My dog hated dumbbell and it got to a point where he refused to do it. So I had to go back to the beginning and retrained it using shaping. He now loves it - which is great. The problem is that he is too excited as you can see and hear in this video. I have found that throwing in a few unexpected commands (sit etc) helps get it under control. And I wait for him to silence before I throw it, but he still leaks. Any tips? I will also welcome tips on how to actually throw the dumbbell!

So much training, I haven’t even had time to update you all! Here’s the rundown of what we’ve been up to: - Hoopers 1-2-1 - Beginner hoopers course running workshop - Puppy agility/hoopers workshop - Mantrailing - Hired out the field for hoopers (with friends) - Hoopers foundations at home - Obedience skills at home - Hired out the field for hoopers (just us) - Trainers’ training on obedience stewarding As you might be able to tell, our main focus has been on hoopers for the competition simulator coming up next weekend. I’m really pleased with how both dogs are progressing. Kairo’s focus and perseverance has improved a lot, so she’s able to work for longer and more willing to try again. Plus, her understanding of the game is excellent and we’re getting some decent distance. On a less positive note, she seems to have lost all her toy drive so I need to think of a new way to bring that back (any tips welcome!). Amigo always has the best time at hoopers! It’s starting to click that he has to go through the hoop and doesn’t need to wait for me to catch up. Plus, his barrel cues are so much better than before. Moving on to our other sports… Kairo worked an excellent hunting trail with the hider in some questionable positions! You could see her little brain figuring out how to indicate (sit indication) when the hider has laying down, in a ditch, or up a tree lol. Tonight, Amigo was an amazing performer for our stewarding practice. He not only worked a Novice round for multiple other handlers, but worked it incredibly well! This is my dog that, a few years ago, would react to touch from strangers. So proud of him!

Been away for the week but managed to attend a hoopers/agility comp. She had some good runs and got 4 ribbons out of 6 agility runs including a 1st and a 2nd. Not as many clear rounds as I would have liked with blame mainly on the biped. Still like most people there was enough "if only" runs to keep me thinking we might still be improving.

It was really nice to see so many of you get into the Two Bowls Game! Thanks to @Ave Paasuke for that - it was fun to revisit - and for tagging me to take up the mantle this week. Here is a reverse orbit - the dog circles around you whilst you stand stationary. Start by having them sit in heel position and lure them backwards around your body. If your dog has never gone backwards in a straight line then I would recommend looking at that first. If they all struggle some hind end awareness with a pivot bowl or platform would really help you. I purposefully didn't clean up the vid too much, because you might run into the same issues- I had some confusion with her guessing I wanted position changes and so she got a little stuck. Just chuck the treat to reset and try again. I've clearly also taught her to sit with her right hind splayed out like some kind of chicken drummer so make sure you don't teach yours that. It's very ugly 🤦‍♀️https://youtube.com/shorts/zMfqZDJkWQg?si=8FGgCt2jUeSUySjg Reward the smallest try and in a different place each time.

Been slacking with posting a bit but…… we’ve still been working! 💪🏽 since I finished my self set 4 week structured walk challenge. We did pretty good and our track progress definitely itself improved over time! Our loose leash walk is 10x better I’d say and overall engagement out on the walk has definitely improved! Now that I’ve done a restructure in the home (more time in crate to elongate opportunity for unwanted behaviors, and more designated times for “work” and relaxing.) and more structure on the walk I really want to start to tackle her reactivity. I took her out today and yesterday to the pavilion, usually mild-heavy traffic area, but enough places I can have a good cushion from distractions and get some good work done. If I’m being honest when I went yesterday I thought I had a plan but when I actually got there and started I didn’t feel like I knew what I was doing, or maybe more so I don’t know how to implement why I actually wanted. I think I was just a little to in my head overall but I think it was a decent session and she had some fun. Today was a bit easier cause there was no one out cause it SNOWED!!! Just when we think we’re in the clear and into the nice weather Mother Nature has a laugh. Ah well, we were still out there and did some work just walking by the few people and workers that happened to be out. I got a couple videos from yesterday. I’ll deff be getting some more footage soon! Good work Maisy! Keep it up girl