[Deborah Hill]

Hi Tracy,

The availability of the training center (and my yard) were hit or miss in February due to ice and snow. However, it looks like we are turning the corner and I will finally get back on schedule.

In the meantime, Tribute and I attended the Karen Holik Puppy Workshop where we worked on

1) Go on
2) Get it
3) Bring it back to hand (toy)

Tribute is still not overly thrilled with driving to a dead toy but I can see he is starting to get the idea. While waiting my turn, I practiced short stays and he did really well considering that two rings were going at once and there were a lot of distractions. We still had to use collar grabs for some of the activities but he was much better about it. All-in-all it was a good outing! He is an honest and happy worker and I really love having him as a canine partner!

Video: Tribute at the Karen Holik Puppy Workshop

[Deborah Hill]

Brilliant! I love it!

I love All the props (mats, bowls, T&T, etc.) but if there is way to not use one, I am all about it.

I also use “catch” when throwing a treat back towards the dog. Hah! I just didn’t think to do it for Tribute.

Thank you for your comment about reward placement and fixating on my hand. I probably have taught Tarot to do the same thing. Ugh!

[Deborah Hill]

Thanks Tracy! That is all so very helpful!

I do have a question about running NFC at the local UKI trials. You mentioned having someone throw or place a reward or target to help Tarot drive ahead in trials! It never occurred to me to have a second person in the ring as a helper. Is that allowed in NFC? If so that would be fantastic since there are a lot of UKI trials in the area!

[Deborah Hill]

Hi Tracy,

Tarot and I did a small CPE trial at Y2K9s two weeks ago. Overall she did really well for her 4th trial. Her startlines were beautiful and the end behavior on the dog walk was really nice (the A-frame, we will not speak of). I still struggle with encouraging Tarot to drive out ahead of me (she want s to turn and flank) and she will still occasionally run past an obstacle but this 4th time around was much improved over previous runs. 

The video I am sharing is not of one of our runs but the warm-up. A while back, I attended a workshop with Bobbie Bambhree  at Y2K9s and she talked about these dots. Tarot trends towards high arousal and this dot game really helps her to settle. 

Video – Dot Warm-up:

• This reply was modified 2 months ago by Deborah Hill.

[Deborah Hill]

Thanks so much, Tracy!

Here is a video of Tribute being introduced to the “stay”. This is our first attempt. He didn’t understand the release word (in this environment) so I decided to use a hand touch instead and will start using brief stays and releases while we are out and about.

Video: Tribute’s Intro to Stays

[Deborah Hill]

Hi Tracy,

I have not had access to a snow-free training space, so I focused more on simple inside games like developing a startline stay (work in progress!)

I did have the opportunity to attend another puppy workshop with Tribute. It was instructed by Mary Ellen Barry and Rachel Sanders. They split the ring and taught a group each and then switched midway through. I thought it was a great format!

Tribute and I worked on the following things:

1) Offering a jump (Vito’s game without bowls) – Tribute was a little stuck at first. However, when he got going he was fantastic!

2) Following the handler – Tribute is still not overly thrilled with driving to a dead toy. However, my forward movement helped a little.

3) Reverse wrap on a wing – These went reasonably well! I was less coordinated than he was!

4) Lead changes on a series of wings – Tribute does not have a working startline and has an issue with collar grabs so I couldn’t do many of these. I was thrilled all the same. The workshop was scheduled for 3.5 hours and he got progressively better with each exercise!

Video: https://youtu.be/a_VRfPTN2ZE

• This reply was modified 2 months ago by Deborah Hill.
• This reply was modified 2 months ago by Deborah Hill.

[Deborah Hill]

Thanks Tracy!

Yes! Tarot is a levitating alligator! She has gotten better about targeting the toy instead of my flesh but it’s been a long haul!

We worked on the set point exercise today. The two jumps are set at 4 feet apart with a height of 6″. I initially used a food bowl set at about eight feet away since I thought it would help with keeping Tarot’s head down. It did but she also broke her stay a lot more often, so I switched to a toy and she did much better. I have a Treat and Train, that may also help.

In addition, should both jumps be winged jumps? If I use a combination of winged and wingless, does the order of the jumps matter?

Tarot: Set Point Jump Exercise

[Deborah Hill]

Thanks so much, Tracy!

As usual, this is helpful feedback! I will revisit since focus forward has been a real challenge!

Today, I got to work on sends with Tribute. The target I used has a clicker attached so it marks every time Tribute steps on it. The target did slide around a bit so, maybe, not the best for this surface. I bet if I placed it on top of an anti-slip rug mat, I would have better luck.

Tribute: Forward and Lateral Sends

[Deborah Hill]

Hi Tracy,

Tribute and I worked on Deceleration and Turn Foundations and Focus Forward. Tribute likes to tug but I continue to have challenges with him driving to a toy that isn’t moving. I am going to retry using a Holee Roller

Video: Drive to the Handler &Focus Forward

[Deborah Hill]

Hi Tracy,

I am starting off with the “Moving Target” pre-game since I don’t recall having done that one before.

Video: Tarot and Moving Target

[Deborah Hill]

Yikes! You’re busy. All the same, that is really great to hear!

[Deborah Hill]

Thanks Tracy!

Working with two green dogs is a lot for me, but they are both so nice, I would feel bad if I left gaping holes in their understanding of the game.

Here we go!

[Deborah Hill]

Thanks so much for being the voice of reason!!! There is a lot of peer pressure in dog sports and it’s nice to be reminded that remaining steady in achieving the smaller goals keeps it fun and still allows for the larger outcomes.

[Deborah Hill]

Thanks, Tracy! I really am proud of him! Going on a long car drive to a new place can be a lot! I was so nervous!

I’ve had dogs that I thought would be OK in a new environment, have a meltdown, disengage and try to leave the ring. They wouldn’t take food and tugging was definitely not on the menu so I was thrilled when this little guy walked into the building ready to go. He did so many wonderful things both in and out of the ring and I am really looking forward to strengthening our partnership!

I do have one question. I think Tribute may have been the youngest puppy there (20 weeks). Some were a couple of weeks older, while many were in the 7 to 10 month range. They all had incredible startline stays and sequencing skills (through the wings no jumping). I am wondering if I am being too conservative and if I should be doing more. I have seen young dogs that were amazing at first and then fall apart mentally when things became difficult.

Question: How can I gage when to ask for more without crushing confidence and desire for the game?

[Deborah Hill]

Thanks so much again, Tracy for all of the great feedback!!!

I had a lot going on at work last week so I didn’t work on an assignment. However, I was able to join Mary Ellen Barry’s pop-up puppy workshop.

This was Tribute’s first workshop and he handled it really well! We focused mostly on the beginnings of a reverse retrieve and, as expected, he became tired towards the end. The fact that he is teething probably didn’t help our cause either. However, for the most part, Tribute was a game little dude!

Here is the video:

• This reply was modified 5 months, 2 weeks ago by Deborah Hill.

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