Training Seminar

We had a training seminar scheduled today. It was an absolutely gorgeous day. The first day in weeks that it hasn't rained. It stayed a nice temperature and I didn't have to worry about Vivre getting too warm.

So Vivre got to finally start tracking today. Truthfully I have been nervous to start her, because I just don't know that much about tracking. There is enough information about starting a dog on tracking I could have tried, but it was something I wouldn't have any clue how to fix if I messed her up. I'm also glad that I waited, because the additional information that the trainer shared will be very useful when Vivre starts getting a little further along with her tracking. I'm going to have to get better treats for tracking. She will do obedience for what I had, but apparently she needs something more interesting to track. I wonder if that might have something to do with her working with me, versus her ignoring me to work the track.

After lunch we start on obedience. Of course we haven't done too much obedience. I didn't even try the pivoting with the fronts and start heeling. We've only done that at home and we were training in a public park. Though truthfully she probably would have been fine. There were kids running around and riding bicycles. But we were far enough away that the dogs were all fine. Allan wants me to ask for a little more from Vivre. He pointed out that since she knows down and sit it is time to start asking more. Such as more duration, or distractions. There were plenty of distractions, but largely she is very good at ignoring them preferring to work with me. She consistently does really well working in new places, I've been very pleased with her.

Our T.D has been out of town a lot for work, so she really hasn't done that much work with him. So today was her first real session with him. She won't bark while she is in prey, I may have to put barking on cue for the hold and bark. I kind of suspect that once she is working a little more she will really start to anticipate the game and it will get easier to get her to bark. Of course while Allan was trying to get her to bark she kept looking back at me to try and figure out what she had to do for me to turn her loose so she could play. She tried sitting, for a minute we thought she was going to go through her entire repertoire, but she just tried sit and attention. She has a good bite. Now I just have to not mess her up.

I was going to take my camera and have somebody get some pictures of her working, but I had to get up early in order to make it and I am not at my best in the mornings. Oh, one other note, while I felt that Vivre was getting better with strangers and her suspicions, our trainer noted today how big a difference there was between the way she greeted everybody today and the way she greeted everybody the first time she met them. I also didn't hear her barking madly at the park goers that walked back her crate. She did really well in everything today. Somebody commented that I am really going to have fun with Vivre. I already am.