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Winter Classes
Evening classes begin the week of Jan. 20. New classes include:
Attention Games & Heeling Part 2
Polishing Novice/Into to Open
Rally I / Beg. Novice
Family Manners II
And of course on-going Novice Ring Prep/Beg. Open, Open/Utility and Rally Attention Games & Handling Skills are on the schedue.
Monday Jan. 13: obedience run-thrus
6:30 - 9:30 pm.
Please contact me directly for details.
Friday dayime classes begin Jan. 10
Wednesday daytime classes begin. Jan. 22
The complete class schedule and registration information can be found at www.blueribbondogsportscoaching.com
Don't forget that Sandi has APDT Rally run-thrus and CDSP run-thrus every Thursday morning at Golden Rule School for Dogs. |
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Joan Olawski-Steiner & Rio - 5th AKC RAE leg, first WCR ARCH QQ, RL2 title with fourth place
Beth Koferl & Jack - 7th ARCHMX QQQ
Caroline LeBel & Scout - CDX-CCh with first and second place wins
Joy Scally & William - third ARCHX QQ, two CD-C legs with third place
Michelle Ostrader& Sawyer - AKC GN with placements, CDSP CDX-C with placements
Linda Sperco & Rudy - CDX-CCh leg with first place
Linda Sperco& Rye - UDX-C leg with first place,15 OTCH points, High in Trial |
Winter Safety Tip: Musher's Secret paw wax keeps the salt from burning your dog's feet
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Closing the Gap
When Your Dog Tells You It's Inconvenient
While at Pat Nolan's we watched Rudy's 'cousin' Chase tackle a long long LONG water/land mark. The correct line was in the water, stay in the water between two little spits of land, 200 yards of big open water, hit the shore, down into a water ditch and 100 yards up the hill. Chase looked like he was following a road map - fantastic! Coming back he followed the exact same line until he got to the two little spits of land and because he as tired, decided to get out on one spit and then back into the water for a shorter swim to the line.
In a hunt test this would be acceptable but in training, absolutely not. Pat had the handler whistle Chase to stop and being Rudy's cousin, Chase ignored several whistles. When he did finally stop, Pat had the handler cast Chase back out into the water, over, back, over, back, in, over, back and then finally lined chase up to the water between the two spits of land and then whistled him in. This time Chase stayed in the water and took the correct line back. When I asked Pat why they kept casting Chase in the water and not simply back to the point where he made the decision to cheat, Pat's explained that in training when the dog 'says' something is inconvenient for him (and you are sure the dog knows how to do the task correctly), our reply should be to make it more inconvenient for the dog to do it INCORRECTLY.
"If we accept less in training than what we expect at a test you will always get less than what you accepted in training". My new mantra! And Chase went on to finish his Master Hunter in the remaining tests of the season!
Scent Discrimination 
Teaching scent discrimination can be one of the most frustrating Utility class experiences we have. Over the years we have wisely come to understand that it's not about teaching the dog to find the article with cheese on it or the article that isn't tied down to the board but first and foremost, about teaching the dog how to use her nose to find a particular scent; our scent.
Breeds genetically progammed to retrieve have a difficult time remembering this. Field trained dogs REALLY have a difficult time - after all, the article pile looks like a bumper pile; grab one and go. And dogs not genetically programmed to retrieve have a difficult time for a variety of reasons; mainly lack of confidence.
Once I was sure Rudy and Rye understood 'use your nose' I realized that I also had to teach them to slow down. Particularly Rudy since he does everything at a million miles an hour! I decided to put a few small plastic cones in the pile. And it slowed them down. I gradually added other items and our pile now includes toys and bags of treats! So I was very excited to see Janice Gunn's video in her latest newsletter. In it, Janice has lots of different items in the article pile and Mighty takes his time, searching the pile, using his nose to select the correct article and happily and confidently coming back to her with it. Take a look at the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rD4xZqNevk&feature=youtu.be&utm_source=T2+Copy+of+National+Christmas&utm_campaign=UA-9446433-1&utm_medium=email
Keep in mind this is the finished product - start with just a few things in the pile and gradually add as your dog's confidence and skill improves. If you don't already subscribe to Janice's newsletter go to her website www.tntkennels.com and sign up.
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