Training notes, September 9, 2011

Major Rosella Graham We worked on open stairs at PCC, Major looks exceptionally good. His attention to handler is almost as good outdoors as in, and he responds on first command consistently. Rosella was not quite as good, stairs were old and wooden and she wasn't all that thrilled to work on them. She gave attention to handler about half the time and tried to either skip steps or rush both up and down. Her attention outdoors needs to improve and I would like her to not be so focused on where the group is headed and care more about her handler. Indoors this is never an issue, her placement is gorgeous and if not, she will self correct. Outdoors, handler really needs to engage with her all the time or she's forged. Graham was also about 50 percent both up and down the stairs. His attention to handler is good for his age, but could improve. He's similar to Rosella in that if the handler engages, he's right there. If the handler loses focus, so does he. All dogs need more night work. I am hearing increasingly of issues that the dogs are having because something in the environment has changed and in the dark it turns into an issue. This can be greatly reduced if all dogs are given an evening walk or field trip each night on weekends.