Getting Back to Obedience

I've started back teaching again for the obedience club since Netta's arrival.  Just one night a week but this also gives me time to train my dogs before class.  They haven't really done any obedience in months besides some tiny drills in the house.

Zumi has mainly been working on 3 things
1. Go outs- Still our main issue of not taking the jump on the way out.  She's great with cones and really has improved a ton with this issue over the year but it's still a real choice for her.
2. Retrieve over the high- Opposite issue of our go out :)  Zumi's super strong desire to fetch makes it hard for her think on off-centered retrieves.  She has no problem playing this game with targets and food all around the clock.  But must fetch as fast as possible!
3. Finishes.  A new problem that wasn't there before our long break.  Zumi has been cutting her left finish short and also seems to occasionally be confused on what her "around" cue means.

This is the first half of our practice session this week, focusing on the 2nd two issues.


Vito has still been working on our main goal of engagement and choosing to work.  Overall that has continued to go well.  He even seems to be sniffing less before we start work- a problem that cropped up after our experiment a year ago (with a lesson to me on how to structure it differently next time!).  So I've been adding in some more instance on precision for him, not just his free for all.  Slower heeling.  Active proofing to get him thinking on his finishes.  And still lots of reward for fast, fold back downs; a lifetime issue for Vito.