Perfecting Obedience: Obedience Can be FUN!
During this time of uncertainty, shows coming back, and social distancing, face masks we are using this time to find new ways to train and perfect our obedience.
Beckett got introduced to the world of dog showing 2 years ago with his entry into rally and beginner novice. Then in January 2020 he started his Novice B work and won all of his first Novice B classes with lovely scores of 196 and 197 and earned his title in 2 weeks of showing. Since he has quite nice heel work I wanted to improve his scores realizing that I had some handling errors but also he had some forging and lagging while heeling (about turns, figure 8, changes of pace) and his fronts and finishes were not always perfect and he would loose points in these areas. Now was the time to look closely at his work and perfect these areas where he is loosing points.
I have worked with the amazing LAURA ROMANIK since Beckett was a puppy. My goal was to have a good heeling dog. After a lot of work, feedback and patience I believe I have this now with Beckett.... ALL POSITIVE, JOYFUL HEELING!!!! NO PRONG COLAR OR MOTIVATIONAL POPS, JERKS.
A group of us also meets via zoom every few weeks to share videos, feedback and our joy of training dogs.
ALSO, Recently I learned of the very excellent classes by Petra Ford at Petra's Resource Center. Petra has an AWESOME way to teach perfection and correct obedience... THIS IS OUR NEW JOURNEY....
We are taking several classes to build on our foundation of work through Utility.
Below is our fun new work to get FANTASTIC FRONTS AND FINISHES.
Beckett got introduced to the world of dog showing 2 years ago with his entry into rally and beginner novice. Then in January 2020 he started his Novice B work and won all of his first Novice B classes with lovely scores of 196 and 197 and earned his title in 2 weeks of showing. Since he has quite nice heel work I wanted to improve his scores realizing that I had some handling errors but also he had some forging and lagging while heeling (about turns, figure 8, changes of pace) and his fronts and finishes were not always perfect and he would loose points in these areas. Now was the time to look closely at his work and perfect these areas where he is loosing points.
I have worked with the amazing LAURA ROMANIK since Beckett was a puppy. My goal was to have a good heeling dog. After a lot of work, feedback and patience I believe I have this now with Beckett.... ALL POSITIVE, JOYFUL HEELING!!!! NO PRONG COLAR OR MOTIVATIONAL POPS, JERKS.
A group of us also meets via zoom every few weeks to share videos, feedback and our joy of training dogs.
ALSO, Recently I learned of the very excellent classes by Petra Ford at Petra's Resource Center. Petra has an AWESOME way to teach perfection and correct obedience... THIS IS OUR NEW JOURNEY....
We are taking several classes to build on our foundation of work through Utility.
Below is our fun new work to get FANTASTIC FRONTS AND FINISHES.
FRONTS AND FINISHES
Classes can often be won with perfection in fronts and finished and lovely heel work. Utility has 6 fronts and 7 finishes... a lot of points to win or loose.
- The first 2 videos are our starting point for what we have with our fronts and finishes. Video 1 is Beckett's first indoor show (January 30, 2020) and 2nd Novice B run.
- Video 3:LEARNING TO FIND FRONT THE FIRST TIME: This is building on our pivot dish work that we did when Beckett was a puppy for rear end awareness and then for heel position. Now we are using it for him to learn to find his FRONT position the first time. Notice that he gets rewarded for his correct choice in finding correct front but only encouraged when he has to move around to find it. This teaches him to find correct FRONT the FIRST TIME as he will have to do in the ring.
- Video 4: Backchaining FRONTS in Retrieve over the High Jump: Teaching the dog that he must be correct with coming front on the FIRST TRY. In the ring dogs and or handler cannot correct the front. The front must be correct on the first try. Backchaining is a way to help the dog be correct by starting at the end point.
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Tight Turns and Figure 8
Points in obedience are won and lost with left and right turns, about turns and the figure 8. If dogs do not stay in perfect heel position (on your leg with their shoulder by the seam of your pants) they are probably forging or lagging.... both which cost points in the show ring. One place where dogs can easily loose position is with turns.
Obedience training for heel work involves letting the dog know if they are not meeting the CRITERIA for correct position, focus and engagement when heeling. It is very easy for dogs to lag with an about turn and performing the figure 8. Forging is very common when doing heel work and the figure 8.
This is why when obedience heel work is being trained, it is critical that you know your CRITERIA for the dog's heeling performance. If the dog does not meet that criteria, all forward motion must be stopped and the dog should then realize that he is not being correct. Many times the forge or lag is hard to detect when working the dog which is why it is very important to video tape all training sessions and review your tape to see where you may have missed tight correctly performed turns without forging, lagging or going wide.
One excellent technique we are using for tight turns is the PRE-CUE. The pre-cue lets the dog know that a turn is coming and then they can be prepared to stay in correct heel position. The pre-cue is done by looking in the direction of the turn, taking one more step straight and the performing the turn. For example when turning left you would look left, take one additional step straight and then make the turn. This is the same for an about turn.
