# Here's My Goal, I need support



## Maxs Mom (Mar 22, 2008)

I say GO FOR IT!!!! In any case good or bad, your journey will be worth your while and the time spent with your dog well spent. Never EVER a waste of time. 

I am hoping for that same goal with Teddi. A few months ago I would have thought 'piece of cake'. Now I am not so sure. However I am not giving up on her, when she shows us she can do something, she shows it BRILLIANTLY!!! It's a bit frustrating, but it will make the reward that much more special. She won't be easy. Gabby.... she probably will be easy. 

Enjoy the journey!


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Good luck Janice<:

I had the same thought about obedience being a lot more fun for the owner. You are in charge of your own destiny... 

I had a thought too that if you are not dealing with stay issues like I am, anything else is a snap about training and fixing.


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

Samantha heels beautifully then she thinks she is in the breed ring and starts to gait... So I have asked my dear friend, Sherry Brtitton,from Pet Positive in Gorham, Maine to help me once again!!!


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## Elisabeth Kazup (Aug 23, 2008)

You certainly have my support, both of you. I agree that the time spent together will make the bonds stronger.


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

And actually, Emmie is the one I have high hopes for...


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## Titan1 (Jan 19, 2010)

Best of luck to you.. I love Novice.. enjoy the ride..... it can lead anywhere!


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

I have gotten CD's on four of my dogs, then many other titles on them...however, Samantha's technical name is Can Ch (AKC pointed) Celebration's Ready To Go, CGC. We joke that her name should be Celebration's Ready To Go...when I want to.......


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## hvgoldens4 (Nov 25, 2009)

Best of luck with your journey  Love what her name "should be". I think there are lots of golden girls that could have "when I want to" added to the end of their names!


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## sammydog (Aug 23, 2008)

Good luck and have fun! I am sure you can do it!


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## bbuzz (Aug 8, 2010)

Go sally, go sally go go go sally!!

It's brilliant to hear you have such a wonderful goal with a nine and half year old! You better post lot's of up dates on your progress and don't forget photos of your beautiful girl!


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

Go for it  It can certainly be fun - even the challenges while you are figuring them out!


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

best of luck and enjoy the ride! Lots of good wishes and support coming your way.


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## Stretchdrive (Mar 12, 2011)

Go for it, good luck, and have fun!!


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## DNL2448 (Feb 13, 2009)

Whatever you need, we're here for you...Good luck and ENJOY! Let's get those CDs together!!!


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## BayBeams (Jan 3, 2010)

Sally, the best part of obedience is achieving what seems to be the "unachievable" and taking pride in the journey. I put a CD, RN on a 9 year old rescue with bilateral FHOs. I can honestly say that I will cherish the moments I had with him for years to come because it was an unexpected accomplishment.
Please share your adventures toward your goal. We will all be cheering for you!


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## LibertyME (Jan 6, 2007)

YAY Janice and Samantha!! I'll be cheering you on!!
Tracer and I will see you at the Maine shows!


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

Left over from my horse days, I have a fetish for bridle leather for my dogs. So today, I ordered 2 new braided collars from Master's Pride Home to help me in my return. I am totally crazy as I have a million collars and my dogs only wear them to train anyway. I have gotten many beautiful leather items from this man over the years.... gotta look the part!!


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## Debles (Sep 6, 2007)

Good Luck!! My husband is debating getting a CD on Sasha. He is going to take a class for Novice and see how it goes. Selka ws always wonderful at heel but Sasha is still pretty puppyish and not good off leash yet.


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

Best of luck to you!! What a great fun thing to do together!


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## LibertyME (Jan 6, 2007)

Gorgeous leatherwork!

QUOTE=Sally's Mom;1589849]Left over from my horse days, I have a fetish for bridle leather for my dogs. So today, I ordered 2 new braided collars from Master's Pride Home to help me in my return. I am totally crazy as I have a million collars and my dogs only wear them to train anyway. I have gotten many beautiful leather items from this man over the years.... gotta look the part!![/QUOTE]


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

Good luck! You can do it!


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## Laurie Falter (Sep 26, 2011)

Go for it! 

Years ago, I put a CD on my 12+ year old hunting Beagle that I had found running stray in a State Forest the year before. Hubie, said Beagle, was so proud of himself! He ended up getting his title in 3 shows, and actually earned some pretty nice scores and beat out a bunch of "real"  obedience dogs. He loved the one-on-one time with me, it made him feel very special.


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

Wow, I always admire those who work with beagles. My rescue beagle was only "trained" to sniff!!!!


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## Lucky Penny (Nov 13, 2011)

You can do it! Penny was 8 and fighting cancer when she got her CD! Anything can happen with positive thoughts and motivation! (And of course, Sherry!)


