Reinforcing Focus is a great game to play regardless of the setting. Here, McCoul demonstrates his Focus and desire to please with the added distraction of potential cues from the lead: you'll see his Focus momentarily shift to the lead which is an extension of the handler's body and voice. All commands were given voice only, however his praise was given with touch only. It's important to praise your partner regardless of how practiced a task is. Watch as he keenly anticipates a non-verbal cue from the 25' lead while having the confidence to continue the task at hand: Come. This shows how strong his Focus on his handler is even though his brain was still working. We don't want automatrons, we want thinking partners who anticipate, respond, and most importantly, think through the task while able to react appropriately to a changing environment.
Distance is a key element in training your dog. Effective communication means that even when separated by space, your partnership remains intact and curiosity or whims will not interfere with completing the task.
Here, McCoul demonstrates distance teamwork to find his ball without his human partner knowing exactly where it stopped rolling. The command "Stop" and well as guiding cues "Hey," "Go on," and "Find it" combined with McCoul's nose, eyes, and brain made the job quick and easy for the pair.
Confidence is inspired by repeated successful completion of tasks while receiving appropriate acknowledgment and praise. Fetch is a wonderful game to reinforce how we give commands by using body language, verbal cues, intonation, voice pitch, and hand signals all simultaneously to communicate our intentions to our canine teammates. With that mutual confidence, we can have as much fun completing tasks with our dogs as they do!
