats. “Don’t work without treats,” she said. “It’s like with people. We don’t work for free. There’s got to be something in it for the dog.” For more information about Smarty Dog training, contact O’Bleness, 541-571-4027, pat- ty.obleness@gmail.com. Dog training tips Dog trainer Patty O’Bleness, Hermiston, recommends people spend time and have fun with their dogs. She said it is important to walk dogs and teaching them tricks can help build a stronger relationship between the dog and owner. When training, O’Bleness said people should follow a few simple steps: • Reward good behavior. • Ignore bad behavior. • Teach your dog to come when called. • Don’t punish a dog that comes when called, even after a previous negative behavior. • Anticipate and prevent negative incidents, such as a dog that jumps on people when they enter a residence. • Always have plenty of treats. See this story online for more photos SEAN HART PHOTO SEAN HART PHOTO Leg Weaving Step 1: Patty O’Bleness said to train a dog to weave between your legs, begin with treats in both hands and the dog in front of you. Leg Weaving Step 2: Spread your legs, and present a treat be- hind one of them until the dog goes through your legs. Lead the dog around the leg before giving the treat. BIDDING: Monday, how many people are willing to pay the mini- mum reserve price remains to be seen. People can submit bids, which can be found on the Co- lumbia Basin Student Home- builder Program website, www.columbiabasinstudenth- omes.org, to the school district through June 19, at which time Smith will notify the top bid- der. He said, in the event two people submit the same top bid, the district will draw lots to determine the winner. “Many people, from the continued from page A1 ble like this house in Hermis- ton,” Smith said. The reason, Smith said, is because the city does not have many similarly sized houses — 2,050 square feet — with the same amenities and special features as the student-built home. “It was kind of hard for the appraiser to give us any upward limit because we don’t have this in Hermiston,” Smith said. /RFDO 5HDOWRU 1DWDOLH Turner, who was touring the house with her husband and son Monday on the way to her daughter’s softball game, said she was impressed with what she saw. “Quality-wise, it’s great. It has everything that people are looking for,” she said, adding prospective buyers want an RSHQ ÀRRU SODQ HQHUJ\ HI¿- ciency, three bedrooms and DQRI¿FHZKLFKFDQEHWXUQHG into a fourth bedroom. Despite the interest of the people touring the house comments I’ve heard so far, are interested in submitting bids,” he said. Smith said people who tracked the building process approached him about sub- mitting bids even before the home was complete, and Monday’s open house gener- ated more interest. “I guess we’ll see their level of interest by the mea- sure of their bids,” he said. People who want to conduct another inspection of the house prior to submitting a bid should call Berger at 541-720-7826. SEAN HART PHOTO Leg Weaving Step 3: Offer a treat behind your other leg with your other hand until the dog goes through your legs again and repeat the process. Comments on student-built home People touring the student-built home Monday had only posi- tive things to say during Monday’s open house. Sandy Debano, Hermiston: “I like the woodwork. I like the trim. I like mostly everything.” Melody Journot, Umatilla: “It’s beautiful. They (the students) did an amazing job on this. It’ll go for a lot. It’s a beautiful home.” Melody Sanchez, Hermiston: “The kids did a great job. You can tell they took a lot of pride in what they were doing here.” Karen Sherman, Hermiston School Board: “I think it’s amazing. They’ve done a great job here. I think it’s way beyond what we envisioned.”