Any tips on how to build speed during obedience? My 8 month old has good drive, enough for Flinks', and his heelwork is okay (but not very precise), but his down is very slow, even in-drive. He'll basically sit there looking at me wondering why I'm asking him to down and not throw the ball. I'd have to correct him or repeat the command before he downs. He sort of shuts down when in drive and won't listen to commands as well as say, when I use food.
Go back and work with the food more. I work the different positions for a long time before I even think about the stay, or the tug. Down, mark, release reward. Over and over and over and over. This works really well for me, and I don't spend time later going back over to fix problems. Avoids a lot of corrections as well.
*edited to add* the link Jason posted is a method that works also BUT I would not use this on an 8 month old puppy, ever. I have used this with adult dogs that are super high drive, and a bit handler hard. For most dogs, marker training the behaviors you want will get you where you want to go.
You can always add compulsion later if you need to (and if you have a good dog, you will probably need to <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> )
Also remember speed comes with understanding and practice. Think about the last time you learned something new, until you had a good grasp of it, chances are you weren't very quick at completing the task.
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Speed
#103812 - 04/11/2006 01:28 AM 
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