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

Yup, I am in listing Sherry. You are doing a great job with Luna!! What a nice puppy and wonderful handler.


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

Got my new collars... they are gorgeous. He does such a nice job and sends them with a bill... no money upfront, but I have ordered many things from him in the past. Worked with my OTCH friend, Sherry Britton at Ljilly's place. It was too cold to work outdoors. We have many things to work on and I am looking forward to all of the training once again.


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## Golden999 (Jun 29, 2010)

Oh, leave the poor girl alone.  Haven't you ever heard that you can't teach an old dog new tricks? 

I don't know, maybe I'm wrong in my assumptions about older dogs, but I kind of picture them not really being super eager to participate in these types of undertakings.

Then again, maybe it's less a function of age, and more a function of personality. I have a very strong willed dominant dog and couldn't imagine trying to teach him a new trick by the time he got that old.  He barely wants to listen to me now.


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## K9-Design (Jan 18, 2009)

Golden999 said:


> Oh, leave the poor girl alone.  Haven't you ever heard that you can't teach an old dog new tricks?
> 
> I don't know, maybe I'm wrong in my assumptions about older dogs, but I kind of picture them not really being super eager to participate in these types of undertakings.
> 
> Then again, maybe it's less a function of age, and more a function of personality. I have a very strong willed dominant dog and couldn't imagine trying to teach him a new trick by the time he got that old.  He barely wants to listen to me now.


I think your dog would like a new trainer for Christmas!

Best of luck Sally's mom! Friends of mine put a CD and rally titles on their old golden, she was 12 when they first went in the ring! "Becca" had a great time, and special memories for her owners.


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

Thanks for the support, K9 design and everyone else. To set the record straight the old dog I am working with has been trained for novice obedience for years. However, before I show her in obedience, she has her Can Ch and retired with 10 AKC points... After which she had pups. She excels at showing as a Veteran Bitch in conformation as she looks great and is exceedingly sound. Since she has known how to heel for years, this is not an old dog learning new tricks. And it wouldn't stop me if it were a new trick. I have put 14 performance titles on my dogs and Golden999, I think you can learn something from someone.... Blaming how your dog behaves on "dominant" behavior is so passé. Primarily, I plan to work on several of my younger dogs as they can benefit from added attention as well. Bottom line, when you have more than one retriever, they can benefit from one on one attention. My dogs are combined performance and conformation lines and many of them welcome a job. If I sound a tad reactive, I am because that comment form Golden999'who knows nothing about me and my dogs came from left field .


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

And my old dog has two brothers with CD's, CGC's and one who also has an RN. Plus her mom had a CDX and RE and CGC. My Laney girl who had a UD was showing for her RE and loving it at almost twelve years.... Everyone who has ever worked positively with their dog can tell you that that bond lasts... And age doesn't matter.


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## LibertyME (Jan 6, 2007)

Amen!!!!!! 
Liberty is 8.5 and has cancer....someone needs to tell her to get on the couch and be quiet, cause when I'm working with Tracer, she causes a scene waiting for her turn. 



sally's mom said:


> and my old dog has two brothers with cd's, cgc's and one who also has an rn. Plus her mom had a cdx and re and cgc. My laney girl who had a ud was showing for her re and loving it at almost twelve years.... Everyone who has ever worked positively with their dog can tell you that that bond lasts... And age doesn't matter.


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## Golden999 (Jun 29, 2010)

Sally's Mom said:


> Thanks for the support, K9 design and everyone else. To set the record straight the old dog I am working with has been trained for novice obedience for years. However, before I show her in obedience, she has her Can Ch and retired with 10 AKC points... After which she had pups. She excels at showing as a Veteran Bitch in conformation as she looks great and is exceedingly sound. Since she has known how to heel for years, this is not an old dog learning new tricks. And it wouldn't stop me if it were a new trick. I have put 14 performance titles on my dogs and Golden999, I think you can learn something from someone.... Blaming how your dog behaves on "dominant" behavior is so passé. Primarily, I plan to work on several of my younger dogs as they can benefit from added attention as well. Bottom line, when you have more than one retriever, they can benefit from one on one attention. My dogs are combined performance and conformation lines and many of them welcome a job. If I sound a tad reactive, I am because that comment form Golden999'who knows nothing about me and my dogs came from left field .


Didn't mean to offend anyone. I was just making a good natured jest, really. I'm sorry if it didn't come across that way.


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

It was awesome having you and Sherry come to work in the training center. I'm excited for my lesson with her on Monday, and debating between working on Tally's CDX or Copley's CD. Mainly, I want to focus n eliminating all handler errors for Open, as Tally is much better than me,lol.


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

Ljilly,You can probably work with both dogs. We worked with 3 of mine. I am guessing Sherry will watch you then give you exercises to work on. With Mantha, she watched her heel and decided she was forging(which I'd rather have than a dog I drag around the ring) So she gave me an exercise to work on that. We worked on self control with Emily and downs with Basil..... Golden999, sorry if I didn't take it as the joke you meant it to be.


