Just for fun, I thought I'd video part of our indoor training session. We have several inches of snow, so like much of the past few months, we were stuck training indoors today. The video is a little grainy for some reason, but good enough.

I usually open up much more of the house for our heeling exercises, but due to the logistics of videoing the session, we stayed in the hallway. The slippery hardwood floors present a bit of a challenge, but all in all, I thought it went well!

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.

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

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.

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

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

I'm certainly open to any constructive feedback if anyone notices something that I missed, or areas in which I could improve. Thanks.

__________________
Grasslands Liberty Belle "Bella" CGC (5-7-2012)

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!

__________________

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. o_O

Very nice job - she looks good.

__________________



Always loved, never forgotten, all our previous boys -

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!

__________________

Golden moments shared with
Casey, Faelan, Towhee & Brady too !

and forever in my heart, my golden Bridge boys
Rowdy & King

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!


Sent from Petguide.com Free App

__________________
Grasslands Liberty Belle "Bella" CGC (5-7-2012)

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


Sent from Petguide.com Free App

__________________
Grasslands Liberty Belle "Bella" CGC (5-7-2012)

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!

__________________
Marie
"Riot" aka Topbrass Disturbin' the Peace (DOB 7/12/2010)
"Mocha" aka UUD Mocha (DOB 10/15/1998)

"To love the game is greatest"

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

__________________
Jim

Elliot (CGC, Delta Pet Partner) and Roxy (CGC)


Dolly
June 20, 1999 - June 5, 2009
We miss you sweetheart

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.


Sent from Petguide.com Free App

__________________
Grasslands Liberty Belle "Bella" CGC (5-7-2012)

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.

__________________

Zoe, Rockwall Nantucket Breeze, BN, CGC, Delta therapy dog
Zeke, our introduction to the world of Golden Retrievers