Training at Bass Pro, and Updates on Progress

Red and I went to Bass Pro again yesterday. Went to the back corner to our usual spot and who do we see but Dawn and Atticus the Mastiff! By the way, Atticus has already finished his RN, so they were working on other moves like the 1,2,3 steps back. Atty's such a good boy too!

So we chatted and training along side each other for awhile, and had many people come up to comment on the dogs. Well, mostly on Atty because of his sheer size. Plus, he is way sweeter than Red to pet. Red thinks everyone has a treat for him and won't hold still long enough for someone to pat his head. But Atty will just sit there nice and still while everyone pets him. And Red's supposed to be the therapy dog, lol... I told Dawn that she should get Atty into it - I think he'd do great. The problem would be manuevering through those small rooms to visit people!

Anyway, when we were at Bass Pro on Monday (the day Red was annoying the crap out of me), we practiced everything except the one thing I really wanted to do - fronts without moving my feet. I don't know how I forgot! But we did long sits/downs, heeling, down to sit, recalls, stand for exam, and a little holding of the dumbbell.

So yesterday I made a list of what I wanted to work on so I wouldn't forget when we got there. The fronts are coming along nicely. I'm still luring him but I think he understands the concept of what he's expected to do now.

Recalls are getting better, actually. Still coming in a bit crooked but I'm getting tough about only rewarding straight fronts and I think he's starting to catch on...

Heeling is ok. He is fantastic at the left turns now - really gets his rear end moving around. I'm cuing him slightly with my shoulders and he reacts really well. Sits at the halts are nice as well.

I've noticed for finishes that he is learning the right position more. I'm only rewarding for really good ones now, and I can tell its making a difference. He self-corrects now when he's not straight.

Long sits/downs are good. I only did the 1 minute sit and 3 minute down, instead of the 3/5 minute we do in training. The 1/3 minute, he's fine for. It's the 3/5 that gives him trouble near the end. But there is improvement.

The one thing Red has down to a science is the stand for exam. I've trained him while taking all the million photos that when I put him in a position, he cannot move a muscle. And this is what he does for the SFE. No matter what weird place his feet are in, he doesn't move them AT ALL. Spot on and perfect every time!

I'm being careful with what I'm doing with the dumbbell. After the initial teaching of picking it up correctly, and I'm just having him sit in front of me and hold it until I give the order to release. I'm also putting it down in front of me and then giving the order for him to take it, then immediately release it to me. Michelle said to be really careful about what I'm doing with it because many dogs can be ruined on the dumbbell if taught bad habits in the beginning. So I'm going to see what I *should* be doing with him at this stage when we go to training on Saturday morning.

I've been tossing around the idea of signing up for our first obedience run in March. The same weekend as what will most likely be our first Rally advanced trial. Michelle thinks I should hold off til Red is more polished because she thinks he has great potential to be a competitive dog, and wants to see him score high and not just merely qualify. But personally, I do think Red would be competitive in the Novice A class. No, he wouldn't be if we were Novice B, but I think we'd be right up there near the top in Novice A. And I'd really like to start plugging away toward his CD... Michelle said she'd put us through a mock run this Saturday and see how we do. Maybe she and the others could score us to see where Red would stand point-wise. So I'll wait til this weekend before I send in my registration.

No training tonight. We need a break every now and again. You know the old saying... Absence makes the dog work harder ;)