Class #1 11/15/25 Holly Ridge

 What a beautiful day!  Mostly cloudy.  58 degrees, dry.  

1st track --1 blind turn.  SP at 5, then food drops in and OUT of turn.  NO start article.    Great start.  Went right into turn.  Stopped at stuffed toy at end. . .I ran up to him and told him to down.  He did half way.     I need to STOP running up to him. . .just stand still and tell him to down from where I am.  

Video #1




Track #2   Video #2

Again, no start article.  SP at 5.  Food in/out of turns AND leading up to article(glove).  Great pull at start.  I need to make a decision to either HOLD or STEP behind him when he is slightly off track.  He seems to self-correct when I step behind him. . .so I think I will keep with that.  Also, I need to remember to keep tension on the lead at ALL times.  He stopped for a few seconds and I did NOT have tension on the line.    Better article indication.  I asked for a DOWN before I got up there.  And he did it!  I quickly ran up and threw food on glove.   

Going to move all article games at home OUTSIDE only (recommended by MAM).  4:00 a.m. in the dark, before work!!! (I better make sure poop is picked up!!!)  Will put on my tracking vest.   No more glove games inside the house!   That kinda makes me sad, because he loves it so much!  







Comments

  1. AnneNovember 17, 2025 at 6:57 PM

    Leigh - you guys did great! Like you mentioned, his confidence on Saturday was really nice to see! Also, you can practice the down part (with you further away) at an article away from the track too. You can start w/out an article where you are asking for a down with him further and further away from you. Maybe ask for a down 2 ft away a couple of times if that's "easy" then try 4 ft, then back to 2 ft for a few, then 5ft, etc till you can be 10 to 15ft from him and get a down (remember, return to easy then hard, then easy, easy, then hard again, etc). Then practice it with an article (over time, not all at once ;)). This way, during a practice track if you need to ask for a down (and want to keep your body from being the cue as much as possible), the verbal cue will have a ton of salience to it and your confidence will be stronger so you'll feel less inclined to get up there close as quickly as you can to help ensure the down :). And remember to incorporate changing something after two successful practices doing the same thing.

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