# Scout's obedience



## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

Thought I would update on our progress. She is doing really well and I am pleased! The only thing is the heeling which I struggle with and we are reworking on with some help and better footwork. I don't want to show her until her heeling is where I want it. Same with her mind 

Scout can now do all the Open exercises well. We have not worked on out of sight stays in a while, but in the past she has been able to do them for the duration when practicing alone. I've been babying her the few times we did it in a group setting. The retrieve is good. We had to fix mouthing and pouncing behavior but I am pleased to say both are much improved. Pouncing is gone, and if mouthing is present it is generally minor. She also does the ROJ, although it's really been like 4". She's also doing very nicely on the BJ, taking it straight. Yay!

Utility is coming along well. Her go-outs are good, although I'm still using a box because if I don't she drifts and I am not sure yet how I am going to address that. After doing the conditioned jumping from Janice Gunn's DVDs (4" high) I recently started putting the go-out and the directed jumping together. It's going good, and I am thinking about videotaping it. She's still putting these pieces together, so sometimes I am babying her with it by tapping on the jump before sending her (but not always). I am also accepting a pause between going and seeing my signal. Let her process it. Not sure as she advances if I should expect a quicker response. For now though, it's good.

She's known articles and we just got her a big girl set to use. Yay! She can do signals, we are working on directed retrieve with gloves and our pivots. All pretty good.

Anyway, very proud of my goldie girl can't wait until the day I decide we're ready. Hope to go from Novice-Utility relatively quickly with nice scores!


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## Titan1 (Jan 19, 2010)

Good for you guys.. We had a pause in between ours because I had never learned Utility before and wanted him and me solid before we started that. Glad I waited now..LOL! He really hung in there rigth away. Best of luck ! Glad to hear the update.


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

LOL I have never done Utility before either, but well, onward I go! I have the rule book, I believe I'm a decent trainer, and get occasional lessons. Have read books and have a dvd set.


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

It sounds like you are doing a great job with her! Flip's my fourth dog to train for obedience and my first one to even think about training through utility before showing. Of course it didn't help that my other three dogs all pretty much started training at the same time, so I didn't have the benefit of learning from my mistakes before training the next one.

Now I already have a list of "things to do differently" for training the next pup!


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

> Now I already have a list of "things to do differently" for training the next pup!


Don't we all have those? It seems there's always something to learn how to do better.... !


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

Megora said:


> Don't we all have those? It seems there's always something to learn how to do better.... !


 
Yes, but not many other people's probably start off with "Teach dog to stare at my boob" :


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

I guess that's not on my long or short list..... :


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

Loisiana said:


> It sounds like you are doing a great job with her! Flip's my fourth dog to train for obedience and my first one to even think about training through utility before showing. Of course it didn't help that my other three dogs all pretty much started training at the same time, so I didn't have the benefit of learning from my mistakes before training the next one.
> 
> Now I already have a list of "things to do differently" for training the next pup!


This is the biggest reason why I am very happy to have one dog right now. One dog I can focus all my efforts and mistakes on, so when I get my next one I will have all that prior experience. Plus, it is hard enough to try doing multiple things with one dog. I can't imagine trying to manage multiple things with mulitple dogs, especially without prior experience.

I have fun training the other exercises. Lots of fun. I just need to find what works best for teaching heel and how to make heeling more fun for myself to train. I'm getting there I think. She's decently good, but I can;t help but think we should just try a little harder. Do our best. She got a 192.5 with handler errors (signal and drunken walking) last fall at a match. So, I think she's got it in her to get her CD now if I wanted. But, I guess I just want better and believe we can be better. And--I know she's prone to distraction like Flip. Kills me. I know one distraction could ruin a performance, so I wait for maturity and train. Might as well train all the other exercises too. Makes life more interesting.


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

yeah, I hope I never have three dogs all within one year of each other ever again. At the time I had just broken up with my fiancee, was living on my own, and I guess wanted a "family." Then I discovered obedience trials and tried to train them all.

I still remember my requirement before I would show Conner in obedience: I told myself he would not go into the ring until he knew how to move his rear in to set up. ROFL, I taught Flip that when he was three months old. How much we learn and how our expectations change!


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## sammydog (Aug 23, 2008)

Sounds like you are doing great! You should take some video of obedience! I love watching videos, plus it motivates me to get out and train!


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

Tito is my first dog past Novice A, and I can't begin to list the mistakes that I made. Next puppy will be totally different!! The Monster Boy did well in spite of me, certainly not because of me. But no, "look at my boob" probably won't be on my training list for the next puppy, either.


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

hotel4dogs said:


> But no, "look at my boob" probably won't be on my training list for the next puppy, either.


