# Video of Bella's Obedience Training Session - 9 1/2 months old



## Bentleysmom (Aug 11, 2012)

I love it! When Bella is walking away from the camera her bum has the sway of a super model's runway walk 
Bella..the Heidi Klum of the dog world 

Great job on obedience!


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

She is so CALM! What a good girlie she is<: 

1) Off leash heeling. We warmed up with the leash for a minute or two before I started the camera. I noticed a crooked sit, but other than that, not bad.

- Yep, I was going to say she leans into you on her sits. It's something to keep an eye on and polish up, but she's doing very good. 

- One suggestion I have - and this is primarily because I was thinking the entire time that you can just step into rally based on what I saw here. The only issue I could see was when she lagged a little you were doing the treat wave at her. It would be a lot better to keep the treat at your hip or leg right where you want her nose to be and build up the habit of keeping her right there the entire time. Build drive. This transitions to your hand held flat at your side and then gradually being moved up to your midsection <- I do know this can get into a pretty bad habit with dogs where they feel they can ease off time and again until they get the treat wave to catch up. 

2) Quarter turns. Not bad, although I noticed she was a little too far forward on at least one of them.

- Those were absolutely gorgeous. Great pivots!!!!

3) 2 recalls with fronts and finished. I've been using exaggerated hand signals lately, because she went through a phase where her finishes were crooked. I'm trying to get her focused on getting lined up properly. Also, we only did left finishes in our intermediate class. We just started doing right finishes again for the first time since around Christmas. 

- The fronts and finishes will clean up. I can see you are working on those. 

When you start polishing up, remember to lock your head when you call her. A judge will catch you doing the head nod (I think you just did it the first time).  


4) Sit, down and stand on command with a stand stay for exam. She's typically rock solid with these.

- I could see that. Very nice. Remember you can start training the stand for exam from the side and start getting her used to that sight picture. You need to be in heel position before you leave her. A big part of the stand for exam, like everything else in obedience, is really getting the dogs used to the routine. 

5) Treat toss game. This is a great game to play with your dog if you haven't already.

- DARN IT. I'm so envious of her self-control. She just SAT there when you threw the treat! Even my Jacks can't do that. 

Very nice job - she looks good.


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

Very nice  She has nice attitude and heels well, her fronts look nice and her sits, downs and stands are really nice.

2 things I noticed that can perhaps be worked on so bad habits do not begin:

1) You started with her sitting crooked - try to set her up straight to help her start heel in the proper position (helps prevent lagging, bumping or going wide).

2) You were disconnecting from her - perhaps reading your notes? When you need to split your attention consider tugging with her or putting her in a settle or something else that lets her know it is her time  

But I thought you both look great!! And thank you for sharing !! She is beautiful!


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## Nairb (Feb 25, 2012)

Megora,

I actually didn't realize how often I waved the treat until I watched the video. That's something I typically do when she not paying attention. There probably wasn't a reason to do it here, because her attention was fine. 

I also wouldn't have noticed the leaning on the sits without the video. 

I've never tried leaving her in a stand stay from the heel position. I will start tomorrow. 

Thanks for the feedback!


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## Nairb (Feb 25, 2012)

Sunrise said:


> Very nice  She has nice attitude and heels well, her fronts look nice and her sits, downs and stands are really nice.
> 
> 2 things I noticed that can perhaps be worked on so bad habits do not begin:
> 
> ...


Both great observations. Thanks! Yes, I was looking at my notes to see what was next. 


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## MarieP (Aug 21, 2011)

She is really pretty! And works well for her age. 

A few things I noticed. I'm not sure if you were talking to someone off camera that we can't see, but you seems to be looking off to the left and right a few times when praising/petting. I would try to make sure your eyes are always on her, making eye contact, so that you always have her full attention. This becomes really important when thinking about transitioning to the ring because you can easily lose the dog's focus and attention between exercises. Also, I like teaching something "fun" for releasing from an exercise that keeps the dog's attention while still being rewarding. Something like spin or touch. 

From the video, it looks like she is sometimes wrapped around your leg, or not forward enough, with her butt a little behind, instead of straight. Not sure if it's just the angle of the video though. 

I like that you are exaggerating your finish signal because it can be a fight to get a full turn versus pivoting in place. Full motion makes for better final position. I would just be careful on using your whole body. You are bending and twisting. Try luring by just moving your arm. It makes for an easier transition to using just a hand signal. 

Again, she is very cute! You are going to have fun with her!


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## jimla (Oct 9, 2008)

Wow I am impressed! Bella sure earned her belly rubs.


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## Nairb (Feb 25, 2012)

mlopez said:


> She is really pretty! And works well for her age.
> 
> A few things I noticed. I'm not sure if you were talking to someone off camera that we can't see, but you seems to be looking off to the left and right a few times when praising/petting. I would try to make sure your eyes are always on her, making eye contact, so that you always have her full attention. This becomes really important when thinking about transitioning to the ring because you can easily lose the dog's focus and attention between exercises. Also, I like teaching something "fun" for releasing from an exercise that keeps the dog's attention while still being rewarding. Something like spin or touch.
> 
> ...


I had notes sitting on a table. That's what I was looking at, but I should have just memorized it better! I noticed the same thing when I watched it. A slight lag has been an issue recently, but I think the angle of the video might have exaggerated it a little. The camera was more off to the side of the hallway. I'll have to try again from a better angle to get a better look. All very good points. Thanks. 


