I've been working Storee on my own a lot. What works best for her is the ball in my hand and my hand up above her head. I'm getting some NICE work out of her lately with this - she will bounce back on left turns and really work her rear, is focused and sharp and actually working Which for her has been a huge struggle.
I know when I go to train with my mentor, she's going to push the armband with the food, but it's such a struggle for me and her to work that - she just cheats and it becomes a power struggle and she's not as food motivated as she is for the ball.... When I have tried to get her to switch, she steals the food, or just does not care (she will play ball over food anyday) as much, so her attitude flattens out quite a bit.
My thought is to introduce a smaller ball that I can hide with my hand, keep working with the same and go with it, but thought I'd see what others have found.
If it helps, I'd rather have a happy, up dog and a lower score and a title, than work another five years, have a dead dog (well close to it, she's not young anymore!) and perfect scores. To get a HIC here it's 199 or up, sometimes a runoff even then, so not a biggy to me.
I know when I go to train with my mentor, she's going to push the armband with the food, but it's such a struggle for me and her to work that - she just cheats and it becomes a power struggle and she's not as food motivated as she is for the ball.... When I have tried to get her to switch, she steals the food, or just does not care (she will play ball over food anyday) as much, so her attitude flattens out quite a bit.
My thought is to introduce a smaller ball that I can hide with my hand, keep working with the same and go with it, but thought I'd see what others have found.
If it helps, I'd rather have a happy, up dog and a lower score and a title, than work another five years, have a dead dog (well close to it, she's not young anymore!) and perfect scores. To get a HIC here it's 199 or up, sometimes a runoff even then, so not a biggy to me.