# Competition Training - December 2013 + New Year Resolutions



## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

I don't have much to report, except

I'M GETTING A PUPPY!!! :artydude

(In case you hadn't heard )


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

Loisiana said:


> I don't have much to report, except
> 
> I'M GETTING A PUPPY!!! :artydude
> 
> (In case you hadn't heard )


Maybe in order to kill time this week, I will learn how to do the Party Dude dance!


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## Laurie (Sep 20, 2009)

I have fairly lofty goals for Lexx for 2014!!

My first goal is to get him to stop acting out at class! Just when I think he is getting over it, he has another episode. They're getting shorter but still occurring nonetheless. As long as he's busy, he's fine so I do my best to keep him engaged. Hopefully this is something he'll grow out of (soon).

New Years Resolutions

A CD and CDX are definitely within reach. Lexx knows the exercises but I need to work a bit more on his focus in the ring. We will continue working on his Utility exercises as well.

We will also strive for his TD and TDX tracking titles.

As well, I'm hoping he will be able to attain his WC next summer. We've been working on his retrieving skills. He's great with his dokken but not sure how he'll be with a real bird!

I was hoping for an agility title or two but think we will focus more on obedience.

So as you see, we have our work cut out for us. Thank goodness I have a dog that likes to work and is happy doing so!


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## Vhuynh2 (Feb 13, 2012)

Molly should get her CD next year.. Hopefully early next year. Molly is too much of a worrier and very dependent on me telling her what she's doing is right, so we're working on that. 

Before showing in Novice, we might get our RN (but I'm not sure if this is a good idea if I'm trying to do less talking). After Novice, we'll go for our last BN leg (I wanted to stay in Novice A).

As for field training, our trainer said we are ready for junior, and by the end of next summer, depending on how she is with handling (right now it's not looking so good to me..) , Molly should be ready for senior. I'm not sure how I will work up the courage to enter. And I think the WCX should be attainable next year. 

I didn't have any resolutions or goals last year, but we only got a WC this year (and two BN legs). Field work, let alone getting the WC, was not on the radar at all this time last year, so I'm pleased and surprised. 


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

For this week I have agility class on Wednesday and Puppy Party on Saturday  

Goals for 2014:

Casey: keep him healthy and in reasonable shape & happiness.
Faelan: UD, UDX and get back to Agility since he has already earned points for his PACH
Towhee: CDX and get her back to agility, start her training to prepare for her UD in 2015
Brady: RN, RA, possibly CD and start him up in agility

Hunt Tests are no longer on my plan: I just do not have enough interest. The people I train with are wonderful, Faelan loves it but the extended days, poison ivy, weather, sitting out in the field without dogs or company for hours and traveling for more hours are just not enjoyable. I really don't get to spend enough time with my dogs as it is and taking huge chunks of my weekend for a game I don't much enjoy anymore (honestly in large part due to a repugnance to even _seem_ to be associated with a sport that has a few people I detest on this forum) is well - no longer important to me.

ETA: and watching how the Titan x Towhee puppies develop. We may be repeating the breeding if all the puppies seem to be blossoming into their potential.


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## TheZ's (Jun 13, 2011)

Vhuynh2 said:


> . . .
> 
> Before showing in Novice, we might get our RN (but I'm not sure if this is a good idea if I'm trying to do less talking). After Novice, we'll go for our last BN leg (I wanted to stay in Novice A).


You don't need to wait to get that last BN leg. I looked into this because Zoe had her BN and was getting ready to trial for her CD. Even with a BN you can still show in Novice A if you would otherwise be eligible for Novice A. Experts correct me if I'm wrong.


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## Hombrespop (Sep 3, 2012)

Hopefully get Nuggets CDX in Jan. and get him up to higher scores in the Open class and too ( I hope get the DR exercise solid ) and start showing in utility toward the end of 2014. 
PS. I will be getting a little boy in April if my breeders and my plans work out

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## Eowyn (Aug 29, 2013)

I am getting a puppy.  Hoping to have get a CGC, RN and possibly a BN title on her by age 8 months, although it will likely take longer. I would love to get her pointed in AKC conformation, but that is a dream for farther down the road. I may do an International Championship with her just for ring experience.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Laurie said:


> I have fairly lofty goals for Lexx for 2014!!
> 
> My first goal is to get him to stop acting out at class! Just when I think he is getting over it, he has another episode. They're getting shorter but still occurring nonetheless. As long as he's busy, he's fine so I do my best to keep him engaged. Hopefully this is something he'll grow out of (soon).
> 
> ...


^ Laurie - I love reading posts like this. Especially remembering that you do not have a lot of access to training facilities, if I'm remembering rightly.  



Vhuynh2 said:


> Molly should get her CD next year.. Hopefully early next year. Molly is too much of a worrier and very dependent on me telling her what she's doing is right, so we're working on that.


It will come. Rally helps a LOT with the confidence for these dogs. I balked about doing rally for the longest time.... but taking a year to just play in rally and do beginner novice with Jacks - it was what we needed so we could get his CD last year. And I can't imagine Molly being anywhere near as anxious and stress-y as Jacks was 2+ years ago. 



Sunrise said:


> Hunt Tests are no longer on my plan: I just do not have enough interest. The people I train with are wonderful, Faelan loves it but the extended days, poison ivy, weather, sitting out in the field without dogs or company for hours and traveling for more hours are just not enjoyable. I really don't get to spend enough time with my dogs as it is and taking huge chunks of my weekend for a game I don't much enjoy anymore....


Sharon, you forgot to mention GREEN ooky water.  Or that was what caused me to back off really fast after I saw pictures of a hunt test here in MI. The water looked like the type of water I avoid exposing the dogs to out of fear of blasto and toxic algae....  



TheZ's said:


> You don't need to wait to get that last BN leg. I looked into this because Zoe had her BN and was getting ready to trial for her CD. Even with a BN you can still show in Novice A if you would otherwise be eligible for Novice A. Experts correct me if I'm wrong.


I'm not an expert so I could be totally wrong.... 

I do think that if you show in rally and title there, you are still eligible to show in novice A. <- If you've titled in BN, I believe you have to show at the B level after that in regular obedience and rally. 

The only difference between showing at the A level and the B level is the type of competition you will have. When I went for Jacks' CD last year, we shared the ring with pretty much all OTCH people. So we had to beat their scores to get placements. 


***** Wow. I thought last year was a puppy year! I'm so excited (and jealous!) seeing how many of you guys are bringing home or have brought home puppies!!!! Congrats and it's going to be fun checking in here to see all the foundation training in the works.


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

I am jealous of all the puppies too ...

And Megora: Yes, you are right!! The green ***** water, the black smelly sludge, the burrs and seeds that collect in the coats, the being up at 11pm blow drying your dog outside after an emergency bath on work nights, those green pods that get everywhere. Dogs enjoy it though....


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## KeaColorado (Jan 2, 2013)

We'll be in the ring working on the CD in the new year as soon as our trainer feels we're ready. After we finish the CD, I'd like to try agility. 

I'm SO JEALOUS of all you who are getting puppies. My dissertation research will be finished at the end of the summer, and I'm hoping a puppy is on the horizon for me as well, around Fall 2014


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## Selli-Belle (Jan 28, 2009)

I frequently think about trying field work and I do have the clothing for it (except no camo), but I can never justify the fact that the birds are raised specifically to be shot for my entertainment. It doesn't hurt that Selli has absolutely NO interest in dead things. We do however spend tons of time in the field and in marshes and water, but I do try to keep my guys out of yucky water.

I haven't decided whether to continue tracking or not, I often think we should just focus on agility, maybe do CPE. I do want to get Dugie ready to go into the agility ring whether I take him in or his other mom Annette wants to do it.


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## Laurie (Sep 20, 2009)

Megora said:


> ^ Laurie - I love reading posts like this. Especially remembering that you do not have a lot of access to training facilities, if I'm remembering rightly.


 For the most part I have trained Lexx using videos off of YouTube because there weren`t any classes above puppy obedience. However, a training club in Regina (which is 45 minutes away) seems to have more interest now in competitive obedience as that is where I have been taking Lexx for the past few months. This is also the club that I will work with in the spring and summer in field work.

As for tracking...we have done that here in our city with the help of a local trainer and one of our K9 units from the Police Service. We have one level (advanced or similar to UTD) left do so in the spring.

We have 2 local agility groups that are very active. We`ve been with the same one for over a year now. 

Our trainer friend only uses his building a couple of nights a week so he has agreed to let me use it as much as possible to work Lexx. He has all of the equipment I need so I`m really looking forward to getting Lexx out of the basement and into an actual training setting (aside from his once a week obedience class).

I may be somewhat optimistic in our goals but Lexx is a smart boy. I think with the continued help of our trainers and our work at home, we can certainly achieve these goals if we put our minds to it!


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

I'm very happy to say that Jacks had his 2nd chiro visit today - and - there was just 3 very minor adjustments needed today (6 adjustments his first visit). Best of all is the pelvis adjustment STAYED. There was some concern that it would have gone crooked again if it was related to his hips.


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

Here were mine for 2013 :

_For Tiny....to keep her healthy enough and feeling well enough to turn 16 in March!_
(succeeded....she made it to 16 years, 8 months old)

_For Tito....I'd like to get his MXP and MJP titles this year. Also to continue to train for finished/master, but I'm not putting a time frame on when we'll be ready to enter the tests, I don't want that kind of pressure on myself. We'll just take it as it comes._
(succeeded....and also got his NFP and OFP titles, plus 10 Q's toward his T2B title).

ah, for 2014. Hadn't thought much about it, but I'm thinking:
agility...finish the T2B title. He needs 5 more Q's, but we don't trial after January, until the fall, so it will take a while. Would also like to get the excellent FAST title, but that one will be hard. We'll see.
field...would like to get the HRC upland hunter title, but depends on if I can find enough tests to enter. There aren't many of them in this area.
Also would LOVE LOVE LOVE to get his AKC MHU (master hunter upland) title, but again, depends on if I can find tests to run. He will need 6 passes, and the tests are pretty hard to come by.
As far as Finished and Master Hunter, not sure. I know he's not ready, and I don't plan to run him until he is. I'd like to have him ready to run by Spring of 2015, but I don't really want to put a time frame on it. That has more to do with his age than anything else, as he will be 7 this coming year.
Would also like to introduce him to tracking in 2014.
Guess that's about it.

Here's the thread from 2013 : 
http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com/golden-retriever-training-competition-all-sports/123717-2013-goals-dreams.html


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## hollyk (Feb 21, 2009)

Mine for 2013

_Get the last leg for SH. _ 
Done

_Continue to train for Finished and Master._ 
HRCH title. Training for Master hope to enter tests 2014.

_Clean up my end of the leash so we can make a run at CD._
CD Title. Working on CDX for 2014.


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## Hombrespop (Sep 3, 2012)

Nugget and I had our "private lesson " last night and the person giving it to me seemed to feel we will get this fixed easily . I don't know about easily but his ideas based on what one of his dogs that had same problem and was cured in the way he wants me to work with Nugget. Our training didn't even start when we turned around and Nugget had pooped in the ring and I thought not a very good way to start but Dave thought this hysterical and after cleaning up he explained what I should do and we did these things several times and improvement was definetly there. It will take a few weeks but I can see it happening doing as he says. The rest of the evening was fair as Nugget again refused the BJ the first time but with one run- by on leash did it three times straight. He also anticipated the DOR once as they will do but I didn't want to give a harsh correction so I let it go as Nugget is a pretty honest dog and wants to please so the next several recalls will be straight ones. His heeling was fair but he did lag once on the outside turn of fig8 once but a little pop of the leash and a " get it up " was all it took to fix this. We are going training this morning and I hope I can remember everything to get Nugget on the road to success with this exercise. Our time off has given me a better attitude and it was fun again last night. I've had dogs that had problems before but never one that was this long lasting or for me at least so hard to fix. 


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## Hombrespop (Sep 3, 2012)

Training this morning was good not perfect buT good. The DR as far as what I was told to do last night went well , no overachieving but he did retrieve the two gloves one at a time on command and on a 3 ft leash so when he came to me I took hold of it as planned praised him generously and gave him his treats so far so good. His turns in place left a lot to be desired but I don't care about the turns fronts or finishes for now. Heeling for some reason was much improved over last night. Nugget also did the BJ and ROHJ with zero refusals YEA ! Recall were both straight no - anticipation to drop . S+D good overall a bunch better the only thing I didn't like was his lack of enthusiasm today but I guess I should just be satisfied with the improvement that I did get . Both dogs go to the groomer tomorrow so no training unless I do the gloves outside but it's raining now and it's in the forecast for tomorrow we will see.


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## Lucky Penny (Nov 13, 2011)

New Years Resolutions:
Get the last two legs towards Luna's CD
Continue training in agility and have fun with it!

Selli-Belle, I have done CPE in the past, it is sooo much fun!!!


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## Laurie (Sep 20, 2009)

Took Lexx to our friend's training facility this morning. He was a little distracted as he hasn't been there since he took his puppy obedience classes. I let him do his sniffing and played some ball before we started training.

His heeling, figure 8s (both on and off leash), recall and stays were very good. We worked on ROHJ which was good although a couple of times he decided that going around the jump was easier! We did broad jump for the first time....no problems there. He took the jump and returned to position every time. We also worked on his go outs and directional jumping. Those will need work in the "big building". 

We also worked on his signal work...no complaints there either. He was a little slow on his DORs so will have to work on those a bit. 

For the first time in the "big building" he did pretty good. I think this will help us out a lot!!


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## AmbikaGR (Dec 31, 2007)

Not sure what I had posted as goals for 2013 but it was an okay year.

Brooke was my best success. 
We got her UD title in 5 trials after the first of the year with two okay scores and one so-so score but I was pleased. We c showed in some spring trials and a few outdoor summer trials and accumulated 6 UDX legs. 
Her field work improved but a water issue popped up that reared it's head at a couple of tests, not so much in training. But we THINK we are past it and she managed to pass her WC and ended the year with 3 JH passes.

Oriana I was not so successful with this year.
I failed her in both obedience and field I am sorry to say. In obedience I showed he a few times and still was not able to get the precision we work on in training. So without getting scores in the mid 90's there was not much sense in showing her so I put more concentration on Brooke. I have stopped even taking her to classes at this time hoping a hiatus will help her. 
In the field we were able to get her final leg to get her JH but her problem with birds is still a major issue. We made a lot of progress on doubles and triples as long as they were bumpers. And we worked a lot on out handling and at the end of the year she was doing some simple blinds. But until I fix her mouth we will not go anywhere in SH.

And what do I say about Lucy. I had no real goals other than her reaching her 13th birthday. Unfortunately it was not meant to be. But she got to do Nosework all year long and LOVED it. A week before she passed she passed her ORT and was entered in a fall trial which of course never happened. Truly a life well lived, right to the end.

For 2014?

Brooke - hopefully finish her UDX and possibly her OM. If we get our precision back where it was, maybe some OTCh points. And in the field continue to work on her handling skills and maye be ready to enter some SH tests before the year's end. 
There is also a possibility she will be bred at the end of the year. She has all her clearances ad her conformation is nice, just not sure I am up to it. 

Oriana - I have her signed up for Nosework classes starting January. We will revisit obedience after a while and see what it is like. I have no intention of stopping it with her totally. One way or the other we will be back before the end of the year and at the National. Her number one problem is she tries TOO hard. 
As for field we will continue to train and again I must find a way to get to train with FRESH birds to work on her issue. But even if that does not happen we will just work with bumpers and thawed birds, she enjoys it too much to deny her it.


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## IndyBindy (Nov 4, 2011)

Last year was a whirlwind! I had big goals for my guy, wanted to get into the Utility ring and finish his Excellent agility titles. BUT, my poor young boy was diagnosed with cancer and needed a few surgeries, requiring over 7 months of rehab. 

He is still on chemo but is doing AWESOME! He's back to "normal" now and more sound and strong that before. We entered the Novice A ring 5 times last month, he Qed each time with scores from 195-196  He is very close to going for the CDX, just polishing. All utility exercises are introduced just need mileage. Plus, he just started agility again and will be ready to compete in about a month. 

I am ecstatic and will never take him for granted. Of course we have high hopes but its now all about the journey. He is a wonderful partner and I'm so happy to get back to what we love. 

So, next year, our goal is UDX legs. Plus those excellent agility titles, (hes got a couple open legs now), and if he is doing well, work on that PACH? Plus, I'd love to do a bit more field work with him, maybe. He LOVES it so I need to make an effort to get him out there. 

OH, and I think I'm getting a puppy in late February. Due in two weeks....


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## boomers_dawn (Sep 20, 2009)

Loisiana said:


> I don't have much to report, except
> 
> I'M GETTING A PUPPY!!! :artydude
> 
> (In case you hadn't heard )


No, we didn't know :jester::woot2:


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## boomers_dawn (Sep 20, 2009)

Sunrise said:


> Hunt Tests are no longer on my plan: I just do not have enough interest.


Aw this bums me out. Because we had fun sometimes. But I do understand. Life is too short to do stuff you don't like, esp on your time off from work. More time for what you love and spending with Casey is an added bonus.

Dee Dee has been going to manners class. My goal for 2014 is to get CGC with Dee Dee. She's a cute enthusiastic heeler who does the prancy paws.

I was thinking Gladys doesn't like obedience, but what she really doesn't like is heeling. She does like puzzle solving and playing games. We'll continue that on our own at home. She doesn't have to do anything formal. No hammering square pegs into round holes.


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## Titan1 (Jan 19, 2010)

IndyBindy said:


> Last year was a whirlwind! I had big goals for my guy, wanted to get into the Utility ring and finish his Excellent agility titles. BUT, my poor young boy was diagnosed with cancer and needed a few surgeries, requiring over 7 months of rehab.
> 
> He is still on chemo but is doing AWESOME! He's back to "normal" now and more sound and strong that before. We entered the Novice A ring 5 times last month, he Qed each time with scores from 195-196  He is very close to going for the CDX, just polishing. All utility exercises are introduced just need mileage. Plus, he just started agility again and will be ready to compete in about a month.
> 
> ...


Where are you getting a puppy from?:


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## Vhuynh2 (Feb 13, 2012)

Megora said:


> It will come. Rally helps a LOT with the confidence for these dogs. I balked about doing rally for the longest time.... but taking a year to just play in rally and do beginner novice with Jacks - it was what we needed so we could get his CD last year. And I can't imagine Molly being anywhere near as anxious and stress-y as Jacks was 2+ years ago.


I'm _really_ tired of having to be Molly's cheerleader all the time. I don't even know how many times I had thought about quitting obedience these past few weeks. I feel defeated. It's so hard to try to be "up" when she's bringing ME down with her. I honestly think the problem is getting worse as she's getting older. I know there is something missing in my training.. I just can't figure it out.


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## Laurie (Sep 20, 2009)

Vhuynh2 said:


> I'm _really_ tired of having to be Molly's cheerleader all the time. I don't even know how many times I had thought about quitting obedience these past few weeks. I feel defeated. It's so hard to try to be "up" when she's bringing ME down with her. I honestly think the problem is getting worse as she's getting older. I know there is something missing in my training.. I just can't figure it out.


What is Molly doing during her obedience classes.


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

How about agility   

She & Brady can learn together :



boomers_dawn said:


> Aw this bums me out. Because we had fun sometimes. But I do understand. Life is too short to do stuff you don't like, esp on your time off from work. More time for what you love and spending with Casey is an added bonus.
> 
> Dee Dee has been going to manners class. My goal for 2014 is to get CGC with Dee Dee. She's a cute enthusiastic heeler who does the prancy paws.
> 
> I was thinking Gladys doesn't like obedience, but what she really doesn't like is heeling. She does like puzzle solving and playing games. We'll continue that on our own at home. She doesn't have to do anything formal. No hammering square pegs into round holes.


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

Can you perhaps post some video of a typical session? We might be able to offer some tips that will help.



Vhuynh2 said:


> I'm _really_ tired of having to be Molly's cheerleader all the time. I don't even know how many times I had thought about quitting obedience these past few weeks. I feel defeated. It's so hard to try to be "up" when she's bringing ME down with her. I honestly think the problem is getting worse as she's getting older. I know there is something missing in my training.. I just can't figure it out.


