# Progressing the young obedience dog



## BayBeams (Jan 3, 2010)

My 17 month old Golden boy, Baxter, is super smart and loves to work. I got him at 10 months so we started out a bit behind so I have some catching up to do.
I am spending a lot of time at the moment focusing on keeping him engaged and focused when we have completed the activity we have been working on. We are working in small increments with a variety of exercises.
I am enjoying his outgoing and willing attitude but it seems like the progress is so slow as we inch forward. My plan is to get him solid through utility before we show in novice but it seems so far away.
Can anyone give me a guideline as to where we should be at this point in our training? I realize without seeing Baxter it is sort of difficult to assess. I am concerned that I may be taking things too slow with him. I have been a bit distracted by my other dogs' ailments but am planning to get back on target with Baxter this week.
I would appreciate hearing how far along those of you with newer dogs are in your training to use as a comparison. 
In the past I had a tendency to be a "lumper" and work in too large increments. I am wondering if I may have gone a bit too far in the opposite direction this time. Baxter continues to be excited about working so boredom does not seem to be an issue.
Thanks in advance...


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## RedDogs (Jan 30, 2010)

Maybe make a lists of the skills he has and the skills he needs and you can mark them off as you go (.... we use a chart that has boxes for started/proofing/on cue/in sequence)?

I can't wait to see the replies you get... I know we're behind where most of the family is... but we're progressing and I'm able to check off many things every week.


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

Honestly I don't think you can put a timeline on where you should be with things. Every dog is so different plus your goals, experience as a trainer, and time devoted to training will affect where you are. 

With that in mind I'll let you know where I am at with Scout who will be 18 months by the end of the month. She can do all of the novice exercises although I am still perfecting the heel and figure 8. 

For Open she can do out-of-sight-stays with about a max of two continuous minutes out of sight. She can ROF and ROJ but has some minor mouthing problems when in front position. I am going to get her fitted for a dumbbell soon. She can drop on recall and I *think* she drops fast enough but will be looking for comments. We have also been working on broad jump which needs some work but she gets the basic idea.

For Utility she knows scent discrimination with the mouthiness present again when in the front position. She's been introduced to directed retrieve but needs work on it, especially pivoting. She can do signals but is not very attentive in general (but she's young and gets better as she gets older) plus I need to change my signals because come and down are confusing her. Finally, we really haven't worked on directed jumping. I have done go-outs with a target but it's been a long time. I am thinking that her field work will help with go-outs BUT people are telling me they use different commands for back in field and go-outs in obedience so now I am not sure....


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## RedDogs (Jan 30, 2010)

GoldenSail said:


> I am thinking that her field work will help with go-outs BUT people are telling me they use different commands for back in field and go-outs in obedience so now I am not sure....


I forget the fancy name, but as it's the same type of skill, yes, it will help your go out in obed, even with the different cue. Because she already has parts of the skill, it should generalize to the different setting (and cue) faster than if you were teaching it from scratch.


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

I asked something very similar to Debby Quigley the last time I went to her. I know I went too fast with my previous dogs, trying to put whole exercises together too quickly. With Flip I've been careful to break everything down into small pieces and really train each piece. But I was worried about if I was taking too long to train some things. Her advice was to start by training small pieces, and don't move on until the small piece was solid, but once it was solid don't get stuck there - go ahead and move on. For example, if working on adding distance to signals, don't give signals at 5 feet if the dog can't do them at 2 feet, but once the dog can do them at 2 feet don't stay at 2 feet for another month.

I've taught Flip a whole hodge-podge of different skills that are building up into exercises, but not in novice-open-utility order. So I currently have a dog that has most of the skills needed for graduate open, but doesn't have a novice stand for exam yet. There's no reason for that, the exam's just not something I've practiced very much yet since so much of my training is alone. But I'm not worried about it since I'm not in a rush to get in the ring. I'll make sure I get it solid long before we get in the ring.


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## Rastadog (Oct 24, 2006)

*slow and steady is good*

I have been out of the ring for years. If I read your post right you have had only 7 months of training. I didn't show my first dog till she was three. No formal classes till she was about a year old. I would be patient and not worry about where other handlers are with their dogs. The two most important things in competition obedience are attention and attitude. Both can be worked on at home everyday. I trained once a day for no more than 10-15 min. I made sure our work was upbeat and fun. Loisianna makes an excellent point about breaking down the exercises into small pieces. Find a way to make it fun and try to be interesting to your dog so they want to pay attention to you. Good luck


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