Bye Bye May - Weekend Update

Most of our agility training this weekend focused on contacts. We've been working here & there & everywhere on dynamic downs with big improvement. (Back to that balancing act of keeping things "topped up"). We played on our balance stuff last night during a movie, "Penelope the Pig-Faced Girl".

In obedience we're putting a lot of focus on heeling & straight sits but only worked a few minutes today, then ran errands for fresh paint for the equipment and a new cell phone - mine died. The greatest thing happened, when we didn't find a phone we liked I inherited someone's almost-new iPhone. (same number) Such a score!

Back to heeling - stillness at the start, in heel position, is still a sore spot. Clearly Bungee does not understand what to do, or notice how much I dislike what she does instead, as she's just looking at me with the happiest face ever as she does it, every time, (insert heart melting moment here :-). But back to business, she just loves to put in that one little super-short scoot of anticipation, not quite a hop - maybe a hup or even a "hp". Good thing I'm NOT using a clicker there- she'd have nailed me a bunch of times. But not to worry, we'll solve it.

Any ideas on this one? I'd love to hear them!

Being the positive training "zealot" that I might have a tendency to be at this stage of the game, I would only be true to my stated purpose to add this bit of a rant...

The training challenge described above is a prime example of why I am so happy that I've given up training with punishment. In the past this would have certainly been an opportunity to use punishment as a lack of knowing how else to train it properly.

"punishment as a lack of knowing how else to train it properly".

(which is the ultimate bottomless pit of training with punishment!!).

Far too often corrections are PURELY A CRUTCH for what the trainer does NOT otherwise know how to teach or fix. Not a very lucky dog that belongs to that one! If I've learned anything about positive training at all (and I have! quite a lot actually), I can assure you there is always a way.

The hidden beauty of purely positive training, that which is rarely mentioned, is how much you learn as a trainer along the way. Having to apply lateral thinking that does not include force or other punishments to solve teaching problems makes you grow and learn things you would NEVER have learned otherwise.

Better put my soap box away now before I start perching on it and waiting for a click! :-)))

It's been a rainy weekend up here, complete with an ear-splitting thunderstorm about 4 this morning that woke us all up like a shot. Plenty of lightening again this afternoon with hours of torrential downpour. Great for our new grass! Lousy for the mowing we needed to finish. Not complaining! We're really lucky to have this beautiful rain. Now that we've had our 1st really big spring thunderstorm, everything will be extra-green, in fact I think it already is. I love that!

The DH is loading up "3:10 to Yuma" off our AppleTV. Better start the popcorn! Doggies will be doing lots of tricks tonight with a big bowl of that floating around and dog-loving company, eager to be made their own personal treat vendors (suckers), due any minute.