OBEDIENCE WITH ELLEN

 Ever have a dog that is behaving and suddenly -- you can tell he is about to misbehave? You could be on a loose lead walk, and the dog suddenly sees another dog. His/Her ears go forward, his hackles may go up. . . or it could be some other cue that you know --- because it is your dog and you know your dog.  You are working heeling at the Training Building and someone opens the door to walk it -- your dog drops his/her head to look away. You are working arounds with a cone or back end awareness with a rubber bowl, and instead of working on the exercise, the dog starts biting the object for play (this has happened with me). EVERYONE should know the Back Away! GET STARTED: Walk Forward with the Dog, exaggerating your body language. (SILENTLY) -Pause, Stop Your Stride, Shift weight BACKWARDS, and then just step back, with the leash and treat in both hands at your stomach. Get your dog to sit front. Mark and Pay. Just do a couple of these at a time to practice. But do them every d...

 The Best Laid Plans. My original intentions were to reinforce a straight front from Justice's Broad Jump by sending him around a cone before coming front. Since dogs are situational (as Connie Cleveland would say) and Justice is no different, he told me he didn't know HOW to do a Broad Jump, by walking around. Watch what happens!  WHAT SAY YOU? Any Questions or Comments? Please leave them in the comment section.

  A TRAINING SESSION WITH JUSTICE We started with the intention of doing chute fronts, and soon saw an opportunity to enhance his knowledge of: Straight Fronts Positive Markers Negative Markers Attention / Focus Want To & Have To We set up the chutes because it is a good way to get straight fronts just the way you want them in the ring, with the dog seeing the same picture he will in the ring: You facing him  Your hands are not moving Hands at your side. Chutes can be utilized to make the dog take responsibility for his own fronts, as opposed to you guiding him with subtle and not-so-subtle cues. The equipment is two broad jump boards. I will reduce the size of the equipment as Justice progresses. Do you have any questions or comments? Use the comment section! Happy training! Ellen