Devon and I have been working the mini T drill for several days. This was just where we left off when she was injured in March. At Mitch’s place last month, she did this drill very well. However, we’ve struggled once we got home. At first she wasn’t working the back pile well, so I did the back pile in isolation. Then she couldn’t see the over piles, so I moved them closer. Then she was pulling to the over piles, so I didn’t use buckets the next time … and she couldn’t see them again. Next I used buckets, but she was confused and thought we were doing lining drills. And it goes on.
The good news is she is nailing her right and left back handles, and she’s also stopping very well on her sit whistles. Now I need to do over piles in isolation this week and see if I can get some of the handling to the sides back.
I’ve been reminded that field work is a balance, and that’s right. I’ve seen some awesome dogs fall apart on a certain drill or set up. Two things that I have been doing right is keeping my sessions to 10-15 minutes and ALWAYS praising and talking to my dog as she’s working. These two things have kept her attitude up and my frustration level down. I wish I’d found this balance last summer when we were working piles!
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