Brittany Spaniel working recalls with Chicken distractions nearby
Excuse the lack of quality, it wasn't a planned video, Eileen noticed Molly doing so well calling away from our free-range chickens she pulled out her phone and did a digital zoom to try to capture the training. If you saw Molly when she arrived, and even up to a few days ago, you'd understand the massive progress this represents. Congratulations Molly, we worked hard for this!
Elvis spotted in Freeport!
Elvis is a nervous dog and you can see that in his obedience. However, the obedience "work" is helping him cope with the random environment which would normally cause him to be skittish and jumpy. This work helps desensitize new environments by giving him something to concentrate on (obedience behaviors) that he can control and can be successful at--which means there is less bandwidth left over for environmental concerns.
Doodle does Freeport!
Poppy makes her cameo on King K9 Academy TV in Freeport. Showing off her new skills.
Honey learns that good work leads to play!
Honey is developing self-control in the presense of dog distractions. Later we are trying to turn her on to playing fetch using our dogs to help motivate her.
Another advancement for Yara. We're installing another upgrade. She's achieved level 2 (wooden dumbbell). You'll notice that in the last part of the video I am showing Yara the trial picture "finish" of presenting the dumbbell in a "front" again we are back chaining the retrieve.
I am proofing out the action of taking the dumbbell so she learns that she must "hold" until I give her the command to release, and not to release just because I bring my hands up to take it from her! If you've worked with me you know that your physical actions will overshadow verbal cues every time. If you're doing this at home make sure you are quickly adjusting your training so that your dog isn't forming any habits that will be harder to break later! Successive approximation is the name of the game, but knowing when to move forward or take a step back is the "art" of training.
Vidarr is working through some impulsive reactivity. It's his first time working on this but he made significant progress in one lesson. He started out pretty stressed out by the new environment and the presence of other dogs, particularly the male GSD up ahead at the start, but as things progressed he became more relaxed and more focused. Definitely a work in progress.
Yara is here for specialized dog sport development. Her owners have been working with her at home and she's done some puppy bite work already. For completion level obedience her behaviors have to be more precise and energetic. Fortunately, she was bred for work so it's not hard to unlock her innate drive. Using that drive for play as reward for obedience, and getting precision in the obedience, is the art. The goal is translating that work into points on the trial field. It was a short two weeks and it went by fast, but we made some solid progress. This is only the beginning. It will take over 12 months, or more, to truly get there at the highest levels of competition.
Brodie
Brodie is off campus this week (he's getting ready for spring break) and here is a small collection of some of those moments!
