Now summer break is over out every night with dog things again. First up is back to Hoopers class - I am running the class but managed to squeeze a bit of training in. Distance was not bad but lost some commitment to the barrel at distance so something to work on.

What was the last thing you trained your dog? Tell us about it.

Day 67 was this win, so I won’t subject you all to reading it again lol: Multi-Rally I’m taking part in @Alex Lato’s Play with Purpose Lab, so that was our main focus today. Here’s a clip of us trialing a new sequence: social play, behaviour, food, social play… Kairo’s engagement is starting to improve!

Over the last few days, we’ve been working on Kairo’s play skills, implementing @Nick Benger’s advice from our recent call. 1) Stop Stroking the Toy This has become a habit, so it’s going to take a while to fix! I’d say it was better at the start of the session, but then reappeared again 2) Reward Hard Focus (rather than jumping) Think I remembered this one, and Kairo’s hard focus was pretty good! I noticed that the focus is stronger when I hide the toy in my hand (rather than behind my back) 3) Encourage Kairo to Retrieve the Toy She somewhat retrieved at 34s, but then it all went downhill from there lol

Hello everyone 👋I’m new to the community and really grateful to be here. I joined because I genuinely want to learn dog training the right way not just quick fixes, but understanding behavior, communication, and building a strong bond with our dogs. I believe communities like this work best when everyone shares real experiences, lessons learned, and even mistakes, so we can all grow together. I’m here to listen, learn, ask thoughtful questions, and also contribute where I can over time. Looking forward to learning from the experienced trainers and fellow dog owners here. Thanks for having me 🙏🐕