I thought I'd get some feedback on some videos of detection type work/OB with my 16 month old female malinois-long coat.

Her focused heeling has come a long way since the OB video. We are planning to trial for BH this coming summer and possibly SchH 1 if I get my tracking together in time. I wish we had Mondio clubs here.

She has an incredible nose and work ethic/hunt drive that I was hoping to channel into SAR, but the local SAR club is pretty anti-malinois and she isn't exactly the love everyone type- more aloof. Also I'm still working with her to be totally nuetral around other dogs- so a no go for this group. From what I've seen, the group uses mostly trolling Nova Scotia duck retrievers. Instead, I have recreationally trained my dog to trail/track using dog training SAR books. I'll try to get a video of the work I've been doing with her.This is why I've been holding off a bit on Sch tracking.

I'm enjoying this dog- but she is more work than my other two ever were!

OB at the park with some searching for object. Sorry, pretty bad quality video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hg3z9kZT58A

Hunting for a stick in a pile of rubble. She is meticulous in her search which I like. This was a pretty brushy/unstable area. I'd just grabbed this stick, played a short tug with her and tossed it into the brush pile.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rmlsz2eD6A4&feature=g-crec-u

I like to teach her to play with anything. Here's an old flip flop that washed up on the mud flats:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1i6oc9Viw08&feature=g-crec-u

And she does get to have fun, too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlsIrmg9Ju8

We're also training for skijor races this winter.

Pretty full plate Kiersten, Lol. Sounds like you're enjoying her and she's having a great time. Thats what always matters most.

I really think

1) She is beautiful . Love her fluffy look.
2) She has amazing focus and stamina while searching for that stick. Never seems to loose calmness of search.
3) Favourite video was the one in which she was rolling in the grass.

" Favourite video was the one in which she was rolling in the grass."


Me too!

Great videos, they seem so happy! Also like the rolling in the grass but got a chuckle when your dog casually strolled in front of the camera at the park

She's a beautiful dog who seems to be very happy doing her job for you. After some recent threads on what kind of person should own a high-drive working dog, it seems like Abby lucked out and got a person who knows exactly how to give her a great life!

I also loved the video of her rolling in the mountain meadow with the snow-capped peaks in the background. Beautiful Alaskan scenery!

Kiersten, she's beautiful! Has she ever grown.

Hey, that coat on her, is she from fluffier lines? Or do you think it has something to do with being in Alaska? Adjusting and preparing for colder weather. I know malamutes in the hotter climates don't get near the coat the ones on in the colder climates do.

And no real advice based on what you filmed there. Looks like you've got the having fun part down pat.

Just a word of caution with using sticks. Not sure what you're using for a "sit" command but I use the word "sit" or a hand signal.

When Vince and I first started playing with sticks, I'd get goofy and throw the word "stick" in all over the place. Find me a stick, where's your stick, get your stick, ready to play sticks, bring me your stick, blah, blah, blah.

After a few months of these ramblings, I started to notice some confusion when I had a stick in my hand and asking him to sit. I’d say "sit" and he just twisted his head and looked at the "stick" in my hand.

Didn't know what was going on at first but when I finally figured it out, he was pretty confused.

I had to go back and retrain the sit with a stick in my hand and I just call sticks balls now. It looks and sounds confusing to humans but he's got it spot on.

And hey, where's your snow? I think we've got more than you do.

nice looking dog kiersten . . .

is the random stick in a pile a pretty routine activity ?