On Saturday I did a morning training clinic at Jefferson County Fairgrounds and then a fun show for 4-H’ers in the area. Most came with slip collars, a few with head halters, all were pulling on their dogs. Our obedience sessions focused on getting movement together, seeing precise behaviors, and Read more…
Types of class, group or private, type of instruction…. there are a lot of ways to modify the learning experience for students. Types of class: Typically, people know what they want when they’re signing up for classes, and often this is the right option for the student. Agility. Puppy Class. Read more…
I came across this list of “good job” phrases. Not all of them are applicable, but it’s important to remember there is more than the “Very Good!” “Excellent!” “Nice!” and “Great!” that I typically use. One thing I’ve noticed in the last few weeks is that I need to be Read more…
It’s always surprising to me that so many people are interested in adding another dog to their family when there already is a young dog or puppy in the family. Often, this comes about as the family thinks the dog really would love companionship (and often they would…. but…sometimes families Read more…
This has been a very frustrating thing. For months* we’ve systematically been working on having the person come closer and closer. Some days we start with the person close and work on being still for petting. We work on waving things around. We work on staying still while pushed. And…Griffin Read more…
On Saturday the dogs and I went to do some demonstration/activities for a boy scout event. We had groups of kids rotating throughout the morning. The hardest part was the 30 minute time limit! I’d debated for a few weeks on the activities to do. We started with a quick Read more…
I picked up this book at the library. And the next week, I saw Dogwise was carrying it also. Parts of it are really well done. There’s a few pages on exercises to do without your dog! The importance of timing! A great format and excellent photos. The biggest drawback Read more…
Yesterday at training we had 1-2 false alerts in about 25 repetitions. The one false alert that I remember was very interesting. Griffin returned to where the scent had been on the previous rep, and indicated without actually checking. When I did nothing, he stuck his nose in the block Read more…
The Golden Retriever Club of America offers some specific titles/opportunities. One of them is the Certificate of Conformation Assessment. Instead of comparing a dog to the others in the ring, like in conformation, the CCA is a pass/not-pass test* where each dog is compared to the breed standard. Yesterday we Read more…
We all know record keeping is important for training. And we also know there are lots of different ways we can keep records. With all the different forms and options, it can be overwhelming at times. At the seminar last weekend, there was a brief discussion on digital and paper Read more…