run girl run

Today I skipped out on any training. This was not on purpose. I left work with full intentions of working on stays and looselead walking at the dog clubs yard. We got there and it went out the window. Instead, we had a great time playing ball. And that was it. I did throw in a couple recalls, and while she did run at me with extreme enthusiasm, she didnt exactly stop when she got to me. We will work on that. :) I think shes getting spring fever and wants to run around crazy, not listen to me yammer on about boring things like heel and drop. Anyways, we had a great time running around and Im glad the weather has warmed up enough for us to go out and have a good time. At the seminar, we also were told to broaden our reinforcement tool box. Leslies assistant told us how sometimes its just as rewarding to get to play after training, than it is to get a treat. I tried that theory yesterday and had great success. I played with Cassie everytime I asked her to do something, and after three or four commands, she was responding much faster. Impressive. Well, thats it for now. I'll include some photos of Cassie having a grand time with her soccer ball for extra amusement :)

the first...

Ive never had a blog about my dog before, so we will see how long this lasts. :)

This past Sat/Sun Cassie and I attended a seminar with dog trainer Leslie Nelson, that was hosted by our local dog club. We learned an overwhelming amount of information, but the most important seemed to record keeping. Leslie emphasized that this is the key to progressing and being able to watch what you accomplish is important. That being said, this is why I (we) are here. To keep track of Cassies work, and to share her life with the world. :)

For those of you that dont have the pleasure of knowing this goofy girl, she is a 1yr old smooth collie. She is so full of fun, its hard not to laugh when shes around. We are currently taking classes and hope to **someday* get a rally title or two.

Before that happens, we have a few things we need to work on. First, its the looselead walking. This is getting much better since the weather has warmed up and we are going out more. The second thing, appears to be her response to sits and downs. Does she know them? I thought so... However, she proved yesterday that she doesnt know them reliably. We will track the progress on this as well.

I was impressed with how Cassie handled the seminar these past 2 days. Its more than overwhelming for a dog like her to be in a room with 26 other dogs and not be able to play with a single one of them. She was well behaved in her crate, and did her best at what I asked her to do...(minus the sits and downs..) I now have a list a mile long of things I would like to teach her this year... I'd like to think we will accomplish at least a few of them in the near future. For now, we are off to run a few errands, and if the rain stops; a walk in town.