It was our first snowy day so Tanka and I went hiking in it. When we hike, we practice downs, comes, and circles. And sometimes an out depending on if he picks something up. Everything is practice right now, he is still so young.

We also worked this morning on him bringing what I ask for and dropping it in my hand. I love working with him, he is so smart. I wish I was that smart. :-)

Worked Logan on attention close to a distraction. Did some fronts and heel attention. The bad thing is, I think the parents got creeped out by me doing this...one of them called their kid and made a comment "I want you inside the fence so no stranger can pick you up" I never spoke to the kids, they were playing I got 20ft away (not really close but Logan was interested in what they were doing, so I thought, perfect chance). Logan did great BTW. Oh well now I look like child abductor?

Jethro has a hard time walking after dark. Every little thing is a hell raising alert and possible display to scare whatever it is off. I tried playing our BAT trials, but that method assumes that when we run away as a reward, that we aren't running INTO another scary thing. As an alternative, we practiced Sit and Wait in different venues and under different distraction loads. I had Connie chanting in my mind, "Proof for venue and distraction." It worked great. We kept our distance from everything, and moved at a moderate speed so we could see anything ahead that might be cause for suspicion. I was able to make the walk last much longer, because we were able to keep Jethro's stress from escalating.

Also, I got a comment from my trainer that I was walking Jethro like a puppy, on a longer line and letting him range as we walk. I decided last night he was going to walk like a big dog, and kept him nice and close to my side. It actually seemed to make him more comfortable and we just took periodic sniff breaks.

Skipper is working on his separation anxiety. Sometimes, what I think is separation anxiety is him letting me know that: 1) he needs to toilet, 2) his water dish is empty. The water dish is the one I usually forget and then realize he is thirsty and needs a drink before he goes to lie down for his nap.

I've been working on recall with both dogs, all manner of things to get them to chase me, follow me, come to me in different situations. Jethro left off barking at the window to come to me the other day. That felt like a big victory. I don't want to risk the recall word except when I know for sure he is incoming, so I use a lot of other sounds, and behaviours, to get him to come to me without the recall word. Its fun, and he is so much more attentive to me, even under stress.

Yesterday with Kenzi I worked on holding a retrieving various objects. Poor Kipp couldn't figure ot why she was holding the bag of treats instead of ripping into them .

I also worked with her on proofing a variety of commands that I'm pretty confident that she knows. We worked on bring, push (push the object around on the floor with her nose) heel, down and spin all in one session. Little bit of difficulty differenciating between push and bring, but other than that she nailed everything.

And I didn't specifically train for this, but Kipp has figured out that he can go chill when I'm working with Kenzi - I start working with her and he now grabs a bone and goes to work on it

Went to class today and there was a young kid watching her grandmother work her new puppy. This is also mostly a proofing class so I let the kid work with Zeph through the mini obstacle course over a small teeter etc.

It would figure that my dog would have a perfect attention heel for a 10 year old. She didn't want to down for the kid but other than that it was flawless. I thought it was a fluke when she was heeling next to my 2 year old nephew but apparently not. Tiny people bearing treats are worth much more than the owner with treats and toys. I think I'll just start renting her out to 4H kids for shows. :P

The little girl who worked her was tickled in any event and it worked for me since I was getting bored.

I took Natasha to a rally match today. There are quite a few trials coming up in the next few months, and I'd really like to get her RE (Rally Excellent) title. We're a little rusty, but she did pretty well. Still a problem with crooked sits, and for some reason today she was a little nervous about the person serving as the "judge."

Tomorrow is an obedience match at the same place, and I will take Logan as I'd like to finish up his BN (Beginner Novice) soon. Should be fun as I know it will be very crowded and he is Mr. Distractable, especially in the presence of Other Dogs.

Yesterday - worked on recalls in the field, played ball...then went under blacktop and was working on heeling when suddenly these skate board kids appeared. They didn't get close but didn't ask either. Oh well. I worked on attention instead and he really did great, I had to redirect him 2 or 3 times but he was mainly focused on me.