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## Hombrespop (Sep 3, 2012)

Vhuynh2 said:


> I'm _really_ tired of having to be Molly's cheerleader all the time. I don't even know how many times I had thought about quitting obedience these past few weeks. I feel defeated. It's so hard to try to be "up" when she's bringing ME down with her. I honestly think the problem is getting worse as she's getting older. I know there is something missing in my training.. I just can't figure it out.


Don't quit. I have trained a few dogs in the past but never had one like Nugget who has a few problems particular to him of all my dogs and I never thought of quitting but a little over a week ago I had a frustration MELTDOWN . I took almost a week off with zero training and made arrangements for private lessons from a man Who is a great trainer and now in three days of doing as he said to do the DR exercise is coming along with vast improvement. No it's not fixed but the doubt of it ever being accomplished is gone. Take a break get some help make it fun for yourself and your dog it will happen .


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## Hombrespop (Sep 3, 2012)

Just finished a little homework with Nugget and am pleased to say Nugget did this early stage of the fix of the DR on two gloves in my rain soaked yard and not once was there an attempt to over achieve . Yes the turns in place and f+f were sloppy but I don't care at this point he retrieved each glove 3x with no mistakes. It's coming along and MAYBE in a couple weeks I can put out the third glove and increase the distance but no rush for the fix as I've already rushed the exercise with this dog and I'm not going to mess this exercise up again. They are all different and learn at different pace and I must remember this.


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## Laurie (Sep 20, 2009)

Nuggetsdad said:


> They are all different and learn at different pace and I must remember this.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com App


Although Lexx is the first dog I`ve ever trained at this level, I too must remember this!!! I do get a little frustrated as well when I see him execute the exercises perfectly at home and then act like a knucklehead at class! 

I`ve been tempted to quit at times too but then I see what we`ve actually accomplished and know it wouldn't be fair to him. Lexx likes to work and, for the most part, is very happy when doing so.

I have to remember that Lexx is a young male Golden Retriever and still has those dreaded puppy brains! However, he is a smart boy and I love working with him. Just seeing his happy face when he knows he`s done well makes my day.


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## MarieP (Aug 21, 2011)

I think my goals for 2013 were a CD and JH for Riot. Checked off the CD, but not the JH. 

Things have changed for this coming year due to Riot's recent elbow surgery. For 2014, I'm hoping to keep him sound. We will not be able to show in any spring shows. We will be working on our CDX and perfecting utility exercises, once we can really start training again. Field work will be on hold until I know that Riot can stay sound.

Depending on breeding plans, I will probably be adding a puppy toward the end of 2014


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Vhuynh2 said:


> I'm _really_ tired of having to be Molly's cheerleader all the time. I don't even know how many times I had thought about quitting obedience these past few weeks. I feel defeated. It's so hard to try to be "up" when she's bringing ME down with her. I honestly think the problem is getting worse as she's getting older. I know there is something missing in my training.. I just can't figure it out.


What's going on exactly? Or what are the problem areas? 

If you don't feel comfortable posting a video here, maybe send privately to people to see if they can spot check for you and offer suggestions? 

Couple thoughts too - 

Sometimes, depending on who we take classes from.... you are receiving advice based on what worked or works for them. It's a very good idea to absorb and see if you can adapt to a point where it works for you. 

I'll be very honest here as somebody who takes classes at two locations, I have received advice from people on how to problem solve - and while the advice maybe would have worked on my dog, it did not fit my personal style. So the more I felt "harassed" by the instructors, the more my dog felt it. 

I had an instance of this occur a few weeks ago with Bertie. This was a lovely lady I've taken classes with and do like in general. The problem I was having with Bertie is taking the slow pace without him leaping around. I posted about it here, but I was frazzled and irritated when this instructor's suggestion for stopping the jumping was more playing in between heeling. And she wanted MORE PLAY. And was really pushing me to get out of my comfort zone and bounce around or whatnot in class. I'm not as reserved as I was as a teenager (I was terribly shy back then), but I'm still not a very loud and energetic trainer and it just wasn't going to happen.  

It was a terrible class and it was so bad that if she had stayed for the Open/Utility class immediately following - I would have packed up and headed home vs doing the class with Jacks. 

My regular instructor was in the same class and she saw how mad I was and she saw how Bertie just worsened through the class, and she made a point of dedicating a lot of the following week's class time on heeling. And she suggested a couple methods that actually work with my personal style and actually had Bertie doing a reasonably nice slow pace there in class. 

^ The gist of all that is basically do not assume it is always you or your dog. 

Seeking problem solving advice from other people or doing drop in fun matches at different locations where you are likely to receive feedback and alternative suggestions - this will help. 

Same thing with trying different methods based on watching other trainers and picking up bits and pieces that you think "work" for you to draw out the energy and response you want from your dog.


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## Laurie (Sep 20, 2009)

Megora said:


> I had an instance of this occur a few weeks ago with Bertie. This was a lovely lady I've taken classes with and do like in general. The problem I was having with Bertie is taking the slow pace without him leaping around. I posted about it here, but I was frazzled and irritated when this instructor's suggestion for stopping the jumping was more playing in between heeling. And she wanted MORE PLAY. And was really pushing me to get out of my comfort zone and bounce around or whatnot in class. I'm not as reserved as I was as a teenager (I was terribly shy back then), but I'm still not a very loud and energetic trainer and it just wasn't going to happen.  .


 This sounds so familiar!! I am always being told I need to play with Lexx more; make myself more entertaining and interesting or make myself more interesting than horse poop (at agility)!! I am also a pretty quiet, reserved person and jumping around being loud just isn't me. I've started playing more with Lexx with a tug toy but I just do it quietly!


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

FWIW, I too have been told that it is my job to be more interesting than dirt. Well that frequently just is not a reasonable goal (have you ever noticed this usually comes for border collie or sheltie people ?? no offense is intended but I have never heard a golden person suggesting we be more interesting than dirt, poop, birds etc)

What I have found works for me is changing my mindset a bit - my dogs do not have to work for me. This reduces all kinds of stress and my internal competitiveness  

But, if they choose not to work I simply get another one of my dogs who is very much wanting their turn to work - it is a priviledge to work with me, and since it is a priviledge it can be taken away. My dogs do not work for their food and they do not work for their snuggles and I will love them regardless but they do work for special toys and special treats. I only play tug when training. I only play certain interactive games when training. They usually only get one on one time with me when training or when they are being groomed. So training comes to be a very special thing and then before we know it, they love working for the sake of learning, figuring things out and using their bodies in the ways only training allows them to 

ETA: other than stays, I also honor the one on one time by not having another dog out while I train. It is one on one. I love having other people with their dogs out, but I really try to give 100% to the dog I am working. This is a personal quirk and I know many people have multiple dogs out but for me it works best to not have to split my attention, or to have my dogs splitting their attention.


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## Lucky Penny (Nov 13, 2011)

So one new thing that has come up in obedience which frustrates me is Luna's stays. She has been practicing them since she was 8 weeks old and does them well. I take her to many locations and practice and she usually does great! However, the show I showed at in the fall and the match I recently attended, she broke her stays. The show, she broke the down stay! The match, the sit stay! She comes right to me like a recall. Not sure what is going on. There are a lot of shows and goes this winter, so I plan on hitting them all and during the sit stay standing right in front of her. Any other advice?


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

video tape!! You don't have to share it with anyone, but watch your body language and Luna's body language.

You might need to stop forward motion when walking away at matches and back pedal to re-inforce and/or reward if it seems to be a confidence issue or if she just needs more exposure. She may just need more exposure to doing stays in a line-up of dogs. Or more proofing by throwing toys, dumbbells, lifting gating, dropping to the floor and rolling, doing Frankenstein type movement, wearing strange clothing etc. 

Stays can be hard to address so video taping can often help. Also try walking towards a mirror - I am doing this right now with Faelan on signals since he crept a few weeks ago - twice! Walking towards a mirror allows you to watch your dog while maintaining the correct body posture moving away.

ETA: I just reread your post again and noticed you said she comes at you like a recall. Do you have a different posture for stays than you do for recalls? Common stances are legs slightly apart, arms are either crossed of behind your back and no eye contact for stays.


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## Lucky Penny (Nov 13, 2011)

I think it may be a confidence issue. She is really attached to me; mostly, my fault. All though she doesn’t show signs of being nervous in strange places, she is well socialized. She may be picking up on my nerves during the stays though. She knows what stay means and will do it in the middle of busy pet stores! Her stays are rock solid in weekly group stays in class. You are right with doing it with lines of different dogs. Back peddling is what I was planning on doing. I like the idea of not walking away from her and rewarding her periodically and slowly going from there. I am thankful there are lots of matchs this winter where I can practice this. I think in the ring with strange dogs is really the only place I can fix this. 
Outside the ring, I often practice throwing things and have volunteers doing the frankensein type movement! 
Video taping is a great tip, I will attempt doing that. Or even the mirror like you suggested. Leaving the dog is always hard, they like to crept!!!
I stand differently with recalls then I do with stays. 
Thanks for your tips!

Someone also said they use the word "wait" for recalls and "stay" for stays.


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

I just use the word "sit" or "down" with no additional command. That way the last word they hear is what they should be doing. Then whatever we're doing, I can give the command sit or down and they are expected to comply and not change position until released. So I'm on the couch watching tv, and I tell my dog to sit. Dog sits, and I don't say anything else. I might get up and go get a drink. Or continue watching tv. Or walk out the front door. Doesn't matter, I told dog to sit and they have to hold the sit. Of course you have to work up to what your dog can be successful with, but I find all of that really helps clear it up for the dog.


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## Laurie (Sep 20, 2009)

Loisiana said:


> I just use the word "sit" or "down" with no additional command. That way the last word they hear is what they should be doing. Then whatever we're doing, I can give the command sit or down and they are expected to comply and not change position until released. So I'm on the couch watching tv, and I tell my dog to sit. Dog sits, and I don't say anything else. I might get up and go get a drink. Or continue watching tv. Or walk out the front door. Doesn't matter, I told dog to sit and they have to hold the sit. Of course you have to work up to what your dog can be successful with, but I find all of that really helps clear it up for the dog.


This is what I do with Lexx. I was trying to explain it but Jodie did a much better job than this newbie would have.


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## Vhuynh2 (Feb 13, 2012)

My problem with Molly is her flat, laggy heeling. It can be a hit or miss and is extremely dependent on me. My voice, my body language, how I heel with her. Sometimes I just can't get all of it right for her to respond perfectly. Even the way I distribute weight on my feet affects her heeling. If my weight is not kept on the balls of my feet, she might flatten. Yesterday she was flat heeling straight and doing about turns, but right after that we did figure 8s and she was basically forging. So I just don't understand. She is very soft and sensitive so I can't and won't correct her. I also don't use food much for heeling because I don't want it to become an invisible lure.

I know for sure Molly would benefit from having a bit of competition with another dog. That is one reason why I would like to bring home a new puppy sooner rather than later, but it would not be fair for the puppy. So it's not gonna happen. But Molly responds well and REALLY wants to work with me more when she's been "deprived" of me. Like when I have my BF hold her leash in class while I practice heeling footwork, or do a rally course walk-through. Molly goes nuts! My BF has to hold her collar, because she is pulling the whole time and on high alert watching me.

I don't have any videos ready for uploading.. but there is one with me in the Beg Nov ring and her heeling was flat and laggy (I know my body language is not the same in the ring as it was outside, where she offered perfect heeling). We are allowed to praise once so just before the heeling pattern ended, I thought why the hell not, and exploded with "GOOD JOB!!!" (I even scared the judge). She perked up instantly -- her head shot up, she immediately stopped pacing, and heeled perfectly for the remaining last two seconds.

I know she has gotten worse because.. Molly's loose lead walking portion during the CGC exam was a heeling pattern (I don't know if they're all like this, but the evaluator was an obedience person). There were no treats and I did not talk to Molly (I used to not praise a ton either), but Molly did the whole heads up heeling, no lagging, and it was perfect. She was 10 months old and they asked me if Molly had her CD (maybe I should've entered her then ). She also did a lot better at run-throughs at a younger age. She really used to love heeling, and she still does... but not all the time.. The flat heeling may not be a ton of points off, but I want to see that she's enjoying what she's doing.

I think the fact that she enjoys field training so much more (without me having to cheerlead her through it) really brought to light that obedience may not be very much fun to her (or me) anymore.


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

FWIW - ala Terri Arnold .. (my instructor studied with her early on and is in Terri's books) 

Heel - ball - toe: Heel - ball -toe (for your foot falls)

swipe the knees/ankles together whichever allows you to maintain balance

balance your weight centered on your spine (ie keep your shoulders in line with your hips )

Use a metronome

Practice without your dog walking in straight lines, taking turns and changes of pace. This helps your dog a lot once they realize you won't be going into their 'lane' and they needn't worry about respecting your space and can concentrate on their job. 

I spent so much time hearing - Heel/ball/toe I hear it in my head when I'm not hearing 1-2-3-4 from all the practice with the metronome LOL and yes we would do that for sometimes half our session <sigh> I have a tendency to have happy steps when heeling while she prefers movement so smooth a toy dangling from a leash in your left hand does not move - a lot of time heeling with said leashed toy too. 

Try taking a break - use the break time to begin teaching the 'fun' stuff - retrieving, jumping, Go Outs etc. and then heel for very short periods and reward with broad jump or a retrieve. This will help combine the precision elements of heeling with the more active and stress releasing elements of free movement.

I have no idea if these will help you but they have helped me. I used to find heeling boring but I talked myself into thinking of heeling as a dance and my dogs and I do much better 

Oh, and try smiling  It can be funny to see the expressions on our faces when we are heeling with our dogs - stern face, looking at our dogs with stress and tension, sending our left shoulder back (which tells the dog to get back) etc. These are things I think we all do which is why videotaping periodically can help so we can catch ourselves doing these things.

Or forget about obedience  She will never know if she has obedience titles or not; if she likes field better that takes a lot of training time and might be more enjoyable for both of you.


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## boomers_dawn (Sep 20, 2009)

Sunrise said:


> How about agility
> 
> She & Brady can learn together :


I don't think I can fit another dog sport in my brain. Do I have to think? :yuck:
Can I just stand there and blow the whistle?


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

LOL - well no. But if you teach them independent obstacles and left/right/go directionals you can stand in the middle of the course and direct them  Or run with them and point at what's next (my preferred method)



boomers_dawn said:


> I don't think I can fit another dog sport in my brain. Do I have to think? :yuck:
> Can I just stand there and blow the whistle?


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## KeaColorado (Jan 2, 2013)

Vhuynh2 said:


> My problem with Molly is her flat, laggy heeling. It can be a hit or miss and is extremely dependent on me.



I SO wish you lived closer. I've been working on this with Kea too, and in my case, the problem is 100% related to me not being exciting enough. A big part of that was when I would start out, I was starting out at too slow of a pace. Automatically bor-ing for Kea. I am relatively young and pretty fit, so there is no excuse for my lackadaisical heeling pace. Now 3 private lessons in with a really fantastic trainer who has done more for Kea's drive and focus while heeling than I've been able to accomplish through group classes at other facilities in over 2 years, Kea has made huge improvements in her heeling. More focused, more drive-y, and dare I say she actually looks like she's having fun 

Is there a toy Molly is crazy about? For Kea, it's her tennis ball. Now, she only gets to chase the tennis ball as a reward for heeling. We are working on "heads up" heeling and precision heeling. I'm also learning to be more exciting and to use more play (tug and tennis ball) and touch/physical play as a reward in addition to food. 

Have you looked into any of the Denise Fenzi online classes? The trainer I'm using right now highly recommends these. Precision heeling is coming up in February: Fenzi Dog Sports Academy - OB200: Precision Heeling Gosh, I would love to attend one of her seminars. They seem to all be at least a 16 hour drive from me though  I wish she'd come to Denver or Cheyenne.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Flat heeling (waddling, just not showing any drive or energy) - I think I brought it up a few times about Bertie's issues as he was going through the teenage months. 

What really helped making heeling a huge joy again with the kiddo was a few things - and I'll try to list the various things I've been doing the last month and a half that I feel has had a huge positive impact. 

1. I started conformation classes in October. In conformation classes you are luring with treats for the stands and giving your dog his head while gaiting around the room. The first couple weeks were tough - with me spending a good 10 minutes every morning doing a lot of "False Starts" with gaiting. If he started out with a pace, I said "No" and went right back to the beginning. If he started out with a trot - this got "YES" and we jogged it out with me praising the whole time. I'm not adept with clickers, but yes, a clicker would have been ideal in that case.  By our 5th-6th week of class, we were down to only 2 minute morning sessions every morning, with him taking the trot every time. 

By mid November, I started adding a mini heeling session after we do our conformation patterns every morning. Straight line heeling, no sits. And the energy from the conformation gaiting fed right into the obedience heeling. I've just seen such a huge crossover benefit. 

2. I changed my posture. Up until recently, I was using a more formal obedience ring preferred posture for heeling. Meaning, your arm has to be in a relaxed position, you shouldn't be sticking your elbows out or holding your "leash hand" in an unnatural position.

But then I went back and dug into my old pictures and notes from when I was training Danny and then Jacks and realized that NO I was helping those guys out a LOT more when they were puppies. 

What seems to be helping is anchoring my hand/leash at the side of my waist as opposed to the front of my hip bone where I had been anchoring it. And while I let this pull my elbow and lower arm back, I have been working on getting the left shoulder forward so my shoulders are straight. I'm not always successful with the shoulder (my very bad habit), but generally speaking I try to keep it forward And I keep my face generally forward while watching my dog out of the corner of my eye. And yes, shortening the leash so the dog doesn't have that much leash to drift.

3. I use treats in my left hand and REWARD during heeling. The reward has to come instantly when the dog is "right". Don't worry about getting away from treats right now. There is no need to completely wean off treats. 

And don't be afraid to tuck a stuffy under your arm and send it flying for a retrieve-reward when your dog is absolutely right. <- Before classes, I will generally warm Bertie up with a little heeling with a bright orange stuffy under my arm. The instant he does 1-3 steps of perfect heeling with beautiful motion, the toy goes flying. Now that he is really interested in retrieving, this usually has him on his toes in anticipation of the split second that I will toss the toy. 

And yes - soften your face and smile. I think the dogs respond to that. 

*** Forgot to say - with Bertie too, I will reach down and tap his chin with my "treat hand" when I see him dropping his head. This helped with figure 8's esp.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

*Quickie Class Notes*

*Bertie *was awesome. 

He is progressively improving so much with the group heeling. We were floating. And I even had that feeling where as I pushed my shoulders back and drove forward myself, I could literally "feel" him settling into a beautiful rhythm right next to me. I guess it was impressive enough for our instructor to ask in passing (while he heeled past her) if I'm showing him at the upcoming January show. 

We did group figure 8's - which basically means that everybody paired up with their dog to serve as posts, and we had 3-4 sets out there while each person took their turn doing figure 8's, circles, serpentines, loopy-loops as much as they wanted. Bertie was even trotting on the figure 8's - which has been a toughie for him. 

And we had some prospective new student people stopping in to talk with Adele and watch the class. They were LOOMING outside the ring wearing dark clothes. Both Bertie and another young dog kinda flipped out initially, but they both worked through the distraction. Phew. 

Dumb-bells - went VERY well. I even decided to up the difficulty + start teaching him a little more self-control. Put him in a wait, walked 10 steps and dropped the dumbbell, and walked the rest of the way across the room. Told him to "get it" - meaning grab the dumbbell on his way up, and finish the retrieve. Admittedly, both times I did this, he went past the dumbbell - BUT! - on my reminder put on the brakes and went back to grab the dumbbell before continuing the rest of the way to me. 

Fronts - he is anticipating the call quite a bit, so we spent a lot of time reinforcing the "wait". 

Jumps - I think he is very almost ready for me to drop the high jump down to 4 inches, put a dumbbell in his mouth, and see how he does doing a front over the jump. His jumps are effortless (admittedly just 12" of them LOL). 

