The Spotted Devil Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 I'm having a lot of fun working with my mad young Dally for obedience. However it's been a very looooong time since I've trialled a dog and so much has changed and been refined! The only handler foot movement I was ever taught was to step off on the left foot for "heel" and on the right foot for "stay" From reading a lot of the training threads I gather there are thoughts on foot patterns for halting and turning. In terms of heel work, I have been working on the heel position with right about turns only and the automatic sit so as not to confuse either of us Any advice would be most welcome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yarrowfell Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 Any advice would be most welcome If Ziggy is anything like his sister I will just wish you luck 'cause you will need it . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted January 24, 2008 Author Share Posted January 24, 2008 Any advice would be most welcome If Ziggy is anything like his sister I will just wish you luck 'cause you will need it . LOL - is Miss Rosie giving you a hard time? In all seriousness, Zig is just a delight to work with....I'm really surprised actually how much he throws himself into his training...he actually gets quite anxious if he can't work out what to do! I'm breaking all the exercises up into small parts and using lots of clicker work...more than I intended initially but he just works so well for it. I was having trouble with straight, close fronts but did some searching on here....his third lesson today and he's 100% got it when I'm sitting down (great tip) and nearly got it when I'm standing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J... Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 (edited) Found this one a while ago - you need to click on the highlighted words to see the pictures ;) http://www.basset.net/kay6.html Edited to add the link Edited January 24, 2008 by feralpup Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted January 24, 2008 Author Share Posted January 24, 2008 Thanks feralpup - great website Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TangerineDream Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 ;) I just tried the techniqure for correcting a dog that breaks stays, only had to use it twice on Tango, and third time he thought about getting up, I took one step towards him and he got one of those....'it's just not worth it, I might as well stay here' looks and stayed put for half an hour till I released him :D :p ;) ;) Brilliant - just brilliant!!!!! Footwork and other hints are great too!!!!! Well worth a read. Thanks for posting.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogdude Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 A good old book for trialling and footwork technique is Beyond Basic Dog training. Although her base methods are old news the thoughts behind each exercise are great. It covers many of the "need to think abouts" regarding trialling. Author is Diane Bauman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tesa Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 Many years ago, I can remember an early instrutor lamenting the fact that most people in obedience don't know how to walk a straight line. She use to do a chalk line for us. We were then blind folded and made to walk it. It is amazing how crocked most of us were. It was a good exercise. It taught us not to be constantly pushing (or pulling) our dogs out of the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogdude Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 I agree that walking straight is the hardest thing to get used to. The most important thing about working out your footwork IMO is the smoothness of your turns. This of course will depend on what your feet are doing timing wise..............but I don't put all that much emphasis on exactly keeping my footprints the same on each turn, but rather think about (and practice without dog) the actual smoothness of the turn...........imagine you are on rails, and try to keep the pace smooth and consistant throughout the turn, machine like smooth! As long as you don't exagerate it, it will look natural. I find dogs that have not been taught to remain balanced, looking upward and focusing through the turn are more "footprint reliable". Where you place your feet is a lot more important to that kind of dog. My first trialling dog was a footprint reliable dog. He was quicker to teach heel to competition standard, but you will get a much higher scoring dog if you teach balance with a higher focal point. I would say that it was a year before Oscar displayed consistantly comfortable balance through all directions in the turns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keshwar Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 Practice your heeling without your dog. I have been know to do a heel pattern down the corridor at work - people know I'm a crazy dog person so just smile and look away. Practicing without your dog means you don't have to worry about meesing up your dogs heeling while practising your own. Bear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RachelleBuck Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 With walking in a straight line I was told to pick a point in the distance and walk to it. Makes you a lot straighter and the dog and you are not fighting each other to walk in a nice heal. Other than that I was told that smaller steps are best and not to walk too fast. I hope that helps some!!! Good luck I know what you are going though and I do the exercises without the dog too, helps me without mucking the dog up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted January 25, 2008 Author Share Posted January 25, 2008 Thanks for all the suggestions - some really good ideas At the moment I'm stuck in bed but once I'm up and about again I will be practicing (without Zig) a lot.....could be a very entertaining walk to the train station for anyone watching Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
becks Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 Better make sure you leave some extra time for all the turns Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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