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

And remember, she is not warm and fuzzy... we have been friends for close to 20 years!!!
And her training methods have evolved... my second dog was taught with a microprong and Terri Arnold's methods for Novice.


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

Four straight days of training with food=diarrhea for Emmie. Of course, cast iron gut Mantha in the same position is fine! Thank goodness because bathing all those feathers gets a bit old!


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

What treats were you giving her?


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

Well you know, it has to be high value! The only people food I used was cheese. Then I found these cool freeze dried Bravo treats at the dog show I went to last Sunday(she has been fine with those all week). And I also used the stinky Wellness snacks. Nothing metro won't fix! She just has the longest pantaloons and tail feathers..arrgh.


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## BriGuy (Aug 31, 2010)

Sally's Mom said:


> Four straight days of training with food=diarrhea for Emmie. Of course, cast iron gut Mantha in the same position is fine! Thank goodness because bathing all those feathers gets a bit old!


Uh oh, I hope Emmie feels better soon. Good luck with the training - I love to see the updates. :wave:


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

She looks great in her new black braided collar!


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## BriGuy (Aug 31, 2010)

Sally's Mom said:


> Well you know, it has to be high value! The only people food I used was cheese. Then I found these cool freeze dried Bravo treats at the dog show I went to last Sunday(she has been fine with those all week). And I also used the stinky Wellness snacks. Nothing metro won't fix! She just has the longest pantaloons and tail feathers..arrgh.


Cookie would do backflips for those Wellness snacks, but after getting a few too many in a training class, she didn't feel so good either.


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

I have two "branches" of my dog family here. And although they descend from one easy to train bitch, the 2 branches are so different in terms of training them... I take anywhere from 3-6 dogs to work with me , and when I am motivated (as I am now), I work with them on my lunch hour. Well, Emmie was frustrating me with trying to teach her touch, literally something her Grandma learned in 5 minutes. So I put her in an exam room and brought Basil in. We always joke that Basil has a small brain because she is so sensitive. I decided to let them compete. All Basil has ever done is "sit" and "come" and run around a conformation ring. Basil learned touch in minutes... it motivated Emmie, so she paid better attention to me..Then I brought out the dumbbell which oral fixated Basil is a natural at... it motivated Emmie. The problem as I see it for Emmie is her start in the conformation ring. She started out loving to run around the ring. Unfortunately, I sent her with a handler of Working dogs... so by the time she was 1 1/2 years, when she decided she was done in the conformation ring, she would duck her head and beg to get out of the ring. I wasn't there, but I am guessing there were collar corrections in her time of stress. And it has carried thru to my working with her... she looks "done" and it is so hard to get her back. In conformation, when has her A game, she draws attention, otherwise it looks like why is she there? I have my work cut out for me, but it was cool to see Basil as a student.

I might add that the last time Emmie went with a handler to Canada, she already had 5 CKC points. She came back pointless and TOTALLY stressed(that was the last time she went the handler) and when I asked why didn't she do well, the response was, well, her nose seems shorter than the others. I decided to stop wasting my money, although her mom (not as correct as her) and her auntie finished easily with this person.


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## Lucky Penny (Nov 13, 2011)

I am happy to read that Emmie does better when you train another dog in front of her. It sounds like your work is cut out for you. With the help of Sherry, it can be done. You sound like you got the motivation for it! What all does Basil know now from training in front of Emmie? What a terrible experience for Emmie to go through with conformation. How would you of known, your other dogs did well with the handler. Sherry is struggling with a dog in my Monday night class that did conformation and was lured. Now the dog in obedience is not as motivated. However, there has been improvement, so I know it can happen. Hearing these things makes me nervous about doing conformation with Luna. But I am determined that if I am the handler, I can tweak things my way and try and prevent things like that happening in Luna. That is awesome that you are able to train at work, if you ever want to take Luna to work with you, your welcome to! : ) I will be excited to see how the dogs are doing on Saturday!


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

Luna is the most perfect almost 5 month old puppy. Emmie is definitely a product of her previous conformation experience. Basil, however, is an easy slate. Her former owners did not create the same type of stress that Emmie got. Luna is a great example of positive training at its' best. Emmie went from a dog that loved conformation to a dog that hated it..... Keep up the good work with Miss Luna!!!


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

Conformation is like everything else, make it fun. Luna's mom loves showing in conformation!


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## Lucky Penny (Nov 13, 2011)

Maybe Sherry can teach a class in conformation!


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

Let's work on that!!! She HAS shown in conformation.


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

I think Sherry won the national with a PWD back in the day, even.


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

Sherry did! With a PWD!


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