I also introduced the bar jump and did a little bit of directed jumping. Basically set him up so he was sitting about 8 feet behind the jump, with it to his left. And I stood straight across from him on the other side of the jump. And I called "bar" and tossed a treat. I'm thrilled to say I could see him "thinking" it out and he was successful all three times we repeated this. Very awesome. 

In theory too - this winter I may do the same beginning utility classes with Bertie that I did with Jacks. I want to get him started on articles, but want to teach him through the classes. 

*Jacks *- is not 100% just yet, but I think he looked better today than he did last class. His jumps are a little weak still, but he jumped readily (all 16", LOL). I think I felt better mentally knowing his knees and shoulders are good.  

We did moving stands, heeling, drops, retrieves (he was SO HAPPY TO BE RETRIEVING that there were chew marks all over the wooden dumbbell), and did the same group figure 8 (added complexity of 2 people heeling in opposite directions and working around each other), and we finished with articles (which he did very well despite our not working on articles for ages).

Oh - not to forget! His sits and downs were rock solid. 

Adele has been working with me - she wants me to stay outside the ring and preferably behind the screen. I hand her treats and she goes in to reinforce and reward stays for me. I've said before, but there are not many people out there who I would allow to correct my dogs. Adele's one of those who has the green light.


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

I am a HUGE fan of these classes  Denise balances the precision aspects (Precision Heeling) with release aspects of heeling (Heeling Games).

I now usually take multiple classes but at an auditing level since submitting several videos a week is time intensive (editing and uploading to YouTube). 

There are incredible classes available at FDSA with awesome instructors. Traditional trainers probably would not find these classes to their liking. Balanced trainers might, while primarily positive trainers would most definitely find the classes fun and instructional. 



KeaColorado said:


> Have you looked into any of the Denise Fenzi online classes? The trainer I'm using right now highly recommends these. Precision heeling is coming up in February: Fenzi Dog Sports Academy - OB200: Precision Heeling Gosh, I would love to attend one of her seminars. They seem to all be at least a 16 hour drive from me though  I wish she'd come to Denver or Cheyenne.


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## Hombrespop (Sep 3, 2012)

Worked articles all 12 loose this morning with the results being very good . No mistakes and even straight F+F. We then did signals with short heeling in kitchen and foyer also very very nice with zero forward steps on drop signal. Then several F+F and a couple turns in place and 1/4 turns both L+R. When it gets light out we will go out in the yard and do the gloves hopefully with no over achieving. Class training at SCKC this evening.


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

I worked all 4 dogs briefly this morning.

Brady. some heeling - very nice. Front & recalls - nice, good attention while I leave, immediate explosion when called and nice fronts. I went back to reward a few of the waits. Then we worked on Impulse Control & recognition of the take it cue for his dumbbell, where I place the dumbbell at varying distances, step back to heel position and wait varying times to send him for his dumbbell - he did very well - breaking once and realizing when I broke off the exercise that he needed to try something else, he is building up to explosive releases  . We ended with some finishes with my holding the dumbbell and baby go outs/marks.

Faelan and I worked on signals (very nice!!) breaking them into segments and putting them together with me paying close attention to make sure he did not move while I left and going in to reward frequently. We then moved to the dumbbell game and fronts - Faelan is very good at this game and rarely can be fooled into breaking but his first front was further out than I like so we spent time working fronts.

Towhee and I worked heeling with turns and transitions to & from slow. We started drops with me in front and close up and then moved to drops out of motion. I need to review some notes about starting drops from in front of her with her standing, We played the dumbbell wait til sent game and she did very well with absolutely gorgeous fronts (we did no finishes with the dumbbell). 

Casey and I worked on heeling, heeling games and recalls


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## Hombrespop (Sep 3, 2012)

My yard this morning doing the DR was kinda cold but after poop scooping Nugget was ready to work. I sent him three times two of which were for#1 and the other one for#3 glove each retrieve after sending and a little before he actually had the glove I gave him a come command and this is done with a 3 ft. Leash attached which I use to hold onto him when he comes to me to prevent his over achieving and again every time sent he returned to me for huge amounts of praise and treats. The gloves are placed about 7-8 ft behind us but spread out to about 35ft. No glove at the #2 position yet , this comes later along with all gloves being placed farther back a little as we progress with out the over achieving mistake. Dave's way has worked every time Nugget has been sent for this the forth day in a row without one over achieving retrieve. I'm feeling very encouraged Nugget will be doing this exercise correctly in the not too distant future but no rush , I've had enough problems with this exercise and am finally seeing a little light at the end of the tunnel.


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## AmbikaGR (Dec 31, 2007)

Megora said:


> 3. I use treats in my left hand and REWARD during heeling. The reward has to come instantly when the dog is "right". Don't worry about getting away from treats right now. There is no need to completely wean off treats.
> 
> And don't be afraid to tuck a stuffy under your arm and send it flying for a retrieve-reward when your dog is absolutely right. <- Before classes, I will generally warm Bertie up with a little heeling with a bright orange stuffy under my arm. The instant he does 1-3 steps of perfect heeling with beautiful motion, the toy goes flying. Now that he is really interested in retrieving, this usually has him on his toes in anticipation of the split second that I will toss the toy.


I truly believe this is SO important!! I am so fortunate at this time to train with one of the top instructors in the country in my opinion. What makes her tops in my book is that she is forever evolving and preaches a no one shoe fits all. But one of the most consistent things i see with her and her students is things like this above NEVER come out of her training program. And her biggest success story is Petra and Tyler (two time NOI and Crufts winner). I saw Petra and Tyler at a match about 3 months ago and she STILL used toys, treats and a slip lead at all times during her run. Their philosophy has always been to train your dog to be correct and it will be. Train it so it can be wrong and it will be wrong. They almost never allow the dog to be wrong even after they have been competing for years and long ago attained their OTCh. They work just as hard at it when they are at the pinnacle of the dog's career as they do when they at laying the foundation.


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## PalouseDogs (Aug 14, 2013)

To Molly's Mom, I also encourage you to NOT give up. Laggy heeling is the most common problem among beginners. I don't believe there is one single change that fixes the problem. Improvement is created by a whole lot of little things. 

My Alder (standard poodle) is a most extreme case of a dog that is difficult to get "up" for heeling at trials. Not only is mid-day the time he is normally snoozing (since I work), he is on phenobarb for epilepsy and high blood pressure meds, both of which increase his day-time drowsiness. On top of that, he has slowww reaction times and has poor fine-movement control. He adjusts slowly to changes in speed or direction and can't realign himself with small movements on fronts or finishes. Over the long course of our journey through Open (we didn't get our first leg until run #15), his heeling improved from a typical loss of 12-18 pts to a typical loss of 1.5 to 3 points, which is probably about the best he can do. He taught me how to be a better trainer. 

Besides all the above-mentioned tips, here a few more

1. Don't worry about weaning him off treats (as others have also said). Heeling is not rewarding for the dog. They need a reason to do it. You will gradually move from frequent small treats to less-frequent but bigger treats.

2. (This is perhaps one of the most common errors.) DO NOT go marching around in long heeling patterns thinking that, just because you're doing a lot of heeling, you're getting better. You aren't. Break heeling into it's component parts: the take-off (the first step), straight-line, right-turn, about-turn, left-turn, slow, fast, and halt. Teach all of these SEPARATELY before you start combining them Two or three perfect steps or a couple of perfect turns are worth more than marching around aimlessly hauling the dog around.

3. Don't make the mistake of treating most frequently after the halt/sit. The dog quickly figures out that it only gets the treat when you stop. Therefore, the goal (he figures) is to get you to stop. 

4. YOUR cues are critical. Diane Baumann's 3rd edition of Beyond Basic Obedience has an excellent section on your body cues. If you, for example, repeatedly take left cues with no advance cue to the dog (shifting eyes in advance and dropping shoulder), you will keep stepping into the dog, who will learn that the best strategy is to lag behind so he doesn't get bumped. 

Etc., etc. The point is, keep working at it. If something isn't working, STOP doing it and try something else. If you get frustrated work on a different Open or Utility exercise and stay away from heeling for a while.


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## MaureenM (Sep 20, 2011)

Class on Monday went well, in that we had a good time. I learned that when I throw the dumbbell I need to keep my feet together. I was stepping out on my right foot as if I was bowling. Also I need to throw the dumbbell out past the jump for the retrieve on flat. As soon as I tossed it far enough past the jump, she went out, picked it up, and jumped over the high jump on the way back. Just what the instructor said often happens which is why I needed the distance in the toss so she has to make the correct choice.
Finley got an unexpected proof on the recall which she failed, but it was a good learning experience. Just as I was told, "Call your dog" someone opened the door that was maybe 3 feet from where she was sitting and walked in with their dog. Finley was much too busy looking over her shoulder to" hear" me when I called. I knew before I called where her attention was, but had to call anyway. Second and third recall she was spot on, didn't want to be caught sleeping again. 

Heeling was good, position wise and again had some head up attention. Not all the time, but more than say a month ago. I have to work on her left turns and swinging her butt around. We did a lot of left about turns and the instructor made a loud point of telling me that she wants to see Finley's butt swinging around and that I shouldn't accept anything less. At least I know is confident that Finley can do this. Stays, fronts, backing, ect all good.
We won't make it to class next Mon, and the following class is the Christmas party. Games, ect for the dogs, just a fun night. Then that's it til after New Years.
Speaking of New Years. After some thinking on a resolution, here's ours: We will get the CD, probably before summer depending on the trials and my work schedule. By this time next year, I hope to have the drop on recall and out of sight stays solid, and be just about ready to trial for her CDX.


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## Vhuynh2 (Feb 13, 2012)

Thank you for all of the advice. One of my instructors thinks a huge part of the problem is that I haven't made training look like showing, and showing look like training. She heels very nicely and happily when we are training by ourselves, but in class when I have to do it in front of everyone, I can't get her to be "with" me. I am sure my own insecurities play a part and I am trying to loosen up and I am trying very hard to perk her up when this happens. She responds very well to praise but only if my voice is "right", and I'm quieter when I'm doing things in front of everyone. She seems to take everything personally.

She was great in class last night. But, we only did group heeling and I didn't feel nervous about it. I really love her halts, she is very accurate whether I do the right footwork or if I stop half stride. If she overshoots on the half stride halt, she scoots her butt back crazy fast into heel position. Writing this, it doesn't sound like she has a problem with flat and laggy heeling, but she is just so hot and cold/up and down (mirroring me, I guess).

We won't quit, especially after I think about how much time and money I've already poured into obedience. We WILL work through this. When we first started, my instructor said Molly was amazing, but there will be something we'll have to work through. Every dog has that one thing, she said. I think this is ours.

On another note: When we were doing jumps last night, I set up Molly for the broad jump and went to adjust the boards. When I looked back at her, the doberman in our class had escaped his handler and was sniffing Molly's face. She just looked away and did not get up from her sit. Good girl!!


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## TheZ's (Jun 13, 2011)

Not sure if I should post this here because we're a long way from training for competition but was so proud of little Gracie at her first puppy class today. We got there early and as we entered the training area we were passing an A frame. Gracie moved toward it and put her feet on it. I was thinking let's see what she does. She moved up and over it smoothly as if she knew what to do. Of course I got yelled at for letting her do it without instruction and supervision although I did have her on leash and had done the A frame with Zoe. By the end of class she'd been over it a few times with no hesitation, had done the tunnel, building up to full length, and had done stand, sit and down on the pause table. Of course we did some other puppy stuff. We were allowed to join a class that has been in progress for a few weeks and it seemed all the dogs were older than Gracie who is about 12 weeks. We had a great time but being at the training center reminded me of all the times I'd been there with Zoe and all the things we were working on and hoping to do.


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

Good girl Gracie  I would love to hear about Gracie's training journey in this sub forum so please continue to post!


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## Hombrespop (Sep 3, 2012)

Last night a very good training session. Nugget took the BJ on first order and one of the two jumps wound up with a straight f+f. Heeling not perfect but not terrible with a lag going around outside turn and a couple forges when we were given" fast " which is something he does regularly but we are working on this. Recall nice with the last being a drop which was really really nice, the f+ f about 50/50 as to being straight. Nuggets go-outs are improving and he took direction on both jumps no problem. Again we did DR as described earlier with success on four retrieves but on one of them he was thinking of over achieving but by that time I had a hold on the leash and a slight correction with praise and a treat he soon forgot about it. S+D also successful . A day off today as it's very very cold outside and he did well last night so he can just be a dog today!


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

No training this morning. Unloading crates, shade etc from the Xterra and loaded Santa gear: color coded toys: backdrop etc in prep for tomorrow. CT may be having some weather so I will be parking at the bottom of the driveway tonight and pre-loading will help - rather than risk sliding down the driveway to make it to the puppy party ...


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## Lucky Penny (Nov 13, 2011)

Sunrise, have you been working at all in agility? I have been struggling to get those serpentines! My agility training during the week is often with a light up ball and spot lights in the dark!


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

I actually LOVE serpentines  I handle them in a variety of ways but one of my very favorite ways (NADAC style usually) is to run up a line of jumps cuing Out - In - Out - In.. I generally try to make as straight a line for the dogs as possible so will sometimes go between 2 jumps, FC and then head on up but I generally never try changing sides twice in the line since that would bleed off too much speed - I have to go on to LoLaBu Land when I get a chance - it has been a bit hectic lately  so this may not address what you are having issues with?


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## Hombrespop (Sep 3, 2012)

It is 8 degrees outside so I'm going to drop in training this morning to work on my problem areas DR - go-outs- and the BJ. Already this morning we did articles which Nugget was not only correct on each one but went out very briskly and gave me good fronts. Signal exercise also nice and I don't know if it's the cold but he is very "up" this morning . Turns in place fair as were the f+f exercise we did. I also need to practice transitions from normal heeling to fast as Nugget tends to forge on this.


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## olliversmom (Mar 13, 2013)

Olliver starts Advanced Obedience with Pam Dennison PMDT on Tuesday.
Super excited.
She always includes agility and rally type work in her classes to make them fun and interesting, so looking forward to not only working towards his CGC test but playing around with the fun stuff too


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

I have a few minutes before heading out and decided to work Faelan in the driveway. It is raw and cold out and there is slushy ice, however, something I could not see/hear was distracting him .. Towhee has also been distracted today .. perhaps it is the bulldog pups across the street? The rustling and blowing of frozen leaves & twigs? Someone having a party? Regardless of what it was Faelan and I worked through some distraction on signals, then worked some on heeling/heeling games.

Then I brought Brady out and one 'backing up, not the right answer buddy boy' had him heeling like a champ so we also worked the stand and rocket-boy recalls 

Towhee will be heading to the party with me so will probably have some distraction work haha 

Casey was limping this morning off his shoulder so while the Metacam has worked its magic, no working in the cold for Lil Red.


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## Hombrespop (Sep 3, 2012)

Just returned from drop in training only 3 other people showed up and that was GREAT . We were able to stay in the rings much longer and it helped. BJ and all of the open exercises went pretty well although ( my fault) Nugget went around the HJ because I wanted to see what he would do so I purposely threw the dumbell way to the left and he just went for it. Also because I can't leave well enough alone I got a anticipation on the drop after doing three or four again my fault looking for that perfect front. The gloves again 4 x no over achieving YES it's coming along. We did the DJ exercise without baiting the go outs and for the first ever both unbaited go outs were straight as an arrow and he sat on order YEA!! Of course he also took each jump as directed so his utility work was very very nice today and I let him know I was quite pleased with him. At the end the lady who runs Sat. drop in training did MSFE on all 4 of us that were there and a Nugget locked up beautifully and didn't move a muscle during the actual going over so a really great morning of training was had . Sure beats the other kind.


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## Titan1 (Jan 19, 2010)

We went to a local show and left Mighty home.. Too cold to even get out and train.
Titan did good and I screwed up one..lol.. I did a rookie mistake and had Titan sound asleep in the crate when it was our turn.. I grabbed him and ran into the ring.. lesson learned. I was more interested and learning who was picking who at the puppy test..lol


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Our driveway was a snow covered ice rink this morning.... as was the road in front of our property where we do heeling and gaiting stuff.  *scratches head* So we skipped our morning routine for the fifth day in a row. Tomorrow night's class should be interesting. Bertie is still at that age where they need daily training. I'm a slacker. :doh:


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## TheZ's (Jun 13, 2011)

Titan1 said:


> Titan did good and I screwed up one..lol.. I did a rookie mistake and had Titan sound asleep in the crate when it was our turn.. I grabbed him and ran into the ring.. lesson learned. I was more interested and learning who was picking who at the puppy test..lol


I'd be interested to know what your usual warm up is like. From my limited observation it seems like obedience people each have their own warm up routine almost like a ritual.


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

Our most important lesson this week will be learning that you will not die if you are put in an xpen or crate, so there is no need to scream bloody murder about it.

Not working on any formal kind of training, just letting him adjust and get comfortable. This week will be all about play, cuddle, potty in the right places, and learning his name.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Jodie - how did the introductions with the other dogs go?


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

Annabel sniffed him and walked off. Her access to him will be pretty much unrestricted, as she will mostly ignore him. Flip said "Thanks for the puppy Mom!" He will get short daily highly supervised play sessions, as he does not grasp the concept of playing "gentle" with the little pup. Conner does not do well with puppies, so their only interaction for awhile will be through the bars of the xpen. For such a loving, easy going dog, he is a total snot about baby puppies.


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## Hombrespop (Sep 3, 2012)

Training at club tonight . This morning articles-signals-f+f and turns in place all done fairly well with the exception of some fronts ( the never ending struggle) we couldn't do gloves yesterday because of weather very cold and snowy but it will be a priority tonight. Straight recalls only tonight and hopefully success on the BJ and go-outs without bait . With luck training will be as positive as Sat. Was . We shall see.


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## Titan1 (Jan 19, 2010)

TheZ's said:


> I'd be interested to know what your usual warm up is like. From my limited observation it seems like obedience people each have their own warm up routine almost like a ritual.


Ummm wake my dog up and do a little heeling for tight turns. in OB..

for UB warm up... usually do a go out with a dowel... and will do a moving stand... shortened of course because they cant be off leash..

Do a few fronts and finishes with treats ... 
That is my whole warm up... I think sometimes Titan could go in a do it better without me...teehee....

And sometimes play a little leash tug..


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## Laurie (Sep 20, 2009)

I was able to rent our friend and trainer`s building so it has really come in handy during this nasty cold spell we`re having. I`ve been taking Lexx there every day to train (except for Tuesdays and Fridays which are his daycare days). The first day we went he was pretty goofy especially when he saw himself in the mirror. Should have had my video camera with me; it was hilarious. It`s not like he hasn`t seen himself in mirrors before so not too sure why he was being so silly. 

We`ve been working on all exercises: Novice, Open and Utility. His Novice exercises are really good. His heeling has improved so much both on and off leash. He still loses focus a bit and wants to stop and sniff so I can see this going to be our downfall during trials unless I can figure out how to get a handle on it.

His Open exercises are going well. He knows how to execute all of them, we just need more consistency and focus. We did our first out of sight stay (in the building); we do it at home with no issues. I put him in a down stay and went into the bathroom but could see him in the mirror. He got up after a minute and a half to come looking for me. I put him back down and he stayed for the rest of the 3 minutes. So that is something else we`ll have to work on.

His Utility exercises are good.. Again he just needs to be consistent and more focused. His best exercises are his signals. We are still waiting for his articles so we can do more work with those. His work with the jar lids is great.....9 times out of 10 he picks the correct one.

Our trainer friend gave us a real duck (dead of course) as I want to introduce them again to Lexx. He`s not quite sure of them. I`ve been taking it out every day and he`s definitely interested in it. Until today I`ve just left it in the bag and let him sniff it. Today, however, I took it out to show it to him and the darn thing started bleeding all over my floor. I guess I thought it would be done bleeding by now....guess not!

We`re down to our last agility class this week until after Christmas and only 2 obedience classes left. Because of a shortage of trainers, we may not have another session in January. Kind of disappointing!


