Final EXAM(s) posted

Link to Lesson 14 Final EXAM(s)   Please do these EXAM(s) in separate videos.

Have fun!

Roxanne

Toggle game. Trina and Z

 What a fun game to play to help your dog realize they can follow commands even while off leash. 

Kat/Riley RC Lesson 9 Exam

 After we did our week 1 FC Exam with Lena this morning, my boys and I loaded Riley in the little blue car and headed to Home Depot:

Can’t miss out on working against the Halloween Decor! My boys had fun setting the big ones off. I thought she did well in spite of the fact that my hips set all the skeletons dancing! 😂

Joint Himalayan Chew Session

No EXAM due this week

 See you all tomorrow morning @ 6:30 am.

Roxanne

Kat/Riley 9/27: FC Week 3, Silence is Golden and RC Lesson 8 Exams

 I missed the 'Jump-Jump-Jump' Lesson 7 Exam yesterday, so I figured we would start with that one, today. (The garbage can was a miss on my part. 😬)

Next we headed to the library to complete Lesson 8's Stair Exam. She forged a little more than I would have liked, but she held onto the dumbbell! 😁

I was considering working her retrieves against Home Depot decorations, but after our trips around Monroe I was spent, so we barely got this exam in at bedtime. 

I had a struggle, but she did pretty well, considering. ☺️

After the stair test and some LL warmup (she walked right past Niko without veering off at all!), we headed to the stage at Lion's Park to try out the FC 'Silence is Golden' Exam. I am actually having more trouble with Riley dragging than forging during our heeling exercises. I have tried the forward-right diagonal step to bring her in line, but it didn't work great. Pointers?

After our retrieves tonight, a Riley got to play tug with her distraction/buddy.

Riley won. 😆

All Tangled Up/ Mary and Molly 2022

 These are some of my favorite pictures from the retrieve course Molly and I went through in the fall/winter of 2022. This is from our Week 11 Exam. 

It started out well.

Molly was ready

It ended like this…

Despite being caught up in the long line, Molly did not drop the dumbbell. That poor dog has endured so much through my faulty handling. Hey, maybe she’s better for it 🤣

Kat/Riley 9/26: FC Week 3, Body Bend Readiness and RC Lesson 7 Exams

 Fun night tonight! I had a busy (and fun!) morning with a simulation at work, so I didn’t get to work the dogs before it got way too hot. I let the pups play at home for a bit, kenneled both of them, and left my Niko home and had Riley join us at my son’s soccer game. 

We started with the Longe line tonight- I can learn! And then moved to the tennis courts. I thought, ‘why not try it?’ So I set up the pipes and heeled her through them for a few minutes. She did great! Only one OUT when she was dragging and knocked over some two pipes.

She did so great, we started the camera and recorded the best body bend exam I have ever recorded. 😂

Then we headed over closer to the distractions and did 6 retrieves at the ground! I should have done one EC when I knocked the dumbbell out of her mouth, but technically I still should have been caging and not trying to knock it out, sooooooo…. 🤪

I attempted quiet time… not quite successfully… and then decided she probably needed a good run to get some wiggles out. 

She also has been great with my boys and husband! 😄

Slowly but surely we will get there.

 Today after working Lena I wanted to work Z on some retrieves. I don’t know about my little retriever dog.  Some times she does great while other times not so good. 😊 But I am seeing tiny bits of progress. On the last retrieve I threw it a bit too far. Oops. She started out good, seen she was heading for a big scary rock 😱, turned to me in hesitation, I didn’t want her to fail so I took a few steps to let her know she was ok and doing what she was supposed to. She did manage to go get it and bring it back so huge success. Overall from where we started just 14 short weeks ago, I’m pretty impressed. 

Kat/Riley 9/25: FC Week 2 and RC Lesson 6 Exams

 Day two of the Kat/Riley Turbo Exam Extravaganza! 😂

We started with our RC Lesson 6 Retrieve Exam:

Kat made a rookie mistake- both dogs were kenneled before training, and I let them both out and let them play while I got everything set up. 🤦‍♀️ The result of this was that Riley was absolutely tuckered by the time we started our exam practice. 

Fortunately she’s a very ‘good retwiever dog’, and I think she did pretty well on this exam! 

I tried to do ‘jump-jump’ with her afterward and she would. NOT. She was just too hot and tired. So we went inside and had some quiet time for roughly 45 minutes-1 hour. 

Then we tried ‘jump-jump’ again:

Not my best work.

Riley did okay in spite of me, though. 

Finally we moved over to under our pavilion and worked on FC Week 2 Exam:

Moving immediately from RC to FC causes my brain trouble- Riley really would have benefited from a LL warmup before we did this exam. 

