Progress review

Now that we have got back into training, and Smudge has all the 'basics' under his belt, we are starting to see the areas that still need work. So I thought it would be a good idea to write down the main things I have noticed, to give ourselves a clearer plan of attack!

Start Line Routine
This has been going fairly well and on Saturday he did some lovely waits whilst I really tested him (running off, making arm movements other than his release signal, shouting funny words etc). I was pleased with how well he responded.

BUT, (there is always a but!)........when he is in an unusual place and he is really hyped they can start to break down. On Sunday at the sand school he was the maddest sheltie ever and kept creeping forward, and occasionally breaking them altogether! Great practice to see what he would be like in a show enviroment, so lots of work in very exciting situations for us!

Working confidently ahead of me and allowing me to cross behind
Ok, I will admit that this is MY weak area. I have a horrible tendency to try and work alongside my dogs. Maisie works ahead if I ask her to go on, but I will admit that it took time for her to develop this and she kind of taught herself. Smudge will need this from the word go as he is quick, so must concentrate more on sending him away from me down long straights. He is now starting to pick up jumps on his own, and I am getting fair distance between us. This is great as I am not having to 'guide' him as much, I can trust him to pick up the obstacle.

Weaves
Entry....fantastic, Exit.......hmmmmm. (isn't it supposed to be the other way around!?)
Basically his entry is great, but he has just started to pop out of the last two poles. Easily fixed (I hope) so we have gone back a step and slanted the last two poles again, just until he gets the hang of 12!! Di also pointed out that I had stopped sending him on ahead of me and was again falling into the trap of always being either ahead or parallel, so back to lots of send aways through the weaves it is.

Contacts
Going well. Again if he is very excited they can slip, but he is still very young. The only thing I noticed on Saturday was that when someone walked alongside the dog walk (as the judge would do in the ring) he stodd stock still and stared at them! He wasn't nervous, but he just looked at them as if to say 'what on earth do you think you are doing!?' Obviously this is something he will need to get used to! We had a similar experience at Christmas when we trained with numbers out for the first time. He gave them a real telling off! Anything different and he has to get involved!

Jumping up at me
Of all the areas that I have identified, this is one that will stop. NOW! Smudge has never jumped up at me, he has always looked ahead at what he was doing. Very recently he has started to turn back at me when we finish and bite my sleeves. Big no no! But it is my fault. Paul has pointed out that I have his toy/tuggy in my hand rather than on the floor, so straight away he turns to me in excitement, and if I don't happen to have the toy out......well my sleeves are the next best thing! Easily fixed (will always leave the toy on the floor at the end) but if I hadn't identified it now I could have had a horrible 'sleeve biter' on my hands!

Phew,......well that seems like a lot. Although I have pointed out all the bad bits, he really is coming along nicely! Anyone that knows me will know how much of a perfectionist I am, so I am probably being over critical! But at least I know my weak areas so that I can work on them. We are going to England next week for some training, so hopefully having a clear idea of our weaknesses will help us whilst we are there! It is our last training night tonight before we go (there is none at the weekend as we have a show).....so lots to think about!