Mealtime Training
I've started resuming some of the dog's obedience training lately. Still no time to go the club and actually have some space for the bigger exercises, but I've been working on the little things in my tiny living room. Training with their dinner has always been easiest for me as I have to get off my butt anyway to dish up food and it requires no special treats.
Zumi is working on fronts again with different angles. Speed is hard for her and she can't really get up much in the small space, but I can work difficult approaches. And doing crazy spins before a front can get her arousal up...and maybe a little dizzy too. We're also working on not anticipating position changes when working on signals. Lots of deep breaths from my part and then no signal given.
Vito is working on right sided heel work again for my pretend goal of getting back to the hunt training. He's also doing some stand re-training as apparently he lost some precision (surprise I know!). When prepping for my upcoming online stand for exam class I found out that Vito still has a nice kick back stand but he pops his butt out when in heel position. I will be fixing it with his pocket hand. Here is a video of his "before" with crookedness, alternated "with help" of the hand guide:
Note that just because he's doing it nicely with my hand guide it doesn't mean it's fixed. Instead of alternating reps with and without the hand like I did for sake of the video, I'll scale back on testing until straightness is a better habit. If you want to join us in working on stands and/or exams there is still room at all levels! Class starts Feb 1st!
Lance isn't working on anything in particular. I do a few tricks and whatever obedience I feel like doing at the time. Joys of retired dog.
Using dinner to train is a great way to remember to do it. I don't always have the time or motivation, but I do try to make it happen on days when I know Ptera hasn't had a chance to do as much.