When performing the figure 8 it is important to practice one direction at a time. Coming into the figure 8 the dog and handler are straight, then the handler glances to the left or right depending on which direction they are going and the dog should be prepared for the turn and curve of the figure 8. After performing the figure 8 in one direction there is a straight line diagonal to the next direction where the handler and dog go straight, then the glance to the direction of the turn and the dog should be prepared to perform an in position heel movement.
What is important before expecting the dog to do lovely turns after the pre-cue is that the dog have good hind/rear end awareness. We have done a lot of this work with all the Border Collies starting at a very young age by introducing the pivot dish and work in the doggie gym with balance discs (see your videos under "BALANCE DISC FUN" and "POSITIVE HEEL WORK -- PIVOTING" for how we build core strength and hind end awareness.
Obedience training for heel work involves letting the dog know if they are not meeting the CRITERIA for correct position, focus and engagement when heeling. It is very easy for dogs to lag with an about turn and performing the figure 8. Forging is very common when doing heel work and the figure 8.
This is why when obedience heel work is being trained, it is critical that you know your CRITERIA for the dog's heeling performance. If the dog does not meet that criteria, all forward motion must be stopped and the dog should then realize that he is not being correct. Many times the forge or lag is hard to detect when working the dog which is why it is very important to video tape all training sessions and review your tape to see where you may have missed tight correctly performed turns without forging, lagging or going wide.
One excellent technique we are using for tight turns is the PRE-CUE. The pre-cue lets the dog know that a turn is coming and then they can be prepared to stay in correct heel position. The pre-cue is done by looking in the direction of the turn, taking one more step straight and the performing the turn. For example when turning left you would look left, take one additional step straight and then make the turn. This is the same for an about turn.
When performing the figure 8 it is important to practice one direction at a time. Coming into the figure 8 the dog and handler are straight, then the handler glances to the left or right depending on which direction they are going and the dog should be prepared for the turn and curve of the figure 8. After performing the figure 8 in one direction there is a straight line diagonal to the next direction where the handler and dog go straight, then the glance to the direction of the turn and the dog should be prepared to perform an in position heel movement.
What is important before expecting the dog to do lovely turns after the pre-cue is that the dog have good hind/rear end awareness. We have done a lot of this work with all the Border Collies starting at a very young age by introducing the pivot dish and work in the doggie gym with balance discs (see your videos under "BALANCE DISC FUN" and "POSITIVE HEEL WORK -- PIVOTING" for how we build core strength and hind end awareness.
Happy ENGAGED Heel Work
Using tricks for engagement and happy heel work.
The first step in heel work is when many people loose their dogs. AND, the first step is most critical... often setting the dog up for focused and engaged work. If one looses the dog in the first step it is hard to get them back since we cannot talk with our dogs.
The first step in heel work is when many people loose their dogs. AND, the first step is most critical... often setting the dog up for focused and engaged work. If one looses the dog in the first step it is hard to get them back since we cannot talk with our dogs.
SEPTEMBER 2020 -- CHAINING COMPETITIVE EXERCISES TOGETHER FOR PERFECTION IN THE RING: My goals now with Beckett are to improve my connection with him throughout the entire exercise beginning with coming in the ring. Working on his distractions (now it is the judge and wet smelly grass), staying connected with me and our interaction throughout. Also not using treats. I only rewarded once and it was for his finish with the broad jump since this is still a challenging exercise that we have been working on. At end his reward was the jackpot.
Motivational and Safe Broad Jumps
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The broad jump is often the first exercise in Open B classes and not always welcome as a way to start the class. Many times the broad jump is not viewed by the trainer as a fun exercise and both the handler and dog may approach if demotivated. By using a favorite toy or treat we can teach the dog to LOVE the broad jump since it is associated with a favorite toy or treat. Working with teaching the dog that the broad jump is fun by warming up with a toy and using a toy after a few jumps helps to build motivation and joy for this jump. Also teaching the dog to jump and land on the left side and not to jam into the right turn putting stress on the shoulder. |
My Training Steps:
- First I determine the distance that the dog should be to set up for the broad jump. I video a jump to a toy or treat from 8, 9, 10 and 12 feet. When I watch the video to see the best distance for striding and what will most likely be defaulted to at a show, I put the video in slow motion.
- I put a cone in the middle of the broad jump so the dog learns that he stays on the left side of the jump.
- I warm up with having the dog jump from the predetermined distance to his favorite toy.
- When he has done this a few times I then ask him to come front and I stand 2 feet back from the middle broad jump.
- Fronts can be practiced without having to have the dog jump and jump by having the dog sit or stand where they would land and then asking for FRONT.
- I only do a few jump to fronts; then go back to the toy for motivation and perhaps a couple more jumps to toy as seen in this video.
- After the dog has been jumping some time using the cone to keep him to the left side and later to go around the cone before coming to front, I replace the cone with some fabric or surface that he cannot see but quickly learns it is there as in this video.