Pan looks great! I *love* her teeter in the second course! What are you doing for contacts now? I know you were working on running for a while a la Sylvia, but do I remember you changing it to a stop? I couldn't tell in the videos. Congrats on surviving your first trial with such success!
I've been really, really lucky lately to get to work with some great trainers. I went to camp a few weeks ago, and while Gusto only mentally lasted for one session of the three, we got a ton out of it, and found two new trainers to stalk around and try to find seminars with The whole thing was sort of mind blowing for me. With Meg, I was very much about teaching the obstacles very clearly, and handling sort of...happened. It worked for us, for sure. When asked which handling method we used, the joke with our training group was that it was the "3-handed monkey" system.
I was at first disappointed that the camp wasn't focused so much on obstacles, but just a lot of jumps and a few tunnels and handling. But I was amazed that, with just a bit of instruction, he was able to read me and run so much better than I'd ever thought possible. I have a new vision in mind of what I want, and in just a few short weeks, it is feeling spectacular! One of the instructors from camp was up in our area doing privates this past weekend, and we were able to share a lesson with another green dog and get some more help. I'm more excited now than I've been in a while! We may get it together eventually!
Our focus is currently on rewarding jumping more. I've realized that in all my efforts to get killer contacts and weaves, I've let that slide. He doesn't "seek out" the jumps the way I'd like him to, and I think I just haven't built up enough value for them. I got out my Success with One Jump DVD, and we are going to go back to some of that work.
I'm tentatively looking to debut him in December or January - it will depend on what those trials are offering and how he's going as we get closer. The other thing I need to spend some serious time on is teaching him to get measured! I'm hoping hoping hoping he'll squeeze in under 16"...but expecting he won't. I'd like to stack the odds in our favor by teaching him to stand well, though. So far...not much luck!
I've been really, really lucky lately to get to work with some great trainers. I went to camp a few weeks ago, and while Gusto only mentally lasted for one session of the three, we got a ton out of it, and found two new trainers to stalk around and try to find seminars with The whole thing was sort of mind blowing for me. With Meg, I was very much about teaching the obstacles very clearly, and handling sort of...happened. It worked for us, for sure. When asked which handling method we used, the joke with our training group was that it was the "3-handed monkey" system.
I was at first disappointed that the camp wasn't focused so much on obstacles, but just a lot of jumps and a few tunnels and handling. But I was amazed that, with just a bit of instruction, he was able to read me and run so much better than I'd ever thought possible. I have a new vision in mind of what I want, and in just a few short weeks, it is feeling spectacular! One of the instructors from camp was up in our area doing privates this past weekend, and we were able to share a lesson with another green dog and get some more help. I'm more excited now than I've been in a while! We may get it together eventually!
Our focus is currently on rewarding jumping more. I've realized that in all my efforts to get killer contacts and weaves, I've let that slide. He doesn't "seek out" the jumps the way I'd like him to, and I think I just haven't built up enough value for them. I got out my Success with One Jump DVD, and we are going to go back to some of that work.
I'm tentatively looking to debut him in December or January - it will depend on what those trials are offering and how he's going as we get closer. The other thing I need to spend some serious time on is teaching him to get measured! I'm hoping hoping hoping he'll squeeze in under 16"...but expecting he won't. I'd like to stack the odds in our favor by teaching him to stand well, though. So far...not much luck!