All handlers viewed the Leerburg video Training the Retrieve with Michael Ellis last week and this week. I haven't been absolutely happy with the mouthy retrieves that we've had in the past, and I am hoping that a bit of a change in style as well as making it completely uniform will help us when teaching the retrieve, as well as enabling the dogs to retrieve novel items such as cloth and delicate items such as cell phones without shaking or breaking anything.
We had an outing to Waterfire in Providence, RI last Saturday night. Rosella and her WPR were able to attend. She is still a little silly, but did well on the trip~the crowds were massive, it was very dark, there were sirens, other dogs, people touching her~no problems that I was able to see.
Odin 11103~going to balance/walker dog protocols, no automatic sit. He is staying in for 2 weeks, out for one weekend for a while. He is quite good in public, but needs more formal obedience training. He looked great today, commands are executed in a timely fashion, no refusals. He was distracted by his WPR who attends class, and didn't hold position at all times, but overall he was good.
Major 1135~hot spot/fungal infection on his tail as of last Friday. I looked at it yesterday and today. The redness appears to be gone, still "bumpy". I will try to find a lotrimin spray for him. He does not appear to be uncomfortable and worked well today.
Rosella 1185~She is still somewhat of a silly puppy, but her attnetion is looking much better, she really likes her handler and enjoys the work. Position is good, and when she's out of position she springs back into the heel~hysterical to see.
Graham 1187~not in class today.
