2x2 training day 9, evening sessions

I took advantage of some extra time yesterday afternoon and gave Devon a few more attempts at the 12 poles. I added a jump, and she did fairly well. We had a series of misses on the right entry which we successfully worked through. This was her first session where she was not 80%. 

It was hot and the dogs need time to adjust to the change of temperature. Unfortunately, we've had about 3 days of mid-60s and low-70s, but they haven't stayed around for the dogs (or people) to adjust. I think this was happening to Devon, since she's reacted to the temperature each time it's spiked. 

My plan due to her lower success rate was to go back to 6 poles and work entries. Her success rate on the right entry has been very low the last two days. We have class on Tuesdays, but I planned not to work the weaves. However, as class started, Devon was the only large dog. So we took the opportunity to work 6 poles in a new place!

On her first attempt, Devon reverted back to her previous behavior of making the first pole then walking away from them with her head up in avoidance. I called her back, got her reengaged and asked for the poles again. This time she was successful! She was thoughtful and slow, but she was successful! She got a lot of praise and reward for this successful attempt, and then her energy was through the ceiling!

Her next 6 attempts were all successful from various entries along the arc. I even included a high challenge right hand entry and she was successful. She was driving and solid on her skills. Rosie saw the difference. She said not only did she know her job now, but she was excited to do it! Yes, this was the best part!