Oh just you guys wait. You will be so jealous of the fortune I am going to make off my new attention system. I will sell thousands if not millions of my attention "Booby Bands." My series of books and DVDs titled _Focus on the Boob_ will be best sellers. And you all can say you were the first to hear of it! :


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

spit coffee all over the screen....


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

hotel4dogs said:


> spit coffee all over the screen....


OMG I wish I had some coffee I could spit on my screen. I woke up too late to fix any. Have you ever tried to deal with a room full of hormone raging, attitude crazed kids without your normal daily cup of coffee???:--evil:


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

no, I deal with about 30 raging hormone, attitude crazed DOGS every morning....


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

So we're still all waiting on our Scout obedience video!


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## Titan1 (Jan 19, 2010)

Okay good for me I was not drinking anything... You crazy women..


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

I might need to have someone tape me, that would be ideal. I think I am going to a drop-in run through next weekend but skipping heeling for now (well, I can practice with an imaginary dog, lol). 

What do you guys do with your dogs if they drift on the go-out to fix it? I have her running to a pvc box and sitting in that, she doesn't need the box but will drift without it. So, I haven't tried phasing it out yet because I haven't decided how I am going to effectively fix the drift.

PS If you are going to make booby bands you might need to make make fake boobies as well to market for us less endowed


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

Titan1 said:


> Okay good for me I was not drinking anything... You crazy women..


And how many Booby Bands should I put you down for?


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

GoldenSail said:


> PS If you are going to make booby bands you might need to make make fake boobies as well to market for us less endowed


Good idea...should I put you down for a size C cup, or would you like an even larger target area?

:curtain:


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

By the way, I'm totally serious! Not about the selling it part, but about trying it with the next dog. I tried switching Flip's focus point over, I even had one of those clips on the side of my boob with a treat on it, but he already had a pretty steady focal point that would take a long time to undo and I don't want to take the time it would take to totally redo a new focal point.

But next dog, that baby will be a boob staring pervert monster!


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## DNL2448 (Feb 13, 2009)

Can't wait to see the video! Sounds like Scout is coming along great. I love utility! Just wish I could skip novice and open to just go straight there. But alas have to play the game as it was meant to be played. 

Jodie, So for us fuller figured gals, the training should be easier, correct, since dog looks up that is all they see.


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## Titan1 (Jan 19, 2010)

Loisiana said:


> Good idea...should I put you down for a size C cup, or would you like an even larger target area?
> 
> :curtain:


hhmmnnnn.. does anyone else think that Flip is just like his mother....
ROFL! You two need each other.:


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

DNL2448 said:


> Jodie, So for us fuller figured gals, the training should be easier, correct, since dog looks up that is all they see.


Actually an "average" size is best. Not so small that the dog has to search to find it. Not so big that they have too much option of what point to focus on.

Yes, I am the Boob Attention expert!


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

So I tried to film a go-out last night and utterly failed. I took Scout out,got her to look and sent her. She proceeded to jump one of the jumps and then go sit at her go-out spot. :uhoh: She's never done that before! Oh well, I chalk it up as a great learning experience. Rather she try all variations now so I can teach her what not to do.

So, I stopped her and had her come back to send again. This time she went and sat. Very good! Just as I was getting ready to send the signal she spotted the dead ducks I had thawing and made a run for it. Scooped one up and took off. :doh:

Needless to say, I think trying to film myself is not working. Takes my attention off my dog and the naughty girl comes out.

And of course, the best part of the story? The fact that she chose to snatch up a duck when over the weekend she didn't want to. What gives? :


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## Mighty Casey and Samson's Mom (Jul 16, 2008)

Casey was my first obedience dog, and I never knew to begin to see the "whole picture" and introduce more advanced exercises when he was younger. He has done quite well, regardless, since he learns quickly. However, with Samson, I am also introducing scenting, retrieves and distance work concerently with his "baby" exercises. It adds challenge and interest for him and hopefully establishes a solid foundation for later. Good luck to you! I am sure you will progress quickly.


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## FlyingQuizini (Oct 24, 2006)

GoldenSail said:


> So I tried to film a go-out last night and utterly failed. I took Scout out,got her to look and sent her. She proceeded to jump one of the jumps and then go sit at her go-out spot. :uhoh: She's never done that before! Oh well, I chalk it up as a great learning experience. Rather she try all variations now so I can teach her what not to do.
> 
> So, I stopped her and had her come back to send again. This time she went and sat. Very good! Just as I was getting ready to send the signal she spotted the dead ducks I had thawing and made a run for it. Scooped one up and took off. :doh:
> 
> ...


Can you get a tripod? Set the camera up before you get your dog. Just let the camera run and then edit out the dead time.


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