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## Hombrespop (Sep 3, 2012)

Nugget again refused the BJ the first time we tried, I don't know why after I set him up again he did it three times straight without any problem. Again he gave me a lag on outside turn of fig8 so again the leash went back on and the second attempt with a pop of the leash he moved with me as he should have in the first place. My instructor put the third glove down tonight , the #2 glove was set all the way back as in a trial and #1 and #3 about 6-7 ft. in back of me but all the way to the sides. Nugget took direction and got the correct one every time but once we couldn't stop his over achieving and he managed to get a second glove but after that about a half dozen retrieves with out any mistakes his fronts were all poor but again at this point not as important as getting the right glove without overachieving.ROF and ROHJ good with a couple straight fronts. MSFE excellent and two nice recalls with two straight fronts and one of two finishes straight. Heeling not perfect but pretty good and we also did 4 go- outs two baited against the wall and two unbaited against the ring gates all were fast and straight with good fast sits on command . A really great improvement in go- outs lately as he is going out without stopping on the ones that don't have bait and he is learning his reward comes AFTER.doing the go- out.


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## Lucky Penny (Nov 13, 2011)

Sunrise said:


> I actually LOVE serpentines  I handle them in a variety of ways but one of my very favorite ways (NADAC style usually) is to run up a line of jumps cuing Out - In - Out - In.. I generally try to make as straight a line for the dogs as possible so will sometimes go between 2 jumps, FC and then head on up but I generally never try changing sides twice in the line since that would bleed off too much speed - I have to go on to LoLaBu Land when I get a chance - it has been a bit hectic lately  so this may not address what you are having issues with?


I would LOVE to see a video of you doing this at some point! I can get the first two jumps real easy but the third is a hit or miss. It may be my body language. I haven't done serpentine's in years so I am new to them again and struggling! I haven't posted anything for the past HW for LoLaBuLand. I am also trying to teach Luna to go back behind the jump on cue and jump over it that way.

Just like everyone else, the cold weather and ice has stopped my training! I just got out today with the fresh snow covering the ice and worked. There are run throughs this Saturday for Obedience that I will go too.


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## Hombrespop (Sep 3, 2012)

Yesterday morning at the SCKC training Nugget did the BJ twice without a refusal and the second front was straight . ROHJ-ROF-RECALLS all pretty nice with about half the fronts straight. Heeling better and the fig8 done twice flawless also S+D good. Go- outs (4) were done without bait and all but the last one straight and fast with a fast sit on command. Gloves set up with#2 the only one set all the way back and Nuggets 3 ft. Leash on him were each done one time NO mistakes or over achieving . This exercise still no where near rock solid but definetly getting better. Articles done this morning correct and one of two f+ f straight this was done at home and several f+ f also with signal exercise again really nice he does have this one rock solid.


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

I am unsure of my training plans at this point for the week. I am in a boot camp style .Net C# course this week for work, leaving me mentally tired LOL

Purple girl's new owner will be flying in for the weekend from Utah and the plan is to meet at Sunfire Goldens on Sunday morning - but we may be getting another storm this weekend which would make that difficult for me. I also may not plan any rentals due to weather. I do need to drive down to the coast for a food run on Saturday so at least one dog will get some distraction work in a Weigh Station on I-95 

We currently have about 5 inches of snow in the yard so no jumping work.

Brown Boy has been safely collected and is currently being enjoyed by forum member Door. White Boy will be flying to FL within the next few days. So all the Titan/Towhee puppies will be safely home shortly. I will miss them but not the gas bills from visiting LOL


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

Feeling a stronger urge to cuddle than train right now


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## Hombrespop (Sep 3, 2012)

> Jodie can't blame you , I would too.


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

I received a new DVD and started watching it - I will continue tonight since I got held up at work/traffic and did not make agility class.

Training the Top Dog Way - Attention Combo with Betsy Scapicchio & Linda Brennan.


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

Phoenix has started learning his first skill: drop. A nice fold back drop. At first the zuke's mini were too big for him and I had to split them in half, but now he's getting the hang of it.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Tonight's classes.... honestly, could have been better. *sheepish smile* Bertie did very good again, Jacks had some issues - and of course worrying about Jacks had me feeling a bit down afterward as I drove home. I'm glad we have a chiro visit on Monday, because I'm wondering a little if his back is causing him problems - like if things are kinked up again. 

Bertie - 

Heeling - Hah. Adele asked me how I fixed his pacing issue. She's thrilled about him trotting all the time.  

Fronts - he's anticipating me calling him, but other than that he is a very good boy for finding front position. I did a few setups where he was off to the side and had to angle in to front position. Finishes were the same - I set him up to the side and a foot or two away from me. Idea is proof for "bad fronts" so if you get a bad front at a trial, you won't lose more points on the finish. He has such a serious and deliberate way of finishing. Like he's concentrating very hard on getting into heel position and sitting. 

Retrieves - are improving. I started out with giving him the dumbbell and having him come to front with it in his mouth. This seems to get him "focused" before we do the full retrieve. Tossed retrieves were great - as were the set ups (dumbbell dropped half distance between him and me, having him pick up the dumbbell and continue to come to me). His hold and front-sit are very nice - admittedly with me automatically reminding him to "front" as he picks up the dumbbell and "front-sit-hold" as he comes in. 

And stays were perfect. We did the usual sits/downs, stand (I asked Adele to do a full utility exam on him), and we did the BN walk around as well. 

That's basically it.

Jacks - Heeling was fine - it always is. As were his retrieves. We did "setups" with the other people and their dogs, including Adele with her girl who is just finishing up with a heat, were edging in on the sides as distractions. Jacks didn't even see them. He was just zeroing in on the dumbbell and zeroing in on me. Those were the good points of class.

Bad points.....

Gloves - I corrected him (I quietly told him no, and put the glove back where it was and went to restart) when he picked up the wrong glove, and so he decided he was not supposed to retrieve at all. And it just downward spiraled from there. 

Broad jump - he decided he didn't want to do a 48" jump. So I halved the length. He still balked about doing the jump. So I reverted back to puppy jumps with me doing the toss forward and toss backward, to get him to jump. 

High jump - I set the jump up at 16" and he absolutely refused to return over the jump with the dumbbell. So I put the dumbbell aside and focused on treat toss jumps, and even that did not go very well.

I spoke with Adele and she indicated that one thing that's standing out is he's put on the weight (85 pounds as opposed to 76 pounds). I absolutely agreed with her. But then I'm also wondering if he's feeling aches and pains MORE now because having his back fixed actually had him feeling good. 

Drops on recall - he's dropping on his own as opposed to going on my command. So my homework is to cut back on the amount of drops we do in practice. Do more straight fronts.

Stays - Adele helped me out again by reinforcing good stays (I gave her a handful of treats). But he went down on the sit stay and sat up on the down stay. :doh: 

I have him entered in a fun match between Christmas and New Years, but I'm probably going to pull him because other than heeling, he's not doing anything he should be doing in Open. Today was another one of those days where I put him in the crate next to Bertie and sat down, basically thinking about putting Jacks on break until summer. I don't want to, and maybe Christmas break will help + going back to the chiropractor if he is experiencing discomfort.


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## Hombrespop (Sep 3, 2012)

This morning articles f+ f go- outs and turns in place all went pretty well with the only major mistake being Nugget anticipating being sent for a article. I've taught him to back around to my left for the #3 glove which he is now doing with my turn and staying in heel position very pleased with this. I originally thought I'd rather loose a 1/2 pt. with a poor sit than the whole glove exercise but now he is backing around in " heel" I don't think this will happen and he is only being sent from this position for #3 it's my way of insuring when given the #3 glove for retrieval he will always get it. Class tonight I am going early to help set up rings.


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

@Megora, I am sorry to read Jacks is reluctant to jump again but feel the urge to advise you to get the extra weight off of him before doing more jump work. 

My King gained weight between his CDX and UD titles and as much as it hurt, I listened to my trainer about halting all further jump work until I got his weight down - with him it ended up being his thyroid so it was a long lay off but we solidified other skills while waiting. He jumped from 76 to 88 pounds and was much too heavy for jumping especially given his borderline hips.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

@Sharon - Yep. Totally agree. Aside from the obedience stuff, it is just healthier for him long term to keep his weight in a good range as opposed to heavy like it is right now.

His thyroid #s are right where they need to be, so I have to look at both his food and somehow upping his daily exercise to get him back where he needs to be.

Last time I had to get him to drop weight, I put him on Merrick and for some reason that worked. I hate to switch food again though.


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## Hombrespop (Sep 3, 2012)

> Kate my female Sadie is only 4 but even though she is from a performance breeder she is a very very lazy dog and does want to do anything other than EAT or sleep and as a consequence got up to 90 lbs. and my vet told me to cut her food to 11/2 cups of dry dog food and add 1/2 cup green beans with it. To date she is at 76 lbs still a big girl but improved weight wise. She is still a very laid back lazy girl and not a whole lot of fun for me but my dogs are forever and that's why I now have Nugget also. The only exercise she gets is the rare occasion she will run around the yard either being chased by Nugget or actually chasing him . She seems to enjoy the games and rough and tumble with him just not often enough and she has been checked out by my vet and everything is normal so like people they are all different.


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## AmbikaGR (Dec 31, 2007)

For the last month and a half or so Brooke and I have been working through an article issue. I am quite sure the confusion started from our pile work in the field and I did not originally recognize that. When she went out one day in training and returned with the wrong article without checking, I took her back to the pile and helped her search. HUGE mistake on my part I guess, but in her early training I had used the same procedure without any issue. 
What she now does is go out to the pile, work it quick and smart, finds and picks up the correct article and then looks at me without moving. went to working her on the flexi and of course she was perfect. Then tried jack-potting on the return. This helped at times. I then tried dangling a long piece of cheese from mouth that is visible to her from the pile and that seemed to have instant success. Was able to shrink it down in size till it was not visible and still worked. Was having no issues in training or at matches. But once we are a trial of course it is a whole nother story. Defaults to finding the correct article without issue and then freezes at the pile. Continue to work the jackpot and cheese in my mouth and hope it will eventually transfer over to trials. We have one tomorrow and then just matches till mid January.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

@Richard - that's actually the frustrating thing. Jacks is not a lazy dog. He runs around more than Bertie sometimes and he's getting a daily 3 mile walk. I'm really hoping the weight gain has to do with him helping himself to dog food (he knows how to open the dog food containers) and possibly my mom spoiling him during the day.


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## coaraujo (Nov 2, 2012)

I've never posted in these training threads before, but my New Year's resolution is to start! I'm hoping that I'll actually be able to dive into some sort of competition with my boys, but have been held back so far because of Bernie's reactivity. My ultimate goal for next year is to get a WC on both my boys and start doing hunt tests, not sure if a JH is attainable in just a year with my handling skills . Right now we're going over the formal retrieve using the following method: Keepers - Shirley's Retieve. I started a blog to keep myself accountable. Once I get a car (another reason training has been delayed ) we'll be back at the training center taking our obedience classes - almost ready for into to competition, just need to get our focus a little better. Hopefully some point in the near future I'll have some meaningful contributions to these threads! I've always loved reading everyone's posts.


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

FWIW: I have to keep my Casey in the technically hyperthyroid range for his weight & coat to be good. My vet did verify with several sources that with goldens and an alert owner, that he should go with the owners descriptions if a dog is hypo thyroid, under treatment and still exhibits symptoms.

Being hypo thyroid myself, I know the numbers from the blood tests should just be used as guidelines... symptoms matter. I know for a fact that I can work out 3 times a day, hike til I'm blue in the face, eat 700-900 calories a day for weeks on end and still gain weight in rapid fashion when my meds needs adjustment.



Megora said:


> @Sharon - Yep. Totally agree. Aside from the obedience stuff, it is just healthier for him long term to keep his weight in a good range as opposed to heavy like it is right now.
> 
> His thyroid #s are right where they need to be, so I have to look at both his food and somehow upping his daily exercise to get him back where he needs to be.
> 
> Last time I had to get him to drop weight, I put him on Merrick and for some reason that worked. I hate to switch food again though.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

@Sharon - yep. I had to switch him to a different vet to keep his numbers in the mid-range or even higher. My regular vet who gets the dogs for the vaccines at least was very hesitant to put Jacks on supplement and then when I convinced them to do so, they were keeping him on the minimal dosage and rubber stamping the follow up tests, despite his numbers still being too low.


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## Hombrespop (Sep 3, 2012)

> Kate I have two plastic dog food containers that hold over 40 lbs of food each that were about $30 but the thing about them that is they have a built in plastic locking system that all you need is a snap like on a leash that can be bought at hardware stores and jacks couldn't possibly open .they are made by BLITZ STACKABLES. Your mom giving extra food is something you will just have to explain to her that she is hurting Jacks with what she thinks is being good to him. Hope you get his weight problem under control.


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## Lucky Penny (Nov 13, 2011)

Loisiana said:


> Feeling a stronger urge to cuddle than train right now


I feel the same way but I am sure in a very different way. I am guessing you are cuddling an adorable little fluffy golden retriever puppy! So jealous!!!  

I want to cuddle Luna more then anything else after going through what happened last night. I witnessed right in front of me a dog get hit by a car. Lucky the car wasn’t going to fast and the dog wasn’t hurt to badly, she got up and raced off right after she got hit. The owner started screaming and chasing her. Being a dog lover, of course I dropped everything and started running too. My heart dropped as I watched this dog dodge across a busy street twice! It was dark out, and we lost sight of the dog for about an hour. Thankfully, she was found and wasn’t badly hurt. But did that hit home; scared me half to death. My worst fears are someone stealing my dog or my dog getting hurt. Have been cuddling Luna since.


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## Hombrespop (Sep 3, 2012)

Only 8 people at training last night and that was nice for those of us that were there. Nuggets go- outs were a mixed back with half of them fast straight and with good fast sits the rest without bait needed extra " go- out" commands . Gloves also were not the greatest with the attempt to get wrong glove and one or two retrieves later over achieving, still this exercise is improving but still a work in progress. Heeling- fig8 - ROHJ- BJ - ROF all done very well with for the most part straight fronts on exercises that they were part of. Nuggets DOR was fabulous and the other two recalls as good as they get . I don't know what got into him but he nailed every f+ f on all recalls I sure hope this continues to occur.


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

That was fun  It is in the teens here so I worked the dogs inside.

I took a 12"x12" carpet square and in my training room we practiced heeling with about turns where I had to keep my feet on the square, left about turns where the dogs had to keep their front feet on the square, fronts where the dogs had to have their front feet on the square etc.

Faelan did signals where his front feet had to stay on the square for the stand/down/sit portion.

Towhee and Brady are starting to learn their signals and Casey just had some fun for cheddar cheese. 

Short session with each dog but fun and happy working for precision - Brady learned (well probably not learned for good) that fronting too far out just earns him a discontinued exercise and came back much closer on his retry.

Oh - and the cheddar cheese was on the grooming table so was a double distraction since they love the grooming table as well ...


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## Titan1 (Jan 19, 2010)

Training was very easy last night... oops.. I guess this is not really training...I did tell her to sit once...and I got lots of snuggle time.. Sharon Titan and Towhee made lovely babies!


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

LOL maybe we'll have to try it again sometime  

ETA: And I just have to share her name I love it so (she was formerly known as Pink Girl)

Sunfire's Titanium Rose call name of Rosie


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## Laurie (Sep 20, 2009)

We were the only ones at agility on Wednesday night so we just ran through some sequences and practiced our ketschkers and arounds. Also did a little weave work.

Last night the highways were not in good driving condition so we didn't go to our obedience class. Next week is our last class for this session.

Lexx and I have been spending a fair amount of time at the building I've rented plus we also do some training at home. Again we've just been working on different exercises from Novice, Open and Utility. Still just trying to keep his focus and stop him from being so goofy at times!!!

I heard from the lady that is making his articles....they will be done this weekend. Hopefully soon we can swap the jar lids in for the real thing. I am looking so forward to working on this with Lexx!!


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## TheZ's (Jun 13, 2011)

What a lovely little girl Rosie is. _Titan1_, so glad you have one close by to snuggle with and to watch her grow.


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

Entries just opened for a Novice only obedience trial - indoors - double trial and only a little over an hour away.

Classes offered are Pre Novice, Beginner Novice and Novice.

I do not think Brady will be ready for Novice obedience, well not with the scores I would like with him. Can anyone tell me what the differences are between Beginner Novice (which I am leaning towards) and Pre Novice?

I am also considering entering him in a double header Rally trial the previous day, perhaps even get Ms Towhee back in show shape by entering her in Rally Advanced but probably not since that would be cutting it close to her next season - actually never mind - she might go in that very day - March 1 would be 7 months since last season.


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

Prenovice is just like novice except instead of a group stay you do the walk around the ring thing.


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

Here's the "training" we've done so far.


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

Jodie - foundation work is training  Phoenix looks great !


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

Training was in quotes because he hasn't actually learned anything yet, those are just his natural reactions to me shoving a treat in his face and walking into him. Lucky for me his natural reactions are the right ones!


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## Hombrespop (Sep 3, 2012)

Nugget wasn't very animated at training this morning but he sure was accurate. Go- outs were very good three out of four and he took the jumps each one twice very nicely and gave a couple good fronts. I also set him all the way back but about 10 ft. Off center and he took them at this angle too which I know in the future at some trial he will probably have a go-out that's not straight so a little of this practice is needed. Gloves are still a work in progress , he took the wrong one once and tried to overachieve on another but I was able to step on his attached leash and make the correction. Signal exercise very nice and all of his heeling today well done including fig8. Articles done correctly and his fronts are improving. The BJ was done twice no hesitation and one jump also produced a straight front and finish. The ROHJ - ROF- DOR all pretty nice with another beautiful fast drop the other two recalls were straight ones so all in all a very productive day and he seems happy today and after all other exercises were finished we did group sits and downs but there were just 4 other dogs there as the weather is terrible with about 5 inches of snow on the ground. Tomorrow it's a day off.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

We have about a 1/2 foot of snow outside, so.... we have to make do with indoor training the next little while at least. 

And basically winding down on classes the rest of the year. Conformation class on Tuesday... and that's it.


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## Lucky Penny (Nov 13, 2011)

I did not know you were keeping a puppy! Rosie is adorable!!



Titan1 said:


> Training was very easy last night... oops.. I guess this is not really training...I did tell her to sit once...and I got lots of snuggle time.. Sharon Titan and Towhee made lovely babies!


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

Michelle did not keep Rosie, but she does live close enough for visitation rights :::



Lucky Penny said:


> I did not know you were keeping a puppy! Rosie is adorable!!


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

We will need to switch to indoor training for the next little while - we received about 10 inches of snow yesterday and last night which then got packed down with rain so it is kind of slow going - dogs are loving zooming & rolling in it though. 

I am trying to line up some private sessions with my agility instructor for physical conditioning exercises - Towhee's weight is almost where it should be but she is woefully out of shape. Casey is getting old enough that physical therapy can only do him good. Faelan could also use some flexibility - he is built powerful and lean and does straight very very well - tight turns around jump stanchions can leave him dropping bars so he too can use physical conditioning beyond hiking and swimming.


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## Hombrespop (Sep 3, 2012)

Tomorrow is my clubs Christmas party , lots of good stuff to eat and a little training ( not much) then no training at club for two weeks but we will do what we can at home.


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

Tonight we officially started working on learning a drop. Up until now I've just been luring him to get some correct muscle memory down, but now I'm working on him actually understanding what the word and signal mean. And we've started luring sits. I've found I prefer teaching the drop before the sit.


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

Tonight was my first time to work Flip since I brought home Phoenix. He was barely able to contain himself. Articles went flying across the room. He was so excited. Phoenix was not impressed watching from his crate.


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

This morning we had quick sessions inside with the Chuckling Monkey as distraction.

Faelan: Scent articles placed in a semi circle - very nice! 1 finish with scent article - not so nice since he jumped to try to snatch the article. Heeling with slow starts and heads up - he forged slightly so we worked on that. Fold back down from a distance - very nice. Tug & play  brought Bozo out and yep, he sniffed Bozo's butt so we worked some on that ...

