More on Page's track in the next post, but Devon's obedience session was fantastic. She's changing speed extremely well, and we're really together on cuing sits. We're working on getting finishes to the right and the left with both hand signal and verbal, and those are also coming together very well. Now it's down to refining the little things, like pivots and other fine heeling skills. I've never had a dog that loves obedience as much as Devon, and she's really making me enjoy it, too!
We just beat the rain, and after the dogs ate a late breakfast they napped as the temperatures actually dropped and I pulled a sweatshirt on. In spite of the rain, we spent the afternoon at K9 Athletes having a cookout/pitch-in and spending time with training friends. It was a great afternoon.
The rain eventually went away for Devon to play on the agility equipment. She did a very nice job on all the equipment, including the teeter. She did bail off the first time but got right back on and was solid every other sequence. Her weaves are very accurate; and although they aren't fast, I'll take accurate right now.
I think Devon's favorite part of the day was getting pets from her friends. She especially liked one little boy and would have sat with him all day for pets! Page also got her socialization time. She enjoyed eating grass clods from the mower and meeting new people. Page also tried her very best to convince Dr. Bonnie that she needed to share everything on her plate. She should know by now Dr. Bonnie is no push over! And she wanted to follow Mike anywhere he was going when he walked past with a pan full of hot dogs! This girl is her mother's daughter all right!
On the way home, it looked like it was done raining for the day, so I chanced laying three VST starts for Devon. Remember I said that was on our agenda! I have the map here, but it's very hard to see because the last satellite image is from a couple of years ago during construction of this building.
The first start was 50 yards in lush lawn with a right turn across a drive, up and over a mulch island, across another parking lot entrance and a leather article at the end of another mulched island under a bush. I didn't lay any chalk or extra scent. The first start was 3.5 hours old when we ran it, and all of the tracks were approximately 100 yards.
Devon did a picture perfect start, but I did give her a straight on approach to the track. She only circled once on this start and tracked very strong. She did 2-3 circles on the turn, but that's because the track transitioned onto the non-veg in less than 10 yards; I think she was truly working the transition and not the turn. Once into the drive area, she tracked straight as an arrow to the glove.
The second start was 35 yards of short, patchy grass to a mulched bed, across a drive to another mulched island, across a parking lot to a gravel divider strip/island and her leather article was in the gravel island under a rock. I gave Devon an 90 approach to the flag, and this time she worked the start much harder. She circled a couple of times before committing to the start, but once committed she was on it and pulling strong.
Devon made short work of the rest of the track. She does work her first transition to non-veg pretty well before committing. However once she was out there, she worked the islands and pavement very well, tracking straight to her article.
The third track started again on lush lawn. It was a 32 yard start with a right turn and 15 yards later a mulch bed into a parking lot. She then had to angle across the lot, across the gravel divider, across another lot to a mulch island where her article was hidden beside a light post.
I again brought Devon into the start at a 90 degree angle, this time with the start to her right instead of her left. She's stronger when the track goes left, and I think we've worked more of these types of starts. Devon struggled more with this start, circling several times and back tracking the start. Again, once she committed, she did a good job and got into the track.
I can also say Devon was getting tired at this point, too. She'd had a long day with little nap time, and this was now the third "sport" she'd trained today. She worked the first turn several times and then committed into the mulch bed and then the parking lot. She worked well to the gravel island, but once she got past it, she stalled. After circling in the same area three times, I called her in for a rescent. This did the trick and she dropped her nose and tracked directly to the article.
I was very pleased with this session. Devon's last two VST sessions have been short yardage, but I believe we've gotten a lot of good training in. Her next track might have to be a little longer, but we'll see how the weather holds out this week.
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