Second takeaway: I’m pretty sure after today we won’t be doing an FC Exam every day. I think Week 2 is basic enough that, even though it wasn’t perfect, we handled it pretty well. After this I am thinking we will each need a couple days to refine our work before each exam. 

Onto FC Week 3, and RC Week 7!

Kat/Riley 9/24: FC Week 1 and RC Lesson 5 Exams

 Fun day today!

The FC exam didn’t go quite as I had planned- I intended for kids to run in front but they ran ALL AROUND. Still, Riley did great staying with me.

FC Week 1 Exam:

I was planning on waiting until we got home to do her RC exam, but then my kids had some friends show up so I figured we would knock it out, then, and give them some extra time. Unfortunately I had left Riley’s dumbbell at home so we used Niko’s… 😬 hopefully that is okay. 

She was slower than I expected (maybe because the dumbbell smelled like Niko). I think she did okay for the exam but after her pass I did a couple more retrieves, one with an EC as she approached the dumbbell and started to slow. Then we ended with a note of success. 

She is a great (not so) little dog! 

Ended with a photo op! You can tell Riley is used to them— and she gave me a great sit-stay!

Need extra LL help? Call Sugar

Why is Sugar Longe Line working the new dog, a young Samoyed, named Sitka? What is Sitka doing? Why following along quite nicely.

Mike is using his left foot to show Sugar which way to go - regardless of the LL Sugar is holding

What's on the end of the Longe Line?  Why look, there's a dog there, a young Samoyed named Sitka.  Of course, Sherpa is wondering if Sugar needs her help also?

Nah, Sugar doesn't need any help at all.

And look, Sitka is 'mirroring' Sugar's body language.  Dog do learn by watching other dogs.

Mike turning Sugar just using his footwork as our trained dogs are taught to 'read our feet.'

Ahh, look!  Perfect heeling with Mike


Atta boy, Sugar.

Atta, girl, Sitka.

OH...this was Sitka's 1st day at daycare.

9-22-2024 Today's Class Videos are the class lessons

Link to Lesson 13 RoHJ  & Link to Lesson 13 RoF 

Kat/Niko Exam 12 Flop

 After what I thought was an unequivocal success yesterday, we really had a struggle today. 

I’ve reached my daily upload limit for today. I will add the last video when I am allowed to. She basically lays down in the grass in front of the place board when I send her. 😔 I did a short retrieve to end on a high note of success. We can try again in the morning. 

Exam 12 Trina and Zoey

 I have been dreading this exam due to the fact I have had to touch her ear all week to get her to move. I was shocked today when she started going on her own accord. The expression on my face tells it all. There is hope after all 🤣 By the way, it was actually fun doing this test today, whereas normally it is a very frustrating experience. 

RC Lesson 12 Exam, Kellie & Piper

It was another excellent morning.  Piper has already gained so much self control running with the pack, it especially shows while working even surrounded by major distractions.  

Today I could really see her increasing judgement within the pack and at home with the UPS truck and constant ATV's.  She is quickly learning that everything doesn't require her interaction and to pick her involvement (and battles) much more wisely.  And this is only the first week...

Riley passes week 12 RC test

Kellie/Piper Whistle Sit progression

This am we spent on the frontage road a couple miles from home.  Clear, crisp, deserted.  Perfect morning.  My focus was on drilling us both through progressive levels of whistle sit difficulty.  

Level 1 = name + verbal sit + whistle

Level 2 = whistle without any verbal cues

Levels 1 & 2 included immediate release upon compliance using OK Good Girl and Let's Go

Level 3 = extending duration of sit to different scenarios:

Whistle + held sit until I give verbal OK
Whistle + held sit until I walk up to her and release with OK, Let's Go
Whistle + held sit + Here & Touch then Good Girl, Let's Go
Whistle + held sit + Come & SSIF  then Good Girl, Let's Go

The only area she is still unclear with is the release.   What I think I want to achieve is:

OK- for release from a distance
Let's Go - for release when I'm next to her
Heel - when I want her to stay at my side for whatever reason

Are we on track or am I overcomplicating the training?

Level 1:

Level 2 - First success

Level 2 - Solidified:

Level 3 - Extended sit duration and a bit too much commentary

Lesson 12 EXAM

 EXAM this week is the following:

Three (3) consecutive retrieves in a HIGH DISTRACTION TUNNEL, with no EC.

That's it, that's the EXAM.

Roxanne

Kat/Niko: Lesson 12 EXAM

--- From 9/20 ---

Here is our first exam attempt! Working against a HEAT, toys, old dogs, and some curious neighborhood kids.

I touched her ear before the first retrieve and then forgot to! The one sad part is that I threw the dumbbell further than the recording could catch. 

