A Boy and His Dog

I have a couple days to myself. I thought I’d get out in the building and train my dog. Imagine that!

I’m especially interested in teaching Kory a solid “Get Out!” A lot of people use the words; but it strikes me that not a lot of them actually teach a performance; and so the dog is more likely following their movement at the moment of delivery rather than responding to a command for performance.

Get Out means “increase lateral distance” or “bend away.”

I’ll no doubt incorporate this training sequence as a part of our Sunday mini-clinic. There are lots of things you can do with it aside from teaching a “Get Out”.

Kory learns things so fast that it’s scary. We did some stationary “Get Outs” positioned forward of the wingless dummy alongside jump #3. And he got that pretty good. Then I incorporated a straight line (towards the wingless dummy) over jump #2. And then we backed up to the table and did it again.

Then I repeated the whole series as a mirror image exercise, going to the right instead of to the left. I expect to continue reinforcing the skill in two-a-days over the next ten days. I’d like very much to trust the “Get Out” without an intrusive step.

New AKC Club ~ Needs Charter Members

We are seeking to make a start to a new AKC club representing SE Ohio (from Athens to Zanesville to Marietta; and surrounding areas). We invite you to become involved as charter members.

Our vision of the club at this time is to affiliate with the American Kennel club and to engage in a wealth of AKC programs including: Conformation, Herding, Tracking, Agility, Obedience, and as many of the specialty classes as warranted by the diverse interest of founding members.

If you would like to become involved contact me at: BudHouston@hughes.net and leave your phone number and address. I’ll get back in contact when the list of interested persons reaches critical mass.

Thank you for your attention!

Bud’s Google-proof Trivia Contest

How many points does it take to qualify at the GIII level in the game Double Dog Dare Ya? What is the more common name for this game?

First correct answer, posted as a reply to this blog post, wins a free copy of the August Jokers Notebook.

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Questions comments & impassioned speeches to Bud Houston: BudHouston@hughes.net. Check out my latest publication the Jokers Notebook ~ Dog Agility Distance Training ~ Issue #0 ~ August 2010 available on the Country Dream Web Store: http://countrydream.wordpress.com/web-store/ . Readers of my web log get a discount: Enter “special00” in the box for the discount code. And that will take $5.00 off the price of the order.