Training diary

Hi All,
This blog is not created for others as much as it is for myself. The reason for publishing my training diary via a blog is because I know there are people who are interested in what I do with my own dogs and how I think and train. This blog is first of all a training diary for my boxer Elsa (Thatledome Pride'n Joy) and our training towards different goals. At the moment it is high concentration on passing the BH test which we hope to do this spring. Welcome and I hope you will enjoy the diary.

General plan: PTA - Plan Train Analyse

Thursday 12th of February
Plan:
-> See where we stand in concentrated heel work.
-> External rewards for heel work
-> See where we stand in sit from heel.
-> Sit in front.

Training:
-> Good, worked happily by my side. Lovely left turns and the right turns are really coming on.
-> I can have her sitting beside me and click her to go while concentrated. I cannot walk without a lot of negative demands.
-> Surprisingly good I must say. I don't know what I expected but I thought she would not be as quick to sit from heel. I have never really done it before so that was good news´.
-> Ok. She comes in and sits slightly far away and not really straight.

Analysing:
Heel work
Need to do a lot of work on the heel and still keep it fun. I know from before that if I am the slightest nervous, which I, believe it or not, become quite often, she reacts with calming behaviours, looking away etc. She reads me like an open book.

Two ways of getting over that, hopefully I will have the opportunity to do both parallell:
1. A lot of heel training so she feels very, very confident with what to do when she hears the word "Fot". That I believe will make it easier for her to retrieve what I expect even if I am nervous.
2. I also need to do a lot of work with her when I actually do feel nervous, short distances and rewards coming. I normally do get a little bit nervous when people are watching so I am trying to take that opportunity as soon as I can.

External rewards
She loves her ball on a string and has clear difficulty in letting it go from her eye sight. So far she can sit beside me in the heel work position until I click her. It is a struggle but she does it. Needs a lot more training. This is important since it lays a foundation for coming protection work as much as in general working concentrated even though distractions are there.

Sit From Heel
Remember to only command "sit" when the heel work is really, really good. So that it becomes a route to reward for really good heel work.

Continue to work on fast sits outside the heel work. Reward with ball behind her.

Sit in front
I have used my hands as targets before and I am now trying to work them to be hanging on the side. I do it bit by bit. Backlash is that she wants to be further away and she wants to look at the hand that rewarded her last time. I need to think through where and how I will reward her. Want to have her thinking straight on, almost through me but I want her to stop and sit down. I want high pace. She did well, considering the lack of training without my hands as targets. I will just continue the type of training. Lots of clicks and rewards when in the right position.

Also working on finsihing - So far with my hand as a target. Still need a small movement with left hand. Just continue that type of work and work away the helping hand bit by bit. Click and reward more for just sitting in front to avoid leaving that position for heel position.

13 Feb 2009
Idas puppies were born! 5 gorgeous ones! 2 girls and 3 boys.
Elsa got an anal gland abscess. Jeck! Hope for her to be well soon so I can continue the training.