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## TheZ's (Jun 13, 2011)

Very nice. Can't really add much to the comments above except that she looked like she was really anxious to please you which IMO is very important.


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## Claudia M (Aug 8, 2012)

good job Bella. You got great reviews and observations above.


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## Nairb (Feb 25, 2012)

TheZ's said:


> Very nice. Can't really add much to the comments above except that she looked like she was really anxious to please you which IMO is very important.


I try to keep the sessions short and fun. MLopez made a good point about a fun release exercise, like "spin or touch." I don't know what those are, but I'll check in to it. She looks forward to the treat toss game, plus I always spit the remainder of the hot dog chunks at her when we're all done. This was done off camera today.  My cue that it's time for training, is "Do you want to do some heeling?" She always comes running. I think that's a good sign.


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## Nairb (Feb 25, 2012)

Claudia M said:


> good job Bella. You got great reviews and observations above.


Thanks, and hopefully we can put that stupid argument we had a few weeks ago behind us. I apologize.


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## Sally's Mom (Sep 20, 2010)

Nice job. At the beginning, she does an occasional head duck... Try to interrupt her before that happens. I also think you are luring a lot with food. Try to wean her off a food lure. And as far as the recall, I like a dog that gallops toward me. The trainer I work with gets us to get the dog hyped up, by teasing, then, calling...


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## Nairb (Feb 25, 2012)

Sally's Mom said:


> Nice job. At the beginning, she does an occasional head duck... Try to interrupt her before that happens. I also think you are luring a lot with food. Try to wean her off a food lure. And as far as the recall, I like a dog that gallops toward me. The trainer I work with gets us to get the dog hyped up, by teasing, then, calling...


Thanks. As for the recall, it's a very short distance on a slippery hardwood floor. She would take my legs out from under me, if she ran too fast. Sometimes she does that. LOL. In class, with more room, she runs very fast. 

I used more treats luring than I normally would.....honestly, because I wanted her to look good in the video! She probably would have been fine either way today. 

Heeling is still a work in progress. It's nowhere near where it needs to be, but we have a lot of time to work on it. We won't be entering any competitions any time soon. I may even take a private lesson or three at some point. 


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## Sally's Mom (Sep 20, 2010)

Private lessons are good... Bella looks very nice and is clearly very willing...


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## Nairb (Feb 25, 2012)

Thanks everyone, for the feedback. Every time I watch it, I notice something...some extra movement....I looked out the window once to see who was driving by, etc, etc....

I think I'll video our training sessions more often. I wouldn't have noticed a lot of this stuff otherwise.


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## USAFWife74 (Jan 13, 2013)

She looks so happy working! =). Love it! 


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

Grins, video taping always shows issues  




Nairb said:


> Thanks everyone, for the feedback. Every time I watch it, I notice something...some extra movement....I looked out the window once to see who was driving by, etc, etc....
> 
> I think I'll video our training sessions more often. I wouldn't have noticed a lot of this stuff otherwise.


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## Nairb (Feb 25, 2012)

I hope the feedback I received on this video is as educational for other new trainers as it is for me. I'd like to see more of these posts on this site. 


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

I love how much Bella loves working with you, and her attention is so pretty. One reason for the lag is because you are looking down at her so much, and she is actually obeying your left shoulder as it pushes her back, She is such a good girl, I think if you keep your body more straight and look at her a little more in peripheral vision she won't lag and she will sit more straight. Very great work with her.


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## Nairb (Feb 25, 2012)

Ljilly28 said:


> I love how much Bella loves working with you, and her attention is so pretty. One reason for the lag is because you are looking down at her so much, and she is actually obeying your left shoulder as it pushes her back, She is such a good girl, I think if you keep your body more straight and look at her a little more in peripheral vision she won't lag and she will sit more straight. Very great work with her.


Thanks. I will try that. 


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## Vhuynh2 (Feb 13, 2012)

Great job Bella! Thanks for sharing the video!


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## Nairb (Feb 25, 2012)

After watching the video at least 10-15 times, taking all feedback in consideration, we just spent about 10 minutes heeling back and forth in the hallway, mixing in some pivots here and there. Two changes.....no treat in the left hand (palm against my waist) and head straight ahead, concentrating on left shoulder position. Maybe it's was just a good day, but it was much improved. Very little lagging and straighter sits. I'll work on these things for a few weeks, and video tape another session for comparison. 

Edit: treats were carried in the mouth today, and handed to her on about 1/2 of the halts. 


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## Wendy427 (Apr 4, 2009)

I loved watching your video! Many of your commands & hand signals are what I'm now learning with Renny, although we're still on leash. I'll be starting more off-leash training real soon.


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## solinvictus (Oct 23, 2008)

Thanks for sharing your video. Bella is absolutely adorable. You can tell how much she enjoys working with you.


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## Sally's Mom (Sep 20, 2010)

It is always a work in progress....


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## BriGuy (Aug 31, 2010)

Great work, and what a good idea to take video of it. An instructor took video of Cookie and me heeling once, and I couldn't believe how slow we were going. The camera sure doesn't lie, and we can't learn if we never see our mistakes.


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## Claudia M (Aug 8, 2012)

Nairb said:


> Thanks, and hopefully we can put that stupid argument we had a few weeks ago behind us. I apologize.


Already forgot about it!  I guess I am getting old and senile! I apologize as well.


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