Our practice Exam: 

I was really impressed with how well she did today!!

—- From 9/18 —-

 Hey Roxanne and Everyone!

Today we worked against dirty dinner plates, raw chicken, and Jürgen. She did not do great, then she did a little better, then she deteriorated, again. I feel like I'm walking a fine line between not correcting her enough (to the point that she doesn't believe me), and correcting her too much (to the point that she shuts down). Her speed is also still 👎, but where I have to fight her to get any kind of retrieve at all... I may not be correcting enough for slow retrieves. 

Sorry about the visit from one of our neighbors at the beginning of the videos. If anyone is looking for a 6 BR house at the South end of Monroe, I have a very nice flyer for you. 😁

Retrieve Class, 9/16/24

Retrieve Class Lesson 12

 

9/16 RC Lesson 12 Recordings from the South

 Thank you, Trina! 

RC Lesson 11, RoHJ, Kellie & Piper

Here is the other half of our test from this morning.  Piper hated working while her buddies were playing and it took us literally... 10 videos to get it done.  Sheesh.

Trina and Zoey Week 11 Exam

Here is the redo exam. Miraculously, when the handler does better with commands the dog does better also. She still doesn’t take off when the command is given but once she starts going she knows what she is supposed to do. The most positive I could see was in the last few attempts of RoHJ, HER TAIL WAS UP This was a miracle in itself. Ha ha. I just have to look for something good in the whole thing. 

RC week 11 test Riley

RC test week 11 Riley

RC RoF

Well this has not been a stellar week for us.  Piper is hyper sensitive to wind and it has been blowing most mornings and afternoons.  We were not able to string together 5 unbroken RoF's, but after 3 recording attempts, we accomplished at least 5 out of nine... with two EC's.  

On the RoHJ we were not able to accumulate even a broken 5.  The most we would get were two and she'd get too distracted again.  Working with the dog I have, I insisted on one more clean RoHJ and called it a night.  

We will make another attempt tomorrow if we can catch a calm window.  She know's how to do them, she just wasn't able to focus sufficiently today.  

Kat/Niko Lesson 11 Exams

 RoHJ went pretty well yesterday! 

RoF was another story. After a less-than stellar performance on Thursday, we tried again yesterday. Three times… boys got bored of recording… and I decided to try again another time. 

9/13 attempt: 

9/12 Attempt:

Annie/Eli litter PATT (Puppy Aptitude Temperament Testing)2-8-2020. Wittle Red(d) AND the black collar male puppy that didn't test well

Wittle Red(d) Tested out beautifully  

 Male tan color Tested out poorly

Lesson 11 EXAM(s)

Link to Lesson 11 EXAM(s) 

Roxanne teaching Riley to stay

RC 8/8/24 Class Kat/Niko RoHJ

 

Ellie’s First Trip to the Groomer

The groomer said she did okay. I was a little nervous because she still gives me grief when I bathe her. Like kids, they’re always better behaved with someone else!

Awwww…so cute!

Mary & Ellie, TaD - prep for AKC Conformation trial

Stack Stand

And lookie here...

PATT

May 17th, 2024, PATT in Tennessee, a fox red bitch 8 week-old puppy

RC 2018 Demo of trained dogs doing RoF. Boaz is a young'ster and just watches.

The Red dog here is the original Red, Sugar's Dam, not my Redd I now have.

12-12-2022 And some more interesting history here.

Ruth's 1st time doing RoHJ  

 Class video demo 12-1-22  

 Mary/Molly RoHJ 1st time - takes coaching to get Mary's mechanics to be 'quiet'  

==================================================================

THIS IS LESSON 12 WORK. 

DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS LEVEL OF ROF, 

AGAINST DISTRACTIONS, 

FOR LESSON 11.

 Finally, extending distance, building speed and precision against HIGH distractions. WORK this week on new, varied, unusual and extremely HIGH distractions.

May 27, 2022 A bit of interesting history here.

Kat/Niko Lesson 10 Backwash

 I was up for a potty run and some airborne so I figured I may as well knock it out now. Sorry for the poor training attire. 😬

Wednesday morning, 9-3-2024, Lesson 10 Pop Quiz

Link to Lesson 10 Pop Quiz 

9-2-2024 Rebuilding confidence in Zoey

Rc 2024 lesson 9 Nova

Ellie’s monster

Molly’s Chair test with Roxanne and Sugar

This is Molly’s chair test from December, 2022.

This may not look too challenging but between Roxanne, Sugar and Wayne as a distraction, the pressure on Molly was tremendous. I thought she was going to fold at some point but she surprised me. I think she knew she better do what she was told to do with Sugar watching! I miss that dog! ❤️

Boaz @ 8 weeks old, PATT in Minnesota so long ago.