Additonal goals

Here are more goals for me.

I will run Red in some form of agility this year (and do the training to get there.)

I will teach Red a fold back down.

I will get Blue certified to take a tracking test (and do the training to get there.)

I will reduce my waist line so I can run Red in agility (and do the working out to get there.)

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Here is my workout plan.

Every other day I will do a 30-minute program of high-intensity interval training. I'll take one dog along each time I go.

The plan is to:
* walk for 10 minutes at a brisk pace
* jog for 4 minutes
* run hard for 1 minute
* jog for 4 minutes
* run hard for 1 minute
* walk for 10 minutes

What does not kill me will make me stronger. -- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Maybe I'll start when the SNOW is gone. :-(

Dog training goals

My goals for Blue include basic social skills and team work.

I want her to sit, down and go to mat (and stay there) regardless of the distractions.

I want a rock solid come to front and either side, her to stay with me while working off lead, a supervised separation (so she'll allow a helper to hold her in agility class), and her to ignore other dogs even if they jog towards and then pass her with their handler.

I want to be able to leave her in a down stay while I walk the rally course.

I want Blue to be able to play with me and a toy anywhere.

I want Blue to be able to run with me (circle work) without herding me.

My goals for Red are fewer.

I want him to happily get into his car crate.

Blue Working

Lynnda took video of me working Blue. She also provided the notes under the videos to explain what I was working on with Ms. Blue.

Here is Robin working to desensitize Blue, her GSD, to the small & medium two dogs lying quietly in the ring to the camera’s right. Robin is doing Look At That with Blue as well as moving to add more distance between Blue & the dogs.

Here is Robin working to desensitize Blue, her GSD, to the small & medium two dogs lying quietly in the ring to the camera’s right. Robin is doing Look At That with Blue as well as moving to add more distance between Blue & the dogs. Robin is probably giving Blue a bit too much leash; if the leash was shorter, Blue might have had more opportunities for reinforcment.

Here we are having Robin demonstrate the choose-to-heel exercise, clicking the dog the moment it drives towards heel position, with the handler to deliver the tidbit in heel position. Think Click for Action, Reward for Position -- as clicker master Bob Bailey often says.

These two Teaching Heeling videos are for Minnesota 4-H dog project leaders & trainers. The kids in 4-H have to pass an obedience test that emphasizes heeling [like most obedience competition] before they can do agility with the dog.

Robin or Blue have never done this exercise this way (and it is only the third time Blue has ever been to that building).