History(long ago) - He reacted aggressively toward skate boarders in the past. He isn't sound sensitive at all but the sound provokes it if that makes sense. I dunno why but I got him at one year old and he was auto skate hater. One day I was walking him down the sidewalk, some kid came walking up behind us and suddenly right next to me slammed his board down and started skating, Logan was pissed and pulled the lead through my hands ripping off skin. His teeth snapped shut right next to the guy's shoulder. I decided to get a handle on that....I also told the guy how stupid it is to startle a strange dog and owner.

So he did GREAT with those 3 kids skating very close to us.

Today - worked on PVC bring in front yard....heeling in the field and my handler errors with moving my head for sit down stand. Ugh. Then I played catch and tug with the floppy disc, out means out again...and no fence jumping (he tried).

Today I decided to rest his leg after the chiropractor visit, no running, spinning, leaping. So we went for a walk on a 6 foot lead and worked on attention mostly. I walked to the high school and there was a lot of activity going on. Perfect, worked on attention when a person walked by close looking at him (he doesn't like people staring), worked on it near some kids playing football...heeling. He did very good, I a wondering how long it take so I don't have to remind him, he just ignores by default. I capture him looking at me when there is a distraction and mark it...so this is a good sign I hope.

Gam did some prong collar desensitization today wearing it around the house (one extra link in it) and we practiced taking it off and putting it on a few times and played some run games and did play OB with it on so he learned that just because it's on doesn't mean I'll be using it.

Ryuk I've been working on "stand for examination" He's almost there but butt wiggles when you run your hands over his back legs (he likes butt scratches) so I did some marker work with "butt scratch" rewards for not wiggling.

Both dogs got baths today after an epic mud battle and Gambit is getting better about being washed and even let me pick up each of his feet, spread his toes, and scrap out his nails, Ryuk's an old pro but he let me wash his face today with the sprayer which was kind of cool.

on the downside the pair of them easily cleared my parent's 6ft fence without even touching it to come see what I was doing with the new car -_- they are only permitted in my parents' yard with direct supervision but still....I wish their respect of boundries was not limited to my being within them or directly telling them to sit and wait for me (I say as they have not attempted once to get out of the 2ft baby gate that keeps them and their fur contained in the TV room of my parent's house...

Last night I was too cold and tired to leash up Jethro in all his gear, so I took the risk of taking him out for his night pee on his flat collar with a 6' leash. I made sure not to use the leash for any guidance, I just used voice and body language. I didn't even have any treats in my pocket. I made sure not to leave our corner more than a block in any direction, so we stuck close to home. I was very pleased, because Jethro stuck right with me, and when something caught his attention, I was able to get him to Sit, Wait, and go This Way (quick turn) without any pulling. We did a lot of this, in between pee breaks.

Near the end of our 'walk' I was so pleased with his responsiveness, I reached in my pocket for a treat, but I had none. I did, however, have a washcloth, so I pulled that out and used it for an impromptu tug toy. Jethro was ecstatic, because he really can't play with the halti and harness on. We had a good little jump around on the corner, and then I put it away while he still wanted to play.

All this took place after dark, a notoriously bad time for Jethro's reactivity. I can definitely see we are making progress.

On another note, I have been making a point of sitting on the couch with Jethro and just stroking his head, ears, etc. and he falls into a deep sleep with his head on my lap. This is also new. He used to be rolling his head trying to mouth my hand or waving is paw to trap my arm. I think this new sharing of affection is also helping our relationship.

Skipper is getting much better with his separation anxiety. He is getting to the point where I can give him his instruction (pointing upstairs to where his bed with a heating pad is) and he goes up there, curls up on his bed, and is quiet while both Matt and I are outside working for hours at a time (we are renovating). When I come back in and he hasn't been barking, he gets big rewards of scratches, pets, and affection.