And get training these dogs! Argus has sat here for years being on the verge of being ready for his CD. He breezed through his Rally Novice and Rally Advanced titles no problem, so really a CD shouldn't be a stretch. Will have to wean him off talking to him though, he's still a little unsure when I'm not at least giving him verbal praise and is constantly trying to fix what might be right becuase I haven't told him he's good yet. Impulse and Turner need to get ready for Nationals this fall and be polished and ready for their Novice work as well.
The aussieboard has a CD Challenge group, which I conciously didn't join last month (bad me!) but have decided to put it out there publicly and post my goals. Maybe it will give me a kick in the pants to get to work.
Overall, by the end of 2010 my goals are:
Obedience
Complete Argus' CD
Get started, if not complete Impulse's CD
Get started, if not complete Turner's CD
Teach Porter to walk on a leash. Seriously, that is the sum total of my goals for him for obedience stuff. I am horribly neglect at teaching my dogs to walk nicely on a leash becuase they rarely have to. They run in the yard, are not walked on leash for exercise and make public appearances only at classes and shows generally. They are pretty typical farm dogs (though without the "farm", maybe "acreage" dogs is a better term). Maybe Porter will be different, we're not off to a great start though, he would rather be a sled dog.
Herding
Finish Impulse's HS (one leg to go)
Finish Turner's HS (one leg to go)
Finish Impulse's STDs (no legs yet)
Finish Turner's STDs (no legs yet)
Attempt Turners STDcd
Attempt Impulse's STDd
Compete in MVA with both Impulse and Turner at the Cdn Nat'ls
Conformation
Finish Juice's (really need to see if they've definitely changed his name or not) Championship
Show Porter to get some ring experience and maybe pick up the odd point or two
So, I have some work ahead of me. Luckily for herding Impulse and Turner just need to work on skills they already have, and maybe actually get some stock time in. They have not had much time on stock since the trials last June. Will aim for at least twice a month in the months leading up to July (trial month) and then through the summer to prep for Nat'ls. The pressure is on for them to be ready for Novice competition as we are starting from the ground up. They both know very basic heel position, and down, but that is about it.
Am trying to put in some time every night with each dog. I am starting a rotation, the first dog gets 15 minutes, second dog 10, third dog 5, and Porter just gets a few minutes of some basic stuff, nothing serious for him. Right now we are workign on how to stand still as he has his first sanction match on Sunday. He is doing great, but that is with no one going over him, and he does love people, so he could turn into a wiggly mushy not standing for anything puppy on Sunday.
Barriers here are definitely access to classes. I found classes in town (that is relative I guess, it is waaaay on the outskirts of town, but at least does not involve me drivign through a mtn pass, through a forest and around a lake to just get on the main hwy to then drive another half hour to class) but unfortunately there is no indoor facility so we train outside, which means we only train in the summer. And then because of lack of people doing doggie things in this town there isn't a lot of space to move up in levels, so will be forced to look into private lessons, which would still likely be cheaper than driving to other classes. I have also found some classes a little closer than others (but still involve the nature drive), I'm not convinced I'm liking them though. Fine for puppy socialization, we'll see how the advanced class goes. To find a class, and then find one that trains similar to what I'm looking for is next to impossible...until summer.
So far this week I've been working on polishing up Argus' heelwork and his stand stays. Heeling is coming along quickly and we've moved on from the basic position work to getting him started on nice sharp left turns. Made some progress there tonight, but a long ways from where I need him to be. NEXT STEP in heeling: starting figure eights. He is also getting his kick back stands about 98% of the time, not moving any feet about 80% of the time. Am starting to pull slightly on the leash for proofing and he is doing well. NEXT STEP in stands: Once he can hold that while I pull in various directions I'll start moving a foot out of "natural" balance and ask him to stay. At some point I will need to get him in a class so he gets used to the touching part of this...not that I'm concerned, he's an old hand at exams from conformation. Just started doing some basic drivey recalls, running for a piece of cheese thrown through my legs. He caught on to this VERY quickly and I think I'll have very nice fast recalls from him. NEXT step in recalls is proofing his "here" command and working it the same as heel position.
Turner I'm realizing is a lot farther behind where I thought he was. He has no concept of his back end, and we're right back to square one teaching him where heel position is. He is catching on quickly though, and is working nice and close to me. Turner can be a funny duck and does not like to sit close to me, so the fact that I can get him in heel position with him touching my leg is big progress. NEXT steps in heeling: We'll work on heel position over the next week or so, so far just doing right turns, one or two steps, pivots, and starting on about turns. Also working on his stand stays. Because he's not a fan of being touched by those he doesn't know this will be Turner's biggest downfall. I need to get him SOLID on his stand stays before we get to the point that someone attemps the exam so I can go back a few steps, support him through the big scary strange hand that wants to touch him and then help him work through it. I'll teach him absolute focus for this exercise so hopefully he can just zone out on my face. NEXT steps in stands: dropping the treat some of the time, and hopefully being able to get rid of my jab in the flank to get him to stand...giving him that opportunity to do it on his own. Once we get that, then starting with some short stays.
Impulse. What a little dream Impulse is. The slightest pressure on her collar and she hops her bum into the direction I want it. She is a bit farther along than I was thinking. We are still doign some position work, but will quickly progress to actual walking and proofing I'm sure. NEXT step in heeling: longer stretches of walking, tougher heeling position exercises, circles and left turns. And again, working on the stand with her. She will be the opposite of Turner and have a hard time not throwing herself at the judge to lick their face, so again, a solid stand and absolute focus will be essential for her. NEXT Steps for stand: same as Turner.
Porter: let's focus on not peeing in the house this week.
