This is a follow up to Friday’s note on my Dog Trainers and the Cobbler’s Children comparison. Please read that article first.

Going into the weekend with my own ‘plan’ really made for a fun and successful trial for both me and my dogs. So what was my plan you ask?  Well, in a nut shell:

• I wanted focus from my dogs during our runs (focus on the handling cues and obstacle criteria they’ve been taught). In return;
• I promised myself I would focus on 1) providing clear handling to my dogs and 2) maintaining the obstacle criteria I’ve trained them for.

By working on what I HAD trained, I could easily overcome the anxiety I was having on what I had NOT yet perfected (the weaves) and it was easy to obtain a measurable and well-deserved success.  So let’s take a look at some of the runs I had with my dogs.

The first one above is with Zulu.  Some of the positives:

• A nice stay at the start.
• He left the start line only when released.
• He read the rear-cross to the #3 jump nicely and drove down to the tunnel when indicated.
• He read the remainder of the crosses really well and took every obstacle in front of him.
• He had nice speed and showed a willingness to work (without a toy or treat on me).

As expected, I also learned a few things too!

• Initially I wasn’t happy about the knocked bar. But after reviewing the tape, I can see he generally clears the jumps with plenty of room, so I’m not going to worry about that at the moment.
• No surprise, he really doesn’t understand the weaves yet.
• I’m LATE on my front cross cues!

Next, let’s take a look at one of Ru’s runs with a video below.

Some of the positives:

• A nice stay at the start line.
• She remained in place until released.
• Came back after her momentary ‘visits’
• Drove to the tunnel as directed
• Got her weave poles!!!!
• Great speed and enthusiasm!