Towhee: Heeling - very nice. Slow starts, normal starts, turns & halts. Fronts & Finishes very nice (Get it Get it Get it come game). Did some drop work - this is Towhee's bugaboo so we spent some time from the front & side.

Brady: Heeling: very nice with good attention with chuckling monkey. Chuckling Monkey did throw him for front work so I go his platform out. We worked some drops.

Casey: Heeling, recall signals and just some fun.

All the dogs earned string cheese, tug games and smack da baby variations.

I hear Faelan in the training room trying to retrieve Chuckling Monkey so ...must.rescue.monkey


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## Hombrespop (Sep 3, 2012)

Articles and signal exercise done this morning correctly and with good fronts. Several f+ f and a couple go-outs which were short of where I wanted him to go to plus he earned a tap on his butt for going out too slowly to suit me. When he knows there isn't a treat out he doesnt want to do this properly so I tap his butt which I know he doesn't like but that's the price he must pay , of course this tap is just enough to let him know his performance isn't acceptable in this. We did several turns in place to the left and to the right and a couple 180 degrees. He is really starting to get good at backing around to the left in heel pos. Xmas party tonight and I may or may not take Nugget as the forecast is for snow this afternoon and it's 34 miles one way , I'll definetly go but I know there will be little training done and I don't want to get in a accident with Nugget in the van so we will wait and see.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Hope you guys are safe, Richard. 

Funny story to report here.... no class tonight, but took Jacks to his third chiro visit. Only two very minor adjustments - she was very positive over all about the condition of his back. We discussed why he may have had issues with the jumps last week.... basically she suggested it might be an emotional or "mental" thing right now. If it hurt him to jump before, then he might be resistant to jumping now for that reason. Or the slightest discomforts have him holding back. 

So I'm planning on getting weight off him the next few weeks and then we will do monthly visits at the chiro until some point when we go there and there are no need for any adjustments, and then we will spread the visits out a bit more. <- I'm truly hoping this will happen. 

Okay. That's not the funny part.

The funny part, and this is something that always has me smiling because of how shy and reserved Danny was all his life. Even after we got Danny over his fear of non-family people, he still was very stand-offish and reliant on us or our other dogs to lead the way or protect him. 

Jacks has no such inhibitions.  

He loves people - period. But these people are special. They keep bags of treats in their exam rooms and ask him to perform tricks for them for treats. And sometimes they give him treats for doing nothing at all. 

I was just sitting back and watching Jacks DOTING on these people and performing every single trick he could think of to earn treats, when he wasn't actually nosing the chiro vet and running over to the treat table trying to get her over there to the feeding station. And he was sneaking hugs and kisses in there as well. 

It's just such a relief to see him so happy and bouncy. Aside from his issues with noises, he is every bit a fearless lovebug.  

And I took advantage of the time spent there to train a few signals, go-outs, and scoot heeling and fronts.


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

Tonight Phoenix worked on drop, sit, not jumping up for treats, come, walking with head up, and spin/twist.

Flip did a set of articles.


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## Hombrespop (Sep 3, 2012)

>Kate glad Jacks is doing OK and thanks for your concern about the travel tonight. I left Nugget home tonight and it snowed like crazy half of the way and then quit but better safe than sorry and even though I do have goals for Nugget one or two training opportunities don't mean much in the big picture and I would never have forgiven myself if we had gotten in an accident and he got hurt , so no regrets.


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

no training this morning as I am hoping that I can beat the snow starting if I leave early for work - of course I'll still have to deal with it on my way home but may be able to get to work early enough to

Think.Plan 

what I will .do. for this evening's sessions


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## Hombrespop (Sep 3, 2012)

On my way to SCKC to get a little training in , roads cleaned till next snow .


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## Titan1 (Jan 19, 2010)

I worked both boys last night and it went well and during my Novice class I was able to call off commands and work with Rosie in another ring.. Just puppy stuff but she is such an outgoing spirit. She would mimic the other dogs and was convinced she was ready for big boy class. She also wanted to play with Titan and I had to stop the play just when it was getting good.. Titan just had the chiro appointment and was not going to ruin that..lol! Kathy will have her hands full with that little fire cracker!


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## TheZ's (Jun 13, 2011)

This is kind of a strange question but do you think Rosie can sense that Titan is her dad?


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## Titan1 (Jan 19, 2010)

I could not imaginethere would be any way she would know him.... she has never met him and he was not around them when they were little and then I am not even sure they understand "dad" like we do..
But he is such a gentle soul I have no problems with him around puppies and he has played with Phoebe when she was little too. I sure think they recognize their own breed though.. or maybe someone just looks like a mom to them not sure.. I would others would know more..


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## TheZ's (Jun 13, 2011)

Definitely agree that they recognize their own breed. I've observed many times that the Goldens will seek each other out in a mixed group of off leash dogs.


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## Lucky Penny (Nov 13, 2011)

That is great that Rosie lives close! It sounds like fun seeing her so often! We have gotten dumped with snow here. Training has slowed down. Not to mention is was -15 this morning! Yuck!


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

No training last night - it was a commuter's nightmare getting home (3+ hours) that followed a very rough day at work. It is amazing how my day can really have me wanting to scream with frustration but then I open my door to 4 goldens who appear to have been waiting all..day..long for such a special event  And my day brightens immediately. 

Training this morning was indoors in the (small) training room.

Brady: Heeling with a few about turns, come fores with front, 1-2-3 step back fronts, halting mid turn for heeling position, a few fronts with a metal scent article, a few finishes and marking.

Faelan: Signals and also some halting mid about turn (he forged a time or 2), marking, fronts with a metal article, curly cue heeling and a few finishes.

Towhee: Heeling, a few down out of motions, front with and without a metal scent article and having her wait in front position - she has a tendency to bounce up after 2-3 seconds  and a few marks and finishes.

Casey: Signals, heeling and generally letting him get away with anticipating and even not waiting LOL As an honored elder he deserves to have a blast and is no longer held to criteria...


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## Hombrespop (Sep 3, 2012)

Yesterday's training a mixed bag , DR exercise a step or two backwards Nuggets wouldn't take direction and then over achieved getting two wrong gloves. Go- outs also less than desired off center and a little short not enough to NQ but enough to lose enough pts.that he might just as well have. He also anticipated moving stand which wasn't a surprise as I had popped him in the nose earlier. Articles and the signal exercise were all that was done well other than his usual forge after the right turn fast. Open exercise were much better than utility work , the BJ done twice taken on command without hesitation and a good f+ f on one. ROHJ- ROF- HEELING and FIG8 very nice and the DOR were very very nicely done. If today's open work were a trial I'm sure he would have had a 198 or there about now if only I can get the utility exercises to be at least qualifying but the DJ and especially the DR are a long long way from what's needed. A good thing about the DJ exercise is Nuggets ability to take the jumps regardless of how far he is off center and his lack of fear of the bar jump that my first dog had that he would refuse more often than he would jump it the reason it took 14 trials to get his UD.


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

*Dec 20 training*

Quick mini sessions this morning included

*Faelan:
*Heeling through the kitchen, dining room and back hall. 

Go Outs with a favorite toy set as a distraction to his left that became visible once he passed the doorway into the dining room. We worked through some veering off and then some early sits, but ended with success.

Scent articles in the training room using an older Max200 set that hasn't been used in a very long time. He was 100% and so perfect on the pick up & fronts that he got to finish & then tug 

*Towhee:

*Heeling with drops out of motion, some followed with my leaving and calling her from the drop position.

Retrieve on the flat with the 1st throw landing under a dining room chair, 3rd throw being kind of under the rug. The first 2 retrieves were finished by motivated recalls with Towhee being clapped into my crouched front position to hold her dumbbell while being heavily praised, the 3rd ROF more formal with both a front & a finish - very nice.

We finished with more heeling using the front hallways, the kitchen, dining room and back hall so we could practice left & right turns as well as about turns.

*Brady:

*Heeling in the kitchen and dining room with an emphasis on heads up starts. We had a restart or 2 as we passed a few distractions (kitchen table with my brother's cereal waiting LOL). A few drops out of motion. Overall very nice!! Slightly butt out a time or two but my current concentration is keeping him from forging so slight butt outs will wait to be addressed.

Retrieve on the flat. Surprisingly, a lighter & smaller balsam dumbbell that I used since I don't want to throw the heavier wood dumbbells in the house seemed to be very comfortable for him  The first toss he started to anticipate, checked himself and looked at me for permission  GOOD BOY!!!! Pickups were beautiful, even the one that went under the table so he had to belly crawl under the dropped eave to get 

We finished with a recall and some more heeling since he was revved from the dumbbell retrieving.

*Casey:

*Happy feet heeling in the kitchen & dining. 

Retrieve on the flat - boy oh boy was he happy to see his dumbbell come out and get to retrieve. We did not do any formal fronts of finishes - just crouched fronts with smack da baby games

We finished with signal recalls - the final one had a front without a finish. 

*Summary:

*Overall I feel we had good sessions - were they perfect? Heck no, but that is why we train right? And I really try to let them explore options that are incorrect. Okay I know there is a whole school of thought that says never, ever let your dog be wrong since it can become a default or habit (this is the way my King was trained and how Rowdy started his training). I'd rather let them explore what doesn't work in training so it does not occur to them to try those wrong choices in the ring LOL

ETA: I typed these notes after each dog was worked. When I finished the Summary section, I looked at my Faelan (at my feet under my desk) who was happily holding his white stuffed dumbbell which I used as a distraction for Go Outs - now I KNOW I had placed this safely away on a shelf, clever boy must have climbed up to snatch the toy ...


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## Hombrespop (Sep 3, 2012)

Day off today from training but we worked last night and other than our problem areas (DR) all went well. BJ was taken but the fronts not straight nor were the fronts on the ROHJ. heeling and fig8 by Nugget very nice even going in to the fast he didn't forge. The DOR again absolutely beautiful and he gave a good straight front on it along with straight fronts on the other three recalls we did. We had to do the MSFE twice as first attempt he anticipated but the second was perfect and so was the recall and finish which we don't do very often. The DJ was good as far as actual jumps but his second go- out he needed to be reminded to go- out 3/4 of the way out. We did a few more with bait and of course these were fast and straight. Weening Nugget off the treats to get a good go- out is a bit of a challenge but he does have his days of two good ones in a row without bait. ROF went very good as Nugget solved a dilemma the dumbell landed on its end against the far wall and he knocked it flat and picked it up by the bar and brought it in with a good f+ f. Articles and signal exercise done in morning were done well.


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## MaureenM (Sep 20, 2011)

Our class this week was cancelled because our trainer has been sick. It was supposed to be the Christmas party so more games than training. Just got in from "working" in the yard, it's a mild day so a good day for it. I recently watched a Michael Ellis DVD, The Power of Playing Tug and decided to give it a try. She loved it, and I now know how out of shape I really am :uhoh:. I was happy with everything we did today with the exception of one retrieve where I did a lousy job throwing the dumbbell and it went way on the other side of the high-jump. She jumped over the high jump on the way back with it. She was so pleased with herself, so wrong or not, that was a good thing. A couple of her recalls could have been straighter too. We're now doing 2 minute out of sight stays, so we're getting there. I don't want to stretch it at this point and chance that she breaks. I want to catch her being good and I can't see her anymore than she can see me. I also started a new game. When she's backing and stops, I tell her to sit or down while she's away from me. Then I throw the ball. My thinking is by doing this it might help when we get farther along on the drop on recall. I've noticed that if I tell her to sit or down, she always wants to come to me first. I'm hoping this will help in the long run. I'm trying to think of creative, fun ways to get sits and downs from a distance. I'm sending in an entry today for a show n go in Jan. Looking forward to it, since this is one where our classmates usually go and I'm usually working. This time I'm off. I decided to enter her in a Novice and Open run through. For the Open we won't do the stays, or the drops on recall, but she'll be able to do the jumps and retrieves. The last Show N Go she was watching those jumps in Open and I felt bad that she couldn't do it since I hadn't entered her. I'm pretty sure one of the other students in our class does the Open this way at this event. Anyway, hope you all have a good rest of the week!


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

@ MaureenM,

I am currently beginning Ms Towhee's drop training. Actually I started this past summer and then she went into season, had a litter, raised her litter etc.

Drops & downs have always been difficult for Ms Towhee - she is an active dog and apparently sees no reason for a down if it is not needed for sleep - and certainly not during her special training time!

I am working on my plan to teach her the drop over the next few weeks so it sounds like we may be teaching this skill at the same time - Brady is also learning it but he kind of likes the whole down & wait game so he should be easier. What a difference having a dog from puppyhood makes 


ETA: Here is my criteria for the Drop on Recall. I will put this out here not because I think it is right, but because I do better breaking each exercise into small parts and building each part separately (and I discussed the DOR above) and thought others might also find it interesting how I break the DOR down for training.

*My criteria for my dog's drop on recall exercise*

- Wait until released, staying focused on handler
- Immediate and explosive response to recall cue
- Fast accordion drop with no excess forward motion on cue
- Alert and focused attention while in drop position
- Wait in down position until cued otherwise
- Fast & explosive recall once cued.
- Prompt and straight front
- Wait in front position until released or cued to finish

: Overall I want a happy and alert dog during all phases exhibiting joy

*My criteria for my handling for the Drop on Recall* 

- clean setup
- relaxed posture while waiting for permission to leave
- quiet and calm Wait cue
- step off smoothly & confidently to walk across ring
- walk in a straight line and turn around about 3 feet from gate/wall
- watch judge calmly
- switch my focus to dog and call softly, watching judge from peripheal
- Verbal Down - quietly and calmly, with no excess body motion
- Switch focus back to judge waiting for cue
- Switch focus back to dog to call calmly and quietly to front
- switch focus back to judge once dog has fronted, no following dog with head movement
- Switch focus back to dog to signal finish
- maintain focus on dog until 'Exercise Finished' and them break/reward/ set up for next

: Overall I want to appear calm, confident & soft spoken. I should reflect the happiness I feel to be in the ring with my dog.


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## Laurie (Sep 20, 2009)

Lexx had his last obedience class last night. Doesn't look like we'll be having another one until next spring due to a shortage of trainers at the club we've been going to. There is a Utility class starting up in January but I won't sign up for that (although I do think he is quite capable of doing the exercises). We will continue working on the exercises by ourselves. 

The guy I rented the building from is currently working his young Golden as well so we are going to get together over the holidays and work our guys together. He is a trainer so he will be able to help me out in my problem areas. I think I'm the one that needs the trainer!!!

We just continue to work on all of our exercises from Novice, Open and Utility. Looks like Lexx has all of a sudden decided that retrieving his dumbbell is fun but bringing it back over the jump is not so fun!!! So that will be on our list of priorities to work on!

We finally got our scent articles!!! We worked a little the other night on our metal articles. Lexx wasn't too fond of the metal but did eventually bring it to me after picking the right one from the pile of 3. We will continue working on these and with the leather.

So that's it for our classes until the new year when we start up agility again. I'm hoping our club will be able to come up with another class for us to attend. I really enjoy taking them with Lexx.

Hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and happy training!!!


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## coaraujo (Nov 2, 2012)

First post in the training section -  woot! 

I'm working on training a formal retrieve with my boys for field work. I'm teaching a clicked retrieve using Keepers - Shirley's Retieve method. Up until now we were only on step 10 which is mouthing the bumper on the floor. Not really anything to brag about. BUT. Today we moved on to Step 14 and 15! Both boys were consistently lifting the bumper 4+ inches off the ground. Bernie had already been lifting the bumper slightly off the ground last session, but I couldn't for the life of me get Oliver to more than mouth it. Something must have clicked in his head (pun  because he was lifting it consistently 4-6 inches off the ground and occasionally lifting it to face level. I am so pleased. We're getting so close to having a completed retrieve. I can't wait because we've been struggling with this for so long. Both of them had lackluster play-based retrieves and a shotty hold command. The only thing we had successfully trained was "Out". My goal for next year is to get a WC on both of my boys. Once we get this formal retrieve down we'll be well on our way.. and the new year hasn't even started yet! At the end of the month I'll have a car again so we can start up hunt class with our dog school teacher again. I can't wait to show him all the progress we've made. Time to start brushing up on whistle sits and hand directions


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

Congratulations  This is HUGE !!

I find once the whole idea 'clicks', the rest of the process goes relatively quickly and smoothly. 



coaraujo said:


> First post in the training section -  woot!
> 
> I'm working on training a formal retrieve with my boys for field work. I'm teaching a clicked retrieve using Keepers - Shirley's Retieve method. Up until now we were only on step 10 which is mouthing the bumper on the floor. Not really anything to brag about. BUT. Today we moved on to Step 14 and 15! Both boys were consistently lifting the bumper 4+ inches off the ground. Bernie had already been lifting the bumper slightly off the ground last session, but I couldn't for the life of me get Oliver to more than mouth it. Something must have clicked in his head (pun  because he was lifting it consistently 4-6 inches off the ground and occasionally lifting it to face level. I am so pleased. We're getting so close to having a completed retrieve. I can't wait because we've been struggling with this for so long. Both of them had lackluster play-based retrieves and a shotty hold command. The only thing we had successfully trained was "Out". My goal for next year is to get a WC on both of my boys. Once we get this formal retrieve down we'll be well on our way.. and the new year hasn't even started yet! At the end of the month I'll have a car again so we can start up hunt class with our dog school teacher again. I can't wait to show him all the progress we've made. Time to start brushing up on whistle sits and hand directions


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

I have two weeks off for Christmas, so I'll get lots of training time. I plan to start the first steps of go out training this week.


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## TheZ's (Jun 13, 2011)

Loisiana said:


> I have two weeks off for Christmas, so I'll get lots of training time. I plan to start the first steps of go out training this week.


We're all expecting great things from Phoenix but . . . I assume you are talking about go out as in go out to potty not go out as in advanced obedience??


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## Rainheart (Nov 28, 2010)

Being in vet school sucks your life away, so I don't have very ambitious goals. For Beamer, I'd like to earn our RE and then start our way towards our RAE title. I also need to get a dumbell and articles to start working on that. For Bailee, I'd just like to get the basics down and going and then maybe earn our CGC.


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

TheZ's said:


> We're all expecting great things from Phoenix but . . . I assume you are talking about go out as in go out to potty not go out as in advanced obedience??


Well going potty outside is our real big goal, but no, I'm referring to utility go outs. Just the initial first steps of what I can teach a baby puppy. From day one of training I'm training towards utility. I've found if you start by thinking about training a great utility dog, it's easy to fill in the exercises for novice and open later.


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## Hombrespop (Sep 3, 2012)

Their were seven of us at training today for S+D which everyones dogs did but some just 1+3 minutes. Nuggets open exercise today I was pleased with all of the exercises about all that could be done better were a couple fronts. Utility DR still a struggle as our first set he went to wrong glove then he got the right glove but ran to get a second glove before I could stop him . Finally on the third setup he got each glove as directed to without attempting to over achieve so it's coming but very very slowly and only #2 was all the way back each set up. The DJ went better than Thurs. he went out with only the first time being baited the jumps were taken each time on command and the fronts on two of the four jumps were straight. Signal exercise was fairly clean as far as signals themselves are concerned but I wasn't crazy about the heeling part. We were given a MSFE which that pop in the nose the other day has really sunk in on him as he anticipated with a lockup about 7-8 into the forward heel part we did a do over and I just kept repeating heel to him and even though the instructor said stand your dog 3 times we never did anything but heel to the end of the ring Nugget has been gone over many times so I'm not worried about the actual exam . All in all not a bad session of training today still have some problem areas but they are slooowly improving. 




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## PalouseDogs (Aug 14, 2013)

Our training these days is limited to a loft storage area in the garage because of cold, dark, and (as of yesterday) several inches of snow. I've been working on heeling, signals, pivots, and front/finish. 

The big thing with Maple right now are signals. Specifically, she started coming towards me a few steps when going from down to sit. I approached the problem by laying a jump bar, progressing to a ruler, in front of her. She respects the visual barrier and will sit up without moving her front feet, but hasn't quite gotten the idea of not moving forward without the prop. I'm working from closer up and planning to reduce the size and visibility of the barrier. 

