Graduation Photo

                           Here are some other photos I snapped during your test day class.

Congrats to each graduating student/dog team!

Really proud of each of you and the steady work it took to graduate from this EC class.  Elice has your graduation photo and has been terribly ill for over 2 weeks.  When she is well, we will upload that for each of you.

Which of you graduating students are planning on attending the upcoming MSC, this Saturday morning, Aug 10, from 7:30 am - 8:30 am?

HATS OFF!

Roxanne

Video of turns learned in class yesterday

Right About Turn for dog paying attention to handler.


Right Training Turn when dog is wide.

Left Training Turn for toy breeds....what hand position is missing? Yes, remember to slap the leash with your left hand on your left thigh just prior to making the Left Training Turn...this keeps the dogs head out back enough so you don't trip AND your foot can effectively move the dog. Remember...do this gently with a toy breed.




Left Training Turn for med to large dog forging slightly.

Class tomorrow morning is outside.

Class,

Because we will have one extra student joining for the remaining 2 classes, and because we have a nice sized "Peanut Gallery" coming, there isn't room enough for everyone to be downstairs in our ADT studio.

So, heat or no heat, we will have class tomorrow outside.

Dress cool and put on bug repellent as the bugs are vicious right now.

Roxanne

Applewoods Pool Party & Sugar is rapidly recovering!

Place

Double Place (notice the increased sag from Sherpa's weight?)

Every dog wants the bumper..

but Sugar is the fastest dog to launch for it.

After the pool party, tis time for cake.  Wait...what to do with all those wet dogs?

A 45-minute Down/Stay so all dogs could dry out.


What a great way to spend a summer Saturday afternoon-:)

No laughing at me now, we ALL had to start somewhere

Here are video's of Sugar, as a very young puppy, and I, as an Applewoods beginner, learning exactly what you are learning in class.  Notice how careful I am and quite insecure on if I am doing the right thing at the right time?  Please forgive the camara gal...she was 5 years old and these videos are all I have of this training moments so very long ago.

No laughing at me now.....


Sugar learns Sit/Stay, Days 3 & 4. He moved a foot so got a slight correction.








Ho..hum...ok he's got this exercise down pat now! The point of these video's is priceless...if I can learn to do this so too can you:) Roxanne

Video of 3-step heeling with Sit correction

Here's the 3-step heeling you were taught that teaches you how to halt correctly and help your dog to a correct Sit every time.

In this video, I'm teaching the Sit (so have completed the 400th Sit) and have moved into the Sit correction. However, you can use the same 3-step heeling sequence in preparation to halt by doing the first 200 Sits (molding of the dog into Sit) and Sit count 200-400 (molding + saying Sit) if that is where you are in your Sit count training process. The basic mechanics are the same, it's just after the 400th Sit, the molding ceases and you do Sit corrections from then on.

The key here is to set your hands up correctly with your feet so your Left, Right, Sit movement is smooth. Also, remember your verbal Sit begins on your 400 Sit and you will continue to use your verbal Sit at this point in the training.

Confusing as mud, yes? If it's any consolation, I had a tough time learning how to halt correctly with my feet, get my hand/leash sequence correct and remember to say Sit at the right time. I remember thinking, "WHAT? I don't know how to do this! WHAT, WHEN, HOW, HUH?"

LOL...Patience and practice will help you to memorize the correct sequence. If I can learn to do this, so can you.

SUGGESTION: Practice this with your leash and Fido, your invisible dog, until you can think "halt" (or have someone call "halt") and you can do the correct leash/feet movement easily and smoothly. The more you practice WITHOUT your dog, the smoother you are in communicating clearly what you want your dog to do as you are working it.

Perfect practice makes perfect.