Today I was out of town at a seminar presented by Schutzhund trainer Carolyn Herle. Carolyn is an awesome trainer and has tons of good ideas for building drive, attention, and motivation. I was very excited to get a working spot in her seminar because she is really good at finding things that work for your particular dog and handling style.
She talked lots about motivators and the correct use of markers and rewards. Also the importance of having a good bond with your dog, which is so important if you are doing competitive obedience.
During the working portion, she gave me lots of good suggestions and pointed out some things that I was doing wrong. Good thing dogs are so forgiving in our training of them! She also suggested that I backchain my CDX routine so that Bosley's excitement will build as we go along, as he will know that he is getting closer to his reward. That is important in dogs like Bosley who do not necessarily have tons of drive and need to know that the reward is coming.
It is also very interesting to watch all the other teams. Lots of good suggestions for everyone and with some dogs you could see the difference in attitude within minutes of Carolyn making some changes to how the handler engaged with their dog. Very cool to see!
Bosley says he is sad when he has to be in his crate. He would rather be out working and having fun.
oh Bosley, you do look so sad :(
ReplyDeleteGood thing you are super handsome & smart :)