Slacking on posting once again, but the last few days have been pretty hectic with cleaning out the house and getting ready for the renovations. We did the boulevard again and still not to many people or distractions so we changed it up and went to the river walk yesterday and today. It was way better!! There were a lot more people and a few more dogs so we definitely got some work in. I had to say over all I’m impressed with how well she did! Barely any reactions towards people which was great! We had a couple reactions to some bikes and scooters and a few dogs we worked through it added a little distance and we were aces! I think the riverwalk will be a good environment to continue working. I’ll try and get some footage out there within the next few days. Good work Maisy! Keep it up 💪🏽

I had been meaning to teach obedience style scent discrimination and retrieve so that was going to be my contribution to the challenges that @Holly Pearson threw my way. However it is a little complex and now a cyclone hitting so will just go with one prepared for something else. The exercise I call Jar is just getting the dog to run to a placed or thrown treat jar and lie down next to it. It is one I now teach first night on a puppy class as a challenge to teach before the class ends. It is like using a dish for remote reward but the closed container has some advantages. As well as teaching a down at a distance the treat jar rattle is a great attention getter in the park. Also I see this as gaining a source of focus in the park away from me I can control so one or two jars can be used for games in the park that help with off leash control by building them up on a long line first and then using the game to test off leash ears in a distracting environment. When getting new people to do it I avoid showing them the end result with a thrown jar to stop them skipping ahead - they need to be good on the waiting for the dumb human to open the jar before adding the throw or you get a dog retrieving or eating the jar.

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.