Another issue is that she sometimes drops like a rock on the down signal, and sometimes acts hestitant. I am starting to think that I am part of the problem. When I lean slightly forward, frown, and look tense, she gets uncertain. So, I'm working on my own behavior. 

With Alder, I worked a little on tightening up his about-turns. He's started swinging wide, which probably has something to do with my terrible foot work on about-turns. His pivots to the number 3 glove have become amazingly straight (amazing for him; he's a bit of a klutz). He does a circle instead of scooting back, but he's lining himself up correctly. I'm having some anxiety recently over his stiffness when he gets up from sleeping. He's 7 years old. My only real goal with him is to get the other two UD legs. Any score above a 170 pts will work for me, but he'll need to be able to jump 24 inches a few more times.


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

I had a rental today at a somewhat local training facility with boarding & grooming downstairs.

Originally I was going to leave Casey home since the stairs to the second floor are open and it can be dark - not always a good combination for an honored elder, but he wanted to go and did great - he even did some low height jumping!


Towhee & Brady continue to do their training well and Brady remains truly focused. 

I am considering making a video of the rocket recalls & retrieves just for fun !

I am processing a video of Faelan that I think I'll share - overall his enthusiasm and exuberance are amazing  I pretty much did run thru type things with him to try to gauge where he is and what I wish to work on. I think he's doing fairly well  He is starting to go wide on the direct sends for the scent articles but unless it gets worse, I'll let it slide. He also started towards a wrong jump for DJ, but self corrected - I thought that was very praise worthy.

Faelan: Signals had a bit of a creep on the down, but his stand was solid as was his sit and recall. Scent articles were pretty darn awesome other than the wide pivots; he mouthed he metal article so I'll work on that separately. Directed retrieves - awesome even with glove #2 set close to entice him. Moving stand for exam - very nice. Directed jumping - Go Outs pretty good and the self correction I thought was pretty clever!

Towhee: Wants to work!! We heeled (she needs to get back in the groove) and she did fairly well but went wide a time or 2, Figure 8 - Beautiful. Recall (no drop) l gorgeous except we need to work on her having patience for the finish. Retrieve on flat - perfect! Retrieve over the high jump: she has a wide arc after picking up the dumbbell so after the first return around the jump, we worked really angled throws from the direction she turns in. Broad Jump - very very nice.

Brady: Heeling - we are expanding the amount before a break and his head is maintaining the correct/non forged position. His rear end still jay walks but that will straighten in time. Retrieve on the flat - beautiful! Recall - beautiful!. We tossed cheese over the high jump to get him used to 'Over'. The broad jump 1st one was a recall over, then I was a few feet in front but to the side of the boards, then at the top of the boards and called once his rear feet touched down.

Casey: I truly love his enthusiasm. In Faelan's video you will hear the tell tale raspiness of laryngeal paralysis - that is Casey. It is not too bad yet so he can do whatever he feels up to. Today he did some heeling, a few retrieves and even a few retrieves of a 16 inch high jump, He was ecstatic to be working and earning praise & rewards  I added his video as well

Faelan's video: 





Casey's video:


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## MaureenM (Sep 20, 2011)

Thanks for sharing! I love watching training video's, and I think it's especially fun to see the dogs working that we read about.


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

Are the videos still there? I just see a big blank gap...


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## Hombrespop (Sep 3, 2012)

Me too all I see is a blank


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

videos should still be there - weird - I can see them. Here are the direct links 

Casey : 



Faelan : 




I should point out that since Faelan actually NQ'd once for sitting too far out on a Scent Discrimination front and I would not accept it  well my focus on fronts is to get him to totally forget about field deliveries and get him to come front & close - so there is really a reason I formally front him so rarely in this video 

It linked them again so copy & paste these addresses after removing the quotes if it is still a problem

"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCNR73XkxrA" Faelan
"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpfObz5M3_c" for Casey

Comments & suggestions welcome. Titan1 has generously provided feedback (1) my side step on the Signal stand which I had no idea I was doing and (2) suggested I continue him to the gating more time than not on the Go Outs - thanks again


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

Lovely job boys! Love getting to see the seniors work. Faelans enthusiasm is great, I especially love the send on articles. The only critique I have is on one of the go outs you drag out his name. I think crisp commands help get quick crisp responses. Utility is so much fun to train!


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

Love this video by Janice Gunn: as I move forward in building Faelan's confidence for scent articles under diverse scenarios, this video is helping me think 'outside the box'


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## Hombrespop (Sep 3, 2012)

Enjoyed the videos but for some reason I get no sound but your dogs sure have enthusiasm , nice to see.


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## Hombrespop (Sep 3, 2012)

I found out that video to play sound must be in Safari , it is much more enjoyable with sound LOL


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## Lucky Penny (Nov 13, 2011)

Great videos! Love watching the older boys work, such great drive!


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

Today I shared a rental with Boomers Dawn in the noisy place  The adjacent ring was also being used although by a rally judge planning courses & such - her dog was out occasionally but not the whole time.

My biggest brag, and to me this is huge, is that Boomers Dawn was working casting, including whistle work close to Faelan's article pile and he was able to focus on his job: not the closeness of someone to his article pile, not the whistle and not the bumpers - Yay Faelan - thank you Boomers Dawn 

The original setup had utility jumps set up and 3 white paper plates set up for pivot & marking where the gloves would usually be. These plates were down as distraction as well for heeling & Go Outs.

Faelan: ring entrances followed by ring entrances with a few of his favorite tug toys laying about. Signal exercises followed by Go Outs and then Go Outs with directed jumping. Then some pivot practice and marking to the plates - he apparently forgot this game and had to be disappointed that shopping multiple plates yielded no additional treats LOL 

Towhee: Ring entrances using tug as a reward. She is one serious tugger and loves it so. After a few successes we moved to heeling, retrieves on the flat and over the high jump, some marking and get-it get-it get-it come games.

Brady: Ring entrances and unclasping the lead - actually walking into the ring on lead since I rarely train with a lead on. We then practiced some heeling and needed to address a reluctance to heel up to a chair/table I put in the ring. A few recalls, a few retrieves on the flat (I need to work on a clean pickup) and then we worked a bit on jumping the solid jump with a dumbbell in his mouth - his first time working this concept so I straddled the jump - set at 16 inches - he seemed to grasp the whole idea very quickly 

I then went a-wandering and shopping for dog toys. Like they need more LOL When I returned Faelan got to practice his scent articles as mentioned above.

We finished with sit & down stays - my 3 and Gladys while we proofed them some with toy tosses, wandering the ring & putting things away, Boomers Dawn brought little birds and a bird tweeting machine. They are did very well - good dogs

Overall, I am very pleased with the sessions!

Casey, in case anyone is wondering, was off on a hike with my brother, BIL & his 2 dogs.


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## Hombrespop (Sep 3, 2012)

This miserable weather (5 degrees) and holiday season is making it tough to get much training in . My club is not having training tonight or next Monday and I'm so limited in what we can do in the small limits of my house . I'll be glad when winter and the holiday season are behind me. Hurry up spring!


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

Started the first steps of puppy go outs today. Fun stuff! Also taught Phoenix how to run through the cat tunnel.

Did articles and a few fronts with Flip. 

Asked Conner for a front. He was thrilled to do it and ran off to chew on a bone, which is what he does when he is excited


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## Hombrespop (Sep 3, 2012)

Training this morning at SCKC . Nugget did articles this morning all loose and the extra ones out , he did the exercise correctly but one of two fronts not straight. Short go- out (2) ok sat on command. Several f+ f and turns in place getting better and the signal exercise but had to repeat as he missed the sit signal. We also did a recall with Nugget in a down position as in the DOR which was done nicely. When we go to drop in training later this morning we will ( TRY) gloves and get all open work in plus some heeling and full length go- outs . Also MSFE will be done by a stranger hoping there won't be any anticipation or movement after he gets the signal to stand.


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

I kind of went back and forth on whether I wanted to post the video of Brady from last weekend and I decided to go for it. It shows a lot of common young dog mistakes and some early stages of training the more advanced exercises.

Brady does jay walk but my concentration at the moment is his head position. He rarely is heeled for now without pressure from gating or walls or curbs etc while I really work on that head position. I feed from behind my back (you'll see him catching me at one point) to again encourage a non forged head position.

He needs to gain confidence that he can indeed heel with me into corners, walls, tables and chairs so that is also on the video.

Anyway - here is my Brady in a new environment and while he did make mistakes I loved his focus and the tail wagging - precision will come 

Enjoy 

Brady at CSC Dec 21 2013 - YouTube


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## Hombrespop (Sep 3, 2012)

Enjoyed the video and it looks like Brady is really giving attention , and his mistakes are all those of a young dog but I know they will all be fixed in time. Now its time for me to go to training to fix some of Nuggets mistakes ( I hope )


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## K9-Design (Jan 18, 2009)

How old is Brady? He is certainly super cute! Love the enthusiasm and amazing how well he knows fronts!!!
I think you are inadvertently doing a lot of things to encourage the bad heel position. The two turns you did were right (right turn & about turn) then you "YES" and reward as he wraps around you for the about turn. Also I didn't see him being rewarded from behind your back, I see you letting him wrap around until he is in a front then you rewarding from in front of you. All that is doing is reinforcing the wrapping and butt out. Yes his head is up and attentive but there is no consistent position, he is forged, wide sometimes. I think letting him butt out that much and rewarding it so often is going to be difficult to reign in later. It's something you have to fight with high drive dogs anyways and you're rewarding him for it only to have to go back and fix it later. I'd rather reward for three steps of proper heel position IN DRIVE, then do something to combat the butt out and reward for that (i.e. do a spin, turn left, left u-turn, etc and really work on getting his butt in). If he can be so precise and enthusiastic for fronts there's no reason you can't expect it on left turns and keeping his butt in. Pot work, bucket work, heeling backwards, lots of pivots, all stuff easy to do inside. He is super cute little guy!!!


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

Brady is almost 17 months old (Ty x Towhee son). I waited until he reached full height to begin teaching heeling since to me the focal point/head position changes so much as they are growing it has to be tough for puppies to try to learn to focus on an every changing point 

He has begun his jump work for agility & obedience – while I have not had him X-Rayed, if his growth plates have not closed yet they should be pretty close so jumping him now should be perfectly safe.

His fronts & finishes have a lot of platform work behind them so he tends to be accurate (yay); he knows pot work as well – I need to start applying that to his heeling and including more left pivots, left abouts and left turns – you are right. Thank you.

I must have edited the snatch & grab segment as the treat came behind my back since it was really bad handling on my part (I allowed him to snatch & grab) …


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## K9-Design (Jan 18, 2009)

Yeah I don't do a focal point for heeling, but a lot for head position (nose bridge, collar jangle, what not). 
I am certainly not one to preach teaching dogs things that only look like what they do in the ring, but with something like the bad flaring heeling if you allow that to happen there's no good to come of it. Yes it's a sign of enthusiasm but it's also a sign of not knowing how to heel and having to go back and really fight it later. There's no time when you want him to do that during heeling so why let him do it from the get-go.


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## Hombrespop (Sep 3, 2012)

Just returned from training and what he did today correctly was done vey well such as heeling - fig.8 - ROF- ROHJ -DROP - SIGNALS - and the DJ BUT what he messed up he really messed up . Gloves same over achieving and after he couldn't be caught and had gotten second glove when called he did come BUT refused to release the gloves which got him a smack and he still wouldn't let go as I had to really pull them out of his mouth. He loves them darn gloves and loves getting them a little TOO MUCH. then for the first time in quite a while he refused the BJ the first time I wanted him to go over. I don't know if he was distracted or what the problem was but he looked as though he didn't know what I wanted him to do . I reset him and then got in the front of the BJ and called him and over he went then I reset him 3 times the way it must be done and he took the jump each time. His MSFE today was very very nice with a solid lock- up and not moving a muscle while being examined so between the palm of my hand causing anticipation on this exercise and Sat. Heeling thru after the call stand your dog 3 times we got it just right today . Three steps forward on this today nothing back. Go- out not to shabby first one perfect second was off center about 6 ft or 2 pts. worth still a work in progress we did a couple more with bait against a stanchion and as long as the spray cheese was on it he did great. Gloves still a long long way to go and he does keep me guessing about the BJ .


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

Interesting threads on a few of my eTraining subscriptions.

Including the balancing act between

- Skill Building
- Testing to see where you need work
- Proofing & at what levels and the need to know your dog to determine how to proof
- Reducing feedback/re-inforcement

and how each of the 4 factors above always need review, revision and balancing. Especially given that many of us have multiple dogs in multiple sports and work full time to support our dogs & our homes.


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## Hombrespop (Sep 3, 2012)

Training this morning went well for what we did articles- signals - turns in place and two short go- outs. Tonight it's class at SCKC and we will get recalls - heeling- fig8 done in class set- up but I will be able to do open jumps which I'm particularly interested to see if BJ will be done on first order or if the problem is appearing again. I will also get 5 minutes in utility ring where I can try the DR and if he does it first try a couple full ring length go- outs.
I really am disliking this winter cause I can not use my yard set up and take the time neccessary for the problem areas

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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

<sigh> I have decided that I need to decide how I am going to approach scent articles for both Towhee & Brady. I am leaning towards the Morgan Spencer C/T approach to start with ... maybe combined with tea balls. They don't like smushing their noses to pick up metal tins. 

All my dogs (to date) have been trained differently - weird when I think of that. Methods being combined as needed to help build their understanding. Tie downs and RTC are usually not overly successful for me if used by themselves.

ETA: well Towhee is very good at pretending what I really want is for her to gaze adoringly at my face - oh okay, the metal thingee? okay here you go, now let me lick your face as long as you're down on the floor with me. This could take a bit LOL

Brady is consistently choosing the correct one when there are 2 metals out - very close to me with me on the floor again. A deliberate choice on his part but he is probably just lucky at this point since the article is well slimed


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## Hombrespop (Sep 3, 2012)

Training went well tonight , Nugget took BJ on first order the two times I sent him and gave me both fronts. The ROHJ- ROF- heeling - fig 8 all done well with only one slightly crooked sit on fig8 . Tonight gloves went better but only two were out there all the way to side and only maybe 10-12 behind us but the turns in place were good and he came to me with the glove he was sent for without attempting to get the other. Go- outs are getting better and the two DOR one verbal the other a signal were both absolutely beautiful and the fronts were good with a little help from me the one finish done was good.The only thing not good was MSFE which was anticipated but when repeated he did it correctly. Sits and downs solid.


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

Casey, Faelan, Towhee, Brady were all taught the retrieve using a shaping method and I loved seeing this video come up on my FB feed this morning (Janice Gunn). 

Brady will still at times hit the dumbbell with his feet but not often. I am also reminded that I need to add way more game in on occasion


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

This morning:

Brady : C/T scent articles - 2 metal articles with me standing about 3-5 feet away. He is now required to fully commit and bring the article fully to me for his C/T. He did very well and perhaps the 8th one chose the wrong article, realized even fronting with it did not get a C/T, tried finishing still no C/T so he went back to the 'pile' and chose the correct one for delivery. Paaaarteee  We finished with 2 more.

Towhee: We went back to taking the metal article for C/T - she is reluctant to take the metal article - perhaps sensitive teeth but also probably an artifact of her first owners disciplining her for taking things in her mouth. I went through this with her dumbbell as well - poor girlie actually chatters her teeth as she is reaching forward - why would anyone discipline a golden for retrieving - or put another way - why would anyone who doesn't want a dog to retrieve get a golden retriever?????? 

Faelan: heads up heeling starts. He did well after settling in. Unfortunately Brady snatched his new and favored purple bottle beastie toy that Faelan has been carrying around for days and decapitated the poor thing while we were working. 

Casey: just some heeling and whack da baby games.


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## Hombrespop (Sep 3, 2012)

Did all the rest of the obedience people go on vacation as I'm not seeing much posting other than from Sharon and a little from Jodi with her new pup? C'mon guys keep us updated on how your training and trials are going.


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## Laurie (Sep 20, 2009)

Nuggetsdad said:


> Did all the rest of the obedience people go on vacation as I'm not seeing much posting other than from Sharon and a little from Jodi with her new pup? C'mon guys keep us updated on how your training and trials are going.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com App


We've taken a few days off from training but will get back at it today!!

We will be working on Lexx's returns on his retrieves. His retrieves are nice but his returning to me on the retrieves have gone awry! :doh: Not sure why this has happened all of a sudden. On the seek back, he is so enthusiastic about retrieving the glove but on the way back, he tosses it in the air, shakes it a bit and then brings it to me. It's kind of cute but unacceptable at the same time. Time to bring out the long lead again.

Other than that he is doing well on all of his exercises from all levels. We now have our scent articles so work with those every couple of days. He still isn't sure about picking up the metal articles so need to work on that. 

I really want him to get involved in field work so have been reading a lot and watching a lot of videos to get him ready for spring.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Nuggetsdad said:


> Did all the rest of the obedience people go on vacation as I'm not seeing much posting other than from Sharon and a little from Jodi with her new pup? C'mon guys keep us updated on how your training and trials are going.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com App


 : What did I say about this probably being a very quiet month? 

I did get around to a little training this past week or so - snatches of stuff here and there. One interesting quandary I have is Jacks is being UBER clingy - which pretty much happens when I get a lot of "down time" at home. Which means that he is literally watching me every moment and if I look like I'm going to be training anyone else but him, he going into a barking frenzy about it. 

I also have a fun match coming up on Sunday. Have been waffling about actually running Jacks in open or letting it be until we fix a lot of problems that I saw on our last week of training. I haven't been able to practice jumps at home, so I have no idea if that was a temporary glitch or my having to retrain both open jumps. 

I may just let the "judge" know where we are at and do a very loose "play run" out there with him. 



Laurie said:


> We will be working on Lexx's returns on his retrieves. His retrieves are nice but his returning to me on the retrieves have gone awry! :doh: Not sure why this has happened all of a sudden. On the seek back, he is so enthusiastic about retrieving the glove but on the way back, he tosses it in the air, shakes it a bit and then brings it to me. It's kind of cute but unacceptable at the same time. Time to bring out the long lead again.
> 
> Other than that he is doing well on all of his exercises from all levels. We now have our scent articles so work with those every couple of days. He still isn't sure about picking up the metal articles so need to work on that.


Laurie - instead of bringing the long line out (which is a pain when you are working retrieves because the dog winds up waddling over the line) - rebuild the retrieve. Practice holds and shorten the distance of the retrieve.


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## TheZ's (Jun 13, 2011)

Nuggetsdad said:


> Did all the rest of the obedience people go on vacation as I'm not seeing much posting other than from Sharon and a little from Jodi with her new pup? C'mon guys keep us updated on how your training and trials are going.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com App


I haven't been posting here much since losing Zoe. We had been working on her novice and some open exercises when she suddenly got sick. I was really hoping she'd have her CD by now and we'd be moving on to greater things.

So we're back to square one with Gracie. I think she has the makings of a good performance dog . . . energetic, responsive, makes good eye contact, interested in retrieving and following and very agile. She seems to have so much potential that my concern is . . . not messing her up with bad training. We've had a few puppy classes where she seemed to love the A frame and tunnel, and will start good manners type obedience in early January. Meanwhile I've been looking at some of the Janice Gunn videos and thinking of going back and looking at some of the old threads here.

Any suggestions on appropriate early training for Gracie would be much appreciated. She's about 3 1/2 months old now.


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

You are close to Port Chester, right? I just received an email that they are enrolling for their January classes.

http://www.pcotc.org/documents/classes/JanFeb2014Schedule.pdf

Might be a good starting point if they are close


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## Lucky Penny (Nov 13, 2011)

The two feet of snow covered with a sheer of ice has been a big bump in our training up here. Not able to do really in agility. Able to still work obedience, but have slowed down over the holidays. I am planning to rent a facility to work some. Love the video with the dumbbell, saw that on facebook as well. Makes me want to get out and work with the dumbbell tonight!


