Viewing Single Post From: Working Trials

Viewing Single Post From: Working Trials
RJL	Feb 9 2009, 12:37 PM
Chatterbox Posts: 1,387 Group: Full Members Member #179 Joined: January 25, 2006	Training again yesterday :yippee: We kept it to a proper training session with lots of fun and rewards! Something I have learned about Dill is that he has a disturbingly puritan work-ethic sometimes. He will not play with his tuggy toy until he has done his work. If you throw it too soon i.e. before he has achieved something, he gives you a rather harsh look, as if to say 'I am not indulging in any frivolity until you have done some proper work - you reckless hedonist of a handler! :angry: ' There is also not much point in trying to work him when I am already in a bad mood. I thought I knew all about dogs being affected by the handler's frame of mind, but Dill is a little different to an Irish Terrier! If you start to get down around an Irish Terrier, he is likely to do his best to coax you out of your mood by doing something incredibly funny (it might be something only an Irish Terrier could find funny - like running onto a golf course and doing a poo on the green while 2 golfers wait)- or if all else fails, go all soppy and give you a hug. If you lose your patience and shout (not that I ever do, of course :ph43r: ) all Logan ever heard was 'oh you are handsome!' no matter what I actually said :rolleyes: Dill is not as adept at coping with anything but unbridled enthusiasm for