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## Hombrespop (Sep 3, 2012)

Just sent pre- entries in for two correction matches in the next two weeks and have found another training facility not too far. These matches plus the ( strange new place ) should help Nuggget wherever we go . The end of Jan. We are entered in two trials in Indiana hoping to get his third leg for his CDX .If Nugget will do what I know he can do it should be a piece of cake but then again you never know!


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## AmbikaGR (Dec 31, 2007)

Like others have been busy with holidays and other year ending events. 
BUT we have gone to the obedience club's facility everyday this week except Sunday (Brooke went to a match) and Christmas (poor excuse not to train but I took it anyway ). No classes at the school this week or next. 
The big thing I have been working on with Brooke is the article issue. I began turning my back on the pile while she is working it and having her come front with me facing in that direction. There is a big mirror on the wall I face so I set up the articles off center from my position and I can observe her in the mirror. She shows no lack of confidence at all doing them this way. Goes out briskly, quickly finds the correct article and returns briskly to front. I decide to add some "pressure". I spread the pile out into an area roughly 10 ft x 10 ft and placed 8 small cones throughout the area with the articles (similar to the Janet Gunn exercise). She was fine with that also until I attempted to circle the pile. That was too much pressure for her. I went back to standing in the one spot and she was again fine. I may try at a latter time to continue with the moving around part but seeing as I am trying to reinforce "confidence" and have trials starting up in 2 weeks I decided to put it on hold. Today I wanted to see how we were so I did the articles in a normal setup along side a jump and normal spacing. She found all 4 we did very quickly, smartly and CONFIDENTLY!! Tomorrow we are in another match so we will see what happens there. Also working real hard on transitioning and keeping her engaged throughout the class. I think we have the idea again. As always trying to get those fronts and finishes perfected and making great strides at getting back to where we were on these also. But remember this "boot camp" is happening in a place she is comfortable and familiar with. Tomorrow's natch will be the real test.
I have again began working with Oriana after a short hiatus. The bad news is the hiatus did NOT help in anyway I had hoped it might. The good news is she still LOVES to try and although that gets in the way quite often, I LOVE IT and will continue to work with it. She is such a GREAT dog and never fails to make me smile. Her showing in the new year will be very limited but her training will be ongoing. If we go no further than this, then so be it. 
Happy and Healthy New Year!!


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## Laurie (Sep 20, 2009)

Megora said:


> Laurie - instead of bringing the long line out (which is a pain when you are working retrieves because the dog winds up waddling over the line) - rebuild the retrieve. Practice holds and shorten the distance of the retrieve.


 Yes you're right....the long line is a PITA!! Good idea about the shorter retrieves. When we're training in the basement, his returns are spot on but at the building, where I tend to increase the distance, this is when he gets goofy! 

Thanks!


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

Laurie said:


> Yes you're right....the long line is a PITA!! Good idea about the shorter retrieves. When we're training in the basement, his returns are spot on but at the building, where I tend to increase the distance, this is when he gets goofy!
> 
> Thanks!


I use a flexi


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## Laurie (Sep 20, 2009)

Loisiana said:


> I use a flexi


I do have a flexi so will take that along to our training session tomorrow. 
I will try a few things; hopefully something will jog his memory that he is supposed to come back to me after the retrieves!!


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Is baffled. 

This is probably a vent comment, but really...

I pay $85/6 weeks of competition practice classes with Bertie in novice and have the drop in option or $20/week with Jacks doing open. And the conformation classes are $114/12 weeks. And almost forgot - the other obedience training place charges $85/7 weeks.

I was browsing a website for classes at the local high school and geez louise. >.< 

Between $130 and $150 for 5 weeks (it's a 6 week session, but dogs don't attend first week). And these are pet classes (meaning not competition focused). 

Why would people spend so much on dog classes if there is a higher quality alternative just 20 minutes away?


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## coaraujo (Nov 2, 2012)

We are really drilling on the formal retrieve, doing trainings almost every dinner feeding. The boys are now in the process of picking up the bumper and putting it in my hand. They dont have a solid understanding yet but by the end of the week I think well be there. Tonight we visited my bf's parents and they wanted to see our progress. I didnt have my bumpers so I used a rope toy. It was a great training opportunity. A huge part of our training is generalizing the retrieve so they learn they have to pick up anything. It was interesting to see how thrown off they were by training with the bew object. Oliver picked up on it pretty quickly and was putting it in my hand but Bernie really struggled. I couldnt even get him to pick it up. It was a very informal training session with distrations since we had an audience but it definitely shows we have some generalizing to do!


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## PalouseDogs (Aug 14, 2013)

Nuggetsdad said:


> Did all the rest of the obedience people go on vacation as I'm not seeing much posting other than from Sharon and a little from Jodi with her new pup? C'mon guys keep us updated on how your training and trials are going.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com App


Actually, I've been so busy, including training, I'm too exhausted to feel like posting in the evening. My vacation break is a solid 9 days off. (Only 5 days left! It's flying by.) My goals were major year-end house cleaning with dog-training breaks. 

I really lucked out on the weather. The high temp has gone above 32 degrees most days since break started and most of the snow in the yard has melted. It looks like it will stay clear until I have to go back to work next Thursday. I put my ring gates up and set the jumps up for utility in the yard. I did partial Utility run-throughs today. Alder's pivot to glove 3 is fabulous. (Hard to believe.) His go-outs were straight. On the first go-out, when I said "Turn", he turned and came back to me instead of sitting. I was happy he did that, because he's done the same thing several times at trials, but hardly ever at home in practice. I was finally able to tell him "Oops". On the second go-out, he turned and sat nice and straight. 

My new problem with Alder is that he's taking a couple of steps forward before he downs on the the signal. He did it for the first time in training yesterday or the day before. I told myself it was maybe a one-time mistake (ha!), but he repeated it today. I plan to make that problem the major focus of training for the next few days. 

With Maple, I did a heeling pattern, signals, DR for glove 3, moving stand, and one go-out and jump. She did so well on the first go-out and jump, that we had a celebration and jack-pot and quit. I was most interested in how she would do the sit from the down on the signal exercise. She had developed an issue of scooting forward a few steps as she goes from down to sit. I've been working on it in every training session for a week. Today, she kept her front paws in place during the semi-run-through. I was very happy!

At first, I had worked on the problem by laying a long ruler in front of her on the down, and setting her back behind the ruler if she stepped over it. She quickly learned to keep her front paws in place with the ruler, but wasn't transferring the lesson very well without the prop. 

I had more success (and fun) with a more playful method that I used in our garage loft where the floor is fairly smooth and light-colored. I put her in a drop (usually from a moving heel to avoid confusing the issue with the signal drop). I had a handful of large pieces of a dark-colored treat. I'd give the sit signal, watching her front feet. If her front feet moved forward, I said "Oops!" and immediately stepped towards her, ending the exercise. Next rep, I would stand closer, which caused her to be less likely to move forward. When she would sit without moving her front feet forward, I said, "Good girl! Get it!" and tossed the treat behind her. After a success, I would step back a little further, coming in again if she moved her feet forward. She caught on quickly and thought this was great fun. 

The method worked well for Maple because she has excellent eyesight and quick reflexes. Tossing treats for Alder is an exercise in frustration. He can see the movement, sort of, but not usually where the treat lands, so he then engages in a methodical sniffing to find the treat. I have to use a big toy instead of treats to do anything like that with him.


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## MarieP (Aug 21, 2011)

Riot and I started training articles the other day. We are trying the "cookie tin" method. I like it because it really gets the dog using his nose ri tht off the bat. There is no retrieving involved. We are working on retrieving his nice new articles totally separate from the scenting. I can already see Riot trying to work out what I want from him. Right now he is just so happy to really be working that it is hard from him to settle down and focus. It will take some time, but we will get there. 

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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

Today will be exciting  I have arranged a private with my agility instructor, who is also now retired from obedience but was a front runner when she competed  And she is an agility judge as well.

I have a rental immediately following. Pam asked what I wanted to focus on and while I originally thought back side jumps and a few other things, I dialed it down to core basics - seriously, core exercises and jumping basics since Faelan has not really done agility in awhile, Towhee is out of shape although her weight is good and Brady has only jumped up to 12 inches so the refresher will be wonderful  Although I take an hour vacation time each Wednesday, the traffic has been so bad I just cannot make the 40 mile drive home to pick up the dogs and then 42 miles to my agility class in the allocated 2.5 hours, so I rarely make classes nowadays so I am very happy about this private 


Okay and a negative review: A few weeks ago I bought a few training DVDs from Training the Top Dog Way. The first DVD 'Attention Combo' is of poor quality in a few small parts but most of it is visible through the pixels. The 2nd I tried (Mark Combo) watching last night & Christmas day receiving multiple 'Incorrect Format' errors which reloading 1/2 dozen times finally got me through followed by an unusable viewing ---- so of course I tried other DVDs and they are all fine. I had read a review of poor quality but figured it was a one off thing -- just thought I would throw it out here that if you want to watch these videos, renting might be a better option. 

I watched Hannah Branigan instead - which is rented LOL worked great!

ETA: Received an email from Top Dog about this post and they have offered to replace the DVD - very nice I thought but I am unsure who reported it?


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## Hombrespop (Sep 3, 2012)

Happy to see all the posting tells me everybody has been reading others post just short on time ( holidays) or weather effecting their training. Worked Nugget on articles this morning and both correctly done fronts left a little to be desired but finishes were good. We also did signal exercise which he does very nicely normally and this morning wasn't an exception. Going to SCKC for drop in training this morning where enough room to do jumps and go- outs and especially the main problem GLOVES


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

and just for fun, I am thinking of joining in an AdventureScape class with Towhee & Brady to start my New year off in a fun way. This is held at the training facility just minutes from my house where I often go on Saturdays for classes


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## Hombrespop (Sep 3, 2012)

We just got home from drop in training and was very pleased today with the results. Nugget did the BJ twice on order and nailed the fronts on both of them and we only did one finish and that two was executed well. ?The rest of the open exercises ROF-ROHJ-HEELING - FIG8 all done very nicely with only minor flaws which were the fronts and a bump on the fig8 . In the utility ring improvements were also noticed . DJ was done correctly taking directions of which jump to take and his go- out were perfect on the first but on the second he went to within 2-3 ft of the wall but saw something or smelled something and went off line about 4 ft but did sit when asked too.MSFE was done successfully with a great lockup , this is coming along. Signals were done very nicely but the heeling free part sucked with several going wides a bump and r+ l turns which I didn't like? DR improving at least today on the one time he over achieved he gave them to me without me having to be forceful, but again when I sent him for #2 glove he got it and I could see the wheels turning in his head "gotta get another"


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## Laurie (Sep 20, 2009)

Took Lexx to the building this morning for training. 

First thing we worked on was his retrieves (and returns). I took the Flexi in case I needed it. I also kept the retrieves shorter. Neither were needed today because for some reason he decided that he would return to me after his retrieves. He is exasperating some days!!! Even his seek back was good...no tossing the glove up in the air and shaking it. 

We also worked on heeling which was done very well. His signal work was good, his MSFE also well done.

We also spent some time working on the sit command with the whistle. Briefly worked on force to pile and casting. 

Tonight at home we will work with his scent articles.


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## AmbikaGR (Dec 31, 2007)

Brooke and I went to the match today. Overall I was VERY pleased. Normally when I enter matches I bunch the runs together to get in and out relatively quickly. This one I planned 3 hours between our Open run and our Utility run. 
First in Open she was real accurate and good except for the ROF. The ring was very tight and small and there was about 8 feet between the high jump and the ring gate for the ROF. My throw bounced left and ended up behind the jump. She went straight to it but on the return took the jump. Just points but have been working this a lot in training due to one of upcoming trials the Open B ring is tight (not this tight) and it is possible to see it happen there. We tried it a second time and this time got the correct response. 
Then a little after noon we went into utility. Did gloves first and needed to correct her "playing" with the glove. We then did articles and I looked at my feet while she worked the pile and returned. All three times she was perfect with NO hesitation on the returns. I was a VERY happy handler. Go outs were an issue as the bright sun was coming through in such a way that the middle stanchion was wiped out from view. So we went to the left. I moved up and got it right, then moved back and she nailed it. 
So all in all a good day showing progress made. The facility where the match was we get to only once or twice a year so it was a good place to judge it. Also it is run by two sisters who are AKC judges so they let me know EVREYTHING I am doing. ;-)


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

We had our session & wow!! we covered a LOT!! Teacher is pleased with Towhee's weight which is a definite plus 

We started agility jump work with Brady to teach him jumping from the rear is a very good thing. At the end of the lesson we also worked some on the teeter and a simple change really has Brady driving & demanding his BANG!! simply tossing a treat rather than feeding directly had us having to put him on a settle to stop him banging LOL

Towhee & Faelan both did a really great job running their courses especially once their handler got her timing right on on rear cross going into a back side leading into a 270 ...

We went over a ton of conditioning and jumping exercises.

Then I worked obedience in my remaining rental time - mostly the exercises that require a lot of room; 

Faelan Go-Outs, signals, Directed Jumping.

Towhee: some heeling, ROF, ROHJ and Broad Jumps.

Casey: Some heeling and recalls

Brady: Very little heeling, recalls, ROF, ROHJ and Broad Jump. He is up to the full ROF, and a standard BJ. The ROHJ he still needs help with at times but he is learning very quickly really. It has only been a few weeks since I started the broad jump and ROHJ


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

A very, very happy night over here: Phoenix just did his very first drop with just a verbal and hand signal from me, no luring or hands-on guidance!


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## Hombrespop (Sep 3, 2012)

>. Jodi I too get very happy when I see something new accomplished or when something comes together it's the reward we get for all the effort spent teaching but it especially gratifying when the accomplishment is with a pup like Phoenix . 


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

Towhee did well enough at our lesson yesterday that I am seriously considering entering her hairless self into a few agility trials before her next season - if they still have runs available.


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## Hombrespop (Sep 3, 2012)

Do it enter her have fun !


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## AmbikaGR (Dec 31, 2007)

This morning we went to the club this morning. At the match yesterday my trainer wanted me to start something new with Oriana. What she has me doing is doing one exercise with her then put her in the corner in a down stay then do some work with Brooke while Oriana is in the down stay. Then do another exercise with Oriana and then again put her in a down while I work with Brooke. Interesting, but not surprising, it was easier for her in the beginning. The more we did it the more she had trouble controlling herself and staying in her down. We will continue to work on this and see how it goes.


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

I had a very good rental today  Towhee & Casey went hiking in the rain with my brother so I finished up really early from my 2 hour rental. 

Faelan: Obedience workings during a few mini sessions. Heeling. I set him up in a stand and signaled the drop from across the ring. I heeled him a bit and did a down out of motion followed by a sit signal from across the ring. Then a stand and a call to heel from across the ring etc.

I used agility jumps with 10 bars for the 'high' jump and one bar for the solid bar. This was so things looked different. I set him up in the Go Out spot and did a few directed jumps. Then I worked gloves. Then I worked Go Outs with my following him or running in to reward him. I finished with full Directed Jumping and some heeling.

Then Brady came out for some heeling with excellence. I don't know why I changed things up but I started looking down at him and he really heeled beautifully and obviously loved it!! I usually just kind of tilt my head while mostly looking ahead. Then a few recalls followed by ROFs which he did very nicely. He too got to use my 'solid' jump and it threw him so we worked through his ROHJ with the strange looking jump. His broad jump needed some work - I did not start the session with recalls over the jump and I used my own travel jumps which are only 4 feet wide and not as high so more exposure for the boy  At this point the can returns became very very noisy so I let him explore that end of the ring to satisfy himself that the place was not falling down and we finished with a few more recalls.

Then in a few different agility based sessions per dog we worked basic jumping skills - jumping from a sit to help them learn to power from their rear, slicing the jump from close up, jumping from the back of the jump (I call this 'flip' for flipside) etc.
I was going to use the teeter but I just didn't feel like flipping & dragging it since it was not on rolling platforms LOL and then thought the dogs might very well have had enough since the close up jumping is pretty intense on their bodies. 

So overall I was very pleased and not so disappointed to finish early. 

Towhee & Casey quite enjoyed their hike by all reports too !!


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Enjoyed the fun match today....  

Bertie did everything very nicely. Only could quibble about set ups for heel on leash and figure 8 - I had to put him into a sit since he was full-stacking himself instead. And his down stay was one of those things where he went mule-headed about NOT going down and I wasn't going to play the "down+treat-break-down-down-treat" game with him. So we flunked the downstay with the intention of working on it later.

Jacks - I made sure the ladies knew he's struggling with jumps right now and wound up jumping him at 16-28 or something like that. And I'm very happy to say he jumped very well and showed no signs of balking. I can work his jumps back up through classes the next few months. Only other thing is his fronts were to my left leg and his finishes were not all that great. <- Things I can fix at home.

I was steward for the open ring a couple hours - funniest thing was how easy it is to completely glaze over instead of paying attention as far as heading out there for f8's and setting up the jumps.


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## MaureenM (Sep 20, 2011)

So far so good this week. Nothing new that we're working on from class, since we haven't had class in what seems like forever. Looking forward to a week from Monday when we go back. We're up to 2 minutes 30 seconds on the out of sight stays with no breaks. I think I'll do 2 more days of that and then add on the next 30 seconds. Sits and downs from a distance are going very well. I've been tossing that in throughout the day, randomly in the house for treats. Also throwing in angled fronts and side passes (?) I'm not sure if that what it's called, but when I move to the side, right or left, and she's in front moving with me to the right or left. Not that we'll ever need that in the ring, but I always thought it was a cool thing to see a dog do. And if it helps solidify front position all the better  
I've also been looking at the AKC event calendar to see when and where the shows will be in 2014. Not a whole lot (at this point anyway) in realistic driving range for us. It looks like one in Feb, March, July, and Nov. Hopefully more will pop up. I also think I need to make some sort of list of the things we're working on and where we are with them. Sometimes I just forget to work on somethings. Moving stand, stand for exam, backing, ect. Between the 2 dogs at 2 different levels, I just feel like I need to see it on paper for my own benefit. Where we are and where we're hopefully headed. Maybe it's the New Years resolution thing .


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## Hombrespop (Sep 3, 2012)

One more week till we train at club seems like forever. I'm pleased with this morning little training session we did articles which were done correctly anD with good fronts and the one finish that we did was straight. Two short go- outs also pretty good. Nugget is doing very nice fronts from the dropped position from about 15-20 ft away and we also did several turns in place 1/4 to right-1/4 left and some 180 degree turns as in #2 glove position all getting better but still needing a little tweeking. The turn to #3 glove which I have him backing up to my left is improving nicely and he is getting it straight most of the time.we only spend about 15 minutes in the morning and I do go thru a lot of Zukes minis but it's paying off and it gives me more time at the training clubs I frequent for the things that are problems or need more room especially now that winter is here. Tomorrow is drop- in training and I will be able to do jump exercise DOR and the DR which still is a major problem with my little over achiever. The one club I frequent is having drop- in training New Year's Day which I will attend and Thurs. we are going to a facility I've never been to which will be good for Nugget where I definetly want to do the signal exercise from a distance .


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## ashleylp (Jul 23, 2011)

Well, I have been feeling particularly bad for my own two pups as all of my time the past month and a half has been devoted to the litter of puppies I have, so my new years resolutions revolve largely around them. I would like to get Remy involved in a sport - he loves hunt, we used to go to club meetings all the time, we need to get back into it. And I also need to get Caira involved in something. She enjoys her bitework, but honestly enjoys any time she spends with me... So anything is a possibility. I had looked into agility and didn't have the time to enter the class, so I need to look at when the next opportunity is. 

The puppies leave in a little over two weeks and dare I complain that it will be quiet around here.  Hopefully we can make some noise doing training and getting more involved in the canine world. 

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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

I did enter her  hopefully they have not reached run limits and she can get in. Just her so hopefully I can get her in a few trials before she goes into season again, and it will not take entire days since she is not in the Exc/Master classes yet. This facility runs Open & Novice after the Exc/Master classes have completed so a much shorter day. 

I need to get Faelan entered as well since - well - he deserved it but I think I'll wait for the dome trials - and his UD is still pending so I need to spend time working towards that title .... <sigh>





Nuggetsdad said:


> Do it enter her have fun !
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com App


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## Hombrespop (Sep 3, 2012)

> Sharon Glad you entered her I wish I was physically able to do some of the other dog sports with my dogs like you do but obedience is the one I can handle and I truly enjoy training and showing and sometimes we even do a good job at it.


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## Brave (Oct 26, 2012)

Do y'all mind if I join? I'm waiting for confirmation from a local club, but if all goes well, Bear will be starting Beginner 1 obedience classes come January 14. It will have been OVER a year since his LAST formal class. I'm nervous as all get-out. I want to compete eventually, but *I* don't feel confident to try competing just yet. I figure if we get through all the beginner classes, then we can look into possibly competing. 

My only goal for 2014 is to get Bear his CGC. Anything beyond that is CAKE!


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

Welcome  



Brave said:


> Do y'all mind if I join? I'm waiting for confirmation from a local club, but if all goes well, Bear will be starting Beginner 1 obedience classes come January 14. It will have been OVER a year since his LAST formal class. I'm nervous as all get-out. I want to compete eventually, but *I* don't feel confident to try competing just yet. I figure if we get through all the beginner classes, then we can look into possibly competing.
> 
> My only goal for 2014 is to get Bear his CGC. Anything beyond that is CAKE!


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## Hombrespop (Sep 3, 2012)

I second the WELCOME??


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## Brave (Oct 26, 2012)

Thanks you guys. Though, I doubt I will have anything to contribute until we start classes up again. Bear and I just do routine refresher lessons like "come" and "be calm around the cats!" Lol!!!


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

Brave said:


> Thanks you guys. Though, I doubt I will have anything to contribute until we start classes up again. Bear and I just do routine refresher lessons like "come" and "be calm around the cats!" Lol!!!
> 
> 
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That's okay, out biggest daily focus right now is always potty outside!!


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## Brave (Oct 26, 2012)

Loisiana said:


> That's okay, out biggest daily focus right now is always potty outside!!


Lol!!! 


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

*I think everyone training their dogs should feel welcome - and thanks for joining in!*  

I did a round of training today kinda based on what I saw at the fun match yesterday. So stays with both dogs.... and fronts/finishes with Jacks especially with a drop thrown in. I also had my sister do a moving stand with him. She's wonderful because a judge will never open the dog's mouth or hug and kiss him or swat him on the butt!  

The cute little boy that he is - because we haven't done stand stays in a while (focusing on open) - he broke his first stand after my sister backed off. And he sheepishly swooped around and sat in heel position, and leaned in against me. And looked guilty. Of course I wasn't going to do anything but laugh at him.  

Bertie did conformation stuff but I took that collar off and switched gears to off leash heel and then a straight front and flip finish. As always the thing I love with him is you can see him thinking. He sits in front position very precisely, perfectly straight and just the right distance so he can look up at my face for approval. And same thing with his flip finish. 

With Jacks - I always have had the OTT energy and enthusiasm, but there was a lot of "frantically guessing for the right answer instead of thinking things through" with him. Until he guessed right and HEY GOT FOOD FOR WHATEVER HE DID there would be a lot of steam coming off his golden head during those early training sessions. Still do sometimes.

Speaking of which - I found that while he was being rested the last 4 months, I randomly threw a sit-Pretty + pretty dance command at him a couple days ago and was saddened when he couldn't manage the pretty dance (it's essentially doggy push ups with them sitting up on their haunches and then standing up using the muscles in their back/hips/legs to support their balance). I was truly worried about maybe his hips starting to cause him problems, but while working with him (sit ups and marked sit pretties every day), it seems he's getting stronger again. So maybe he just got weak back there + he did gain 5 pounds.


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

a little of what Phoenix has been working on


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## Hombrespop (Sep 3, 2012)

Articles this morning had the first mistake in a long time, Nugget got the # 6 leather correct and gave me a good front BUT when I sent him for the metal article he came back with #5 and had to be re-sent which this time he got the right one. No. 5 was the ones used yesterday so I think my scent still lingered and he came to it first . This mistake on my part won't happen again. 


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## MarieP (Aug 21, 2011)

Our articles have been coming along well. Today, we started with only one having a treat in one tin, which was where we had quit the other day. But then on one send, I realized that I had forgot to put the treat in the tin and he had still indicated the right one. So I decided we were ready to move forward. I put a treat in all five of the tins, but only hand scenting the same one we had been using. The first few times, Riot sniffed and indicated the first one he came to. Then he stood there looking at me, wondering if I had forgotten to reward him. I had to help him keep searching, but eventually he (accidentally) got to the right one and we had a party. Continued the same for a few times, then he started continuing to search on his own if I didn't reward. Then he only indicated on the scented one! Lots of partying!! We did two more then quit. I'm really impressed with how quickly Riot is catching on. I'm loving this method!


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## AmbikaGR (Dec 31, 2007)

MarieP said:


> Our articles have been coming along well. Today, we started with only one having a treat in one tin, which was where we had quit the other day. But then on one send, I realized that I had forgot to put the treat in the tin and he had still indicated the right one. So I decided we were ready to move forward. I put a treat in all five of the tins, but only hand scenting the same one we had been using. The first few times, Riot sniffed and indicated the first one he came to. Then he stood there looking at me, wondering if I had forgotten to reward him. I had to help him keep searching, but eventually he (accidentally) got to the right one and we had a party. Continued the same for a few times, then he started continuing to search on his own if I didn't reward. Then he only indicated on the scented one! Lots of partying!! We did two more then quit. I'm really impressed with how quickly Riot is catching on. I'm loving this method!


Marie, are you placing scented articles in the scented tin?


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## Brave (Oct 26, 2012)

What are articles? And how are they used? From the context, I assume it's nose work?


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## Hombrespop (Sep 3, 2012)

I know everybody gets these days but today has been a super crappy day of training. After the article mistake this morning I went to SCKC and it started going bad right away . I threw a dumbell over the jump and Nugget anticipated being sent and went over it, then I set up again and gave him "wait" several times then threw it again which he did go over and get it BUT on the way back went around the jump so this had to be repeated a couple more times. Then someone threw their dumbell for their dog to retrieve and of course my over achiever went and got it before the woman's dog could. The rest of the open work wasn't to bad but he was brain dead as far as F+F were concerned. We then had our turn in the utility ring where his go- outs were terrible today short and anything but straight. Then it was time to practice GLOVES . Total disaster- OVER ACHIEVING BIG TIME and the first attempt the wrong one . He also decided again after he had two in his mouth the fun thing to do would be to not come to me so I took a suggestion from another trainer and just walked away from him and after several minutes he came to me tail wagging 100 miles an hour and when I reached and took hold of the gloves he wouldn't release them which I told him twice OUT firmly but he still wouldn't let go so he earned a good pop in the mouth and he still wouldn't let go but I was able to yank them out. With this our time was over and I was not to happy but we waited around for sits and downs which he did fine and after s+d we always line up for MSFE which he topped the training session off with anticipating the lock- up GREAT DAY but there will be training tomorrow even though it's New Year's Day and we try to fix some of these mistakes on a fresh note.


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## Hombrespop (Sep 3, 2012)

> Brave articles are 5 metal and 5 leather objects that look like dumbells and are used in the utility class scent discrimination exercise. 


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## Laurie (Sep 20, 2009)

We went to the building yesterday for some training.

We worked on go outs as well. They weren't too bad but we need to work at distance. His jumping was good on one side but the other side Lexx kept going around the jump. I figured I was too far away from the jump and moved closer and that seemed to help.

His retrieves and returns were very good again. He had one episode with his dumbbell and he knew right away he had done wrong. 

He absolutely loves his bumpers!! He is far more enthusiastic retrieving those than anything else. He has responded remarkably well to whistle commands. 

This morning I introduced him again to the frozen (dead) duck. He's still not quite sure about it but does show interest in it. He kept nudging it like he wanted it to get up and fly away. I should have video taped him because it was actually quite funny.

It's quite cold here again so I think we'll head to the building for a short training session before the Canada-US Junior hockey game is replayed (I already know that Canada wins)!!!


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## AmbikaGR (Dec 31, 2007)

Nuggetsdad said:


> I know everybody gets these days but today has been a super crappy day of training. After the article mistake this morning I went to SCKC and it started going bad right away . I threw a dumbell over the jump and Nugget anticipated being sent and went over it, then I set up again and gave him "wait" several times then threw it again which he did go over and get it BUT on the way back went around the jump so this had to be repeated a couple more times. Then someone threw their dumbell for their dog to retrieve and of course my over achiever went and got it before the woman's dog could. The rest of the open work wasn't to bad but he was brain dead as far as F+F were concerned. We then had our turn in the utility ring where his go- outs were terrible today short and anything but straight. Then it was time to practice GLOVES . Total disaster- OVER ACHIEVING BIG TIME and the first attempt the wrong one . He also decided again after he had two in his mouth the fun thing to do would be to not come to me so I took a suggestion from another trainer and just walked away from him and after several minutes he came to me tail wagging 100 miles an hour and when I reached and took hold of the gloves he wouldn't release them which I told him twice OUT firmly but he still wouldn't let go so he earned a good pop in the mouth and he still wouldn't let go but I was able to yank them out. With this our time was over and I was not to happy but we waited around for sits and downs which he did fine and after s+d we always line up for MSFE which he topped the training session off with anticipating the lock- up GREAT DAY but there will be training tomorrow even though it's New Year's Day and we try to fix some of these mistakes on a fresh note.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com App


Well I may get some heat for this but from where I am sitting reading the above it really sounds more like you are testing Nugget rather than training him. You are allowing him too many opportunities to be wrong and he is taking advantage of it. Have him 90+% of the time on a flexi, long line, slip leash whatever it takes for that exercise you are working on. Use chutes and guides for fronts, finishes, go outs etc. These are even more critical when you train somewhere other than your normal place. 
MAKE him right do not ALLOW him to be wrong. It is probably the biggest mistake WE make as trainers. 
To help with the release of the gloves (or article/dumbell). With the dog in front reach out with both hands as you touch the item with your hands take both index fingers and push them into the very rear of his mouth. He should open his mouth by reflex. This worked so AMAZINGLY well for Oriana, I still use it at times with her as a subtle reminder.
I train with and compete with Petra Ford (Crufts and 2 time NOC winner) and other TOP obedience competitors. They almost never have their dogs off lead when training and matching. They leave their testing for actual trials and an occasional circumstances. I still have to remind myself of this quite often. But I am getting there slowly myself.


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## Laurie (Sep 20, 2009)

Thanks for this!!! I hate working with flexis and long lines but know I need to do it with Lexx. That's my New Year's resolution. 




AmbikaGR said:


> Well I may get some heat for this but from where I am sitting reading the above it really sounds more like you are testing Nugget rather than training him. You are allowing him too many opportunities to be wrong and he is taking advantage of it. Have him 90+% of the time on a flexi, long line, slip leash whatever it takes for that exercise you are working on. Use chutes and guides for fronts, finishes, go outs etc. These are even more critical when you train somewhere other than your normal place.
> MAKE him right do not ALLOW him to be wrong. It is probably the biggest mistake WE make as trainers.
> To help with the release of the gloves (or article/dumbell). With the dog in front reach out with both hands as you touch the item with your hands take both index fingers and push them into the very rear of his mouth. He should open his mouth by reflex. This worked so AMAZINGLY well for Oriana, I still use it at times with her as a subtle reminder.
> I train with and compete with Petra Ford (Crufts and 2 time NOC winner) and other TOP obedience competitors. They almost never have their dogs off lead when training and matching. They leave their testing for actual trials and an occasional circumstances. I still have to remind myself of this quite often. But I am getting there slowly myself.


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## MarieP (Aug 21, 2011)

AmbikaGR said:


> Marie, are you placing scented articles in the scented tin?


Yes. There is a scented metal and leather in the scented tin. Once he does well with indicating on the correct one even with treats in all of them, we will remove the treats from all of them and just have the scented articles in one of the tins. Then the next step is to put unscented articles in the other tins. It will probably be another week to get to that point. 

Brave, articles are used for scent discrimination. The dog has to work a pile of metal and leather articles and retrieve the article that has been scented by the handler. Here is a good youtube video of how the exercise will look once it is fully trained. 





This is a little sample of how I have been teaching, except without the manners minder.


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## MarieP (Aug 21, 2011)

AmbikaGR said:


> Well I may get some heat for this but from where I am sitting reading the above it really sounds more like you are testing Nugget rather than training him. You are allowing him too many opportunities to be wrong and he is taking advantage of it.


Yup. I think this is a great reminder for all of us. Thanks for sharing.


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## Brave (Oct 26, 2012)

MarieP said:


> Brave, articles are used for scent discrimination. The dog has to work a pile of metal and leather articles and retrieve the article that has been scented by the handler. Here is a good youtube video of how the exercise will look once it is fully trained.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I'm going to have to come back and look over those videos when I have sound. I don't know if Bear would EVER be trained to flat out retriever a specific article. That seems WAY out of our league, at the moment. How do you only scent one? I keep reading "handler's scent" so I assume it's from my handling the article and setting it down.


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

Dogs have such amazing abilities at differentiating scent that we don't really teach them scent but rather teach them which scent is the one we want. So methods vary in both how to train and how to trial. 

Don't sell either yourself or Bear short  It is fascinating and I think in the end, far more satisfying for the dog than many other things we train.

I was also somewhat shocked to see the video LOL I know both PCOTC and Bob LOL 



Brave said:


> I'm going to have to come back and look over those videos when I have sound. I don't know if Bear would EVER be trained to flat out retriever a specific article. That seems WAY out of our league, at the moment. How do you only scent one? I keep reading "handler's scent" so I assume it's from my handling the article and setting it down.


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## Hombrespop (Sep 3, 2012)

> AmbikaGR 
I appreciate your input and I have used a flexi trying to control Nugget running to another glove but i may have given too much of a correction with it and believe me I would like to use this as it's the easiest way of controlling him but when I attach it to his collar now he WONT leave my side after we make the turn in place. I've used a long line which I'm terrible with as I just get it tangled up. I train with instructors who have had me go back to sq. one and each of these people have several OTCH S each we have run out of ideas that's why the gloves are placed only 10 -12 ft. behind me on the sides 1-3 positions and he will usually get the correct one but every time I try increasing the distance in back of me or put #2 glove down he just goes for it regardless of direction I'm giving him and wants to retrieve all of them. I've tried paper plates with treats on them gloves with treats inside ,one glove at a time many times over and many other suggestion given to me. The thing that will stop him but might mess everything up is the e- collar but that is a last resort for me and only when we have absolutely no options left and I still feel he is still quite young and my patience will outlast his antics. Today was not the norm with the f+f which he was very poor doing normally percentage way he is at about 70% straight most of the time . Nugget is a very soft dog and very bonded to me so I have to be very very careful with my voice and facial expressions or he will shut down and I've learned from experience with him not to show displeasure but I will forget sometimes and that is why the suggestion to just walk away when he mess s up appeals to me cause it lets me cool off some and today he finally realized I wasn't going to play his game. It's been suggested that he is just trying to please me and in his mind if I get get one glove for the old man getting two or three has to be better. 


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## AmbikaGR (Dec 31, 2007)

I understand about the flexi issue as I too had it with both Oriana and Brooke, besides being a total clutz with it. But we overcame it. A suggestion for the flexi "no go" issue. Play the "get it, get it" game with it. 
Take a hand full of treats and toss one to the left and encourage him to "get it". Move with him if you must to get him moving. As soon as he gets that treat throw another in the other direction and again tell him to "get it". Go back in forth in both directions so he is going without hesitating due to the flexi. Be very careful that the tosses are not to far so he does not get corrected. Keep it fun. Play this game a couple times throughout your training time. 
Be thankful your multi glove problem happens in training. My Keeper had this problem but ONLY at trials NEVER in training. She probably failed the utility class 50 times in her lifetime - 45 of those were for multi glove retrieves. :doh:


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## Hombrespop (Sep 3, 2012)

Thank you for suggestion to fix working with the flexi I'm going to try this because if it works I'll be able to slowly make LIGHT corrections when Nugget gets in his over achieving mode and with enough successful retrieves with a lot of praise and rewards we just may get this exercise right. I've had problem areas with my other goldens but other than my first utility dog who was just stubborn and would refuse to pick up the metal article and took 14 trials to get his title the others caught on much faster to what I wanted and tried to please me . My last dog had his OTCH by the time he was 3 1/2 years old, but I'm sure you know they may all be goldens but each one is different and Nugget isn't an exception other than his problem I just haven't been able to overcome yet- but I will 


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Something I have to ask everyone - did having one thread for the month work? Or do we want to switch back to weekly threads tomorrow?


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## Hombrespop (Sep 3, 2012)

Either way works for me make it easy on yourself Kate!


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## Laurie (Sep 20, 2009)

Either way works for me as well.


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## MaureenM (Sep 20, 2011)

I'm with the others, either way works for me.


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

I like the monthly


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## MarieP (Aug 21, 2011)

Brave said:


> I'm going to have to come back and look over those videos when I have sound. I don't know if Bear would EVER be trained to flat out retriever a specific article. That seems WAY out of our league, at the moment. How do you only scent one? I keep reading "handler's scent" so I assume it's from my handling the article and setting it down.


Nothing is out of your league! Trust me, I started training at age 13, with a completely out of control dog. She retired with 30 OTCH points. You never know!

In the first video, you will see the handler "scenting" the article. This handler scents more vigorously than I would, but you will get the idea. Then the judge will put out that article without touching it (often they will have the handler place it on a chipboard). The ring steward will have touched the other articles while putting them out in the pile.


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## MarieP (Aug 21, 2011)

This is what Riot and I did this morning after I got home from work. 

Here you can see him make a mistake but he kept searching when I didn't respond. 





Here he does very well!!





Tomorrow will probably be more of the same. I'm going to put unscented articles in the other tins, along with the treats. We have been at this for a week now. Super cool!


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

ETA: I scent lightly since my dogs do not respond well to overly scented articles and they will be scented heavier in a trial due to nerves.

There are 2 main schools of thought about only scenting one article.

The first has the articles handled with tongs except for the article to be picked - and once the articles have been used, they are possibly washed and definitely aired for 24-48 hours before being used again. This helps ensure that your dog is always working a clean pile but results in needing several sets of articles and possibly ruining the leathers by washing/cleaning or being stuck in the rain (ask me how I know this).

The second method is to teach your dog to find the freshest & strongest scent. This is the method I now use. All articles are kept together and while the same articles (say #1 leather & metal) are used within a session, once the session is through all articles are placed in the same bag for use another day. Not washed or aired. The advantages of this method are fewer sets of articles required and a lesser chance of damaging the articles which tend to be expensive. The downside is that is does take longer to teach since your scent may be on several articles but the dogs do seem to understand with patience. You also free yourself to put the other articles out yourself without fear of touching the ones not to be scented.


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## Brave (Oct 26, 2012)

I think y'all are right. Last night as I was folding laundry, Bear nuzzled through the pile until he found the one piece of clothing that I borrowed from my BFF and it still smelt like her. Bear picked it out and was all lovey-dicey and happy because he smelt his auntie. 


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## Stretchdrive (Mar 12, 2011)

I have only been training flyball with my girls. Tunes makes her competition debut this weekend. This coming weekend will also be my competition debut.


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## boomers_dawn (Sep 20, 2009)

We've been working on our dance moves (spin, weave through legs, etc.) and our "Novice Drop in for dummies" stand for exams. Both girls are fast on the spins, and doing great with stand, Gladys already knows it and Dee Dee is up to being able to be circled around. 

Our online Rally class is almost over, don't know how that happened, I have to catch up before the forms close down. Snowy day, will be a good evening for that. No classes this weekend so we can just play at home.

Whoops - this belongs in the January thread LOL!
While I'm at it posting in the wrong place, might as well add monthly is better for me, can't even get the month right, let alone the week.
And on the (wrong) subject of goals, I'm going to enter Dee Dee in an obedience trial this year.
Part of me wants to try Gladys so she won't be left out, but another part of me is pretty sure she won't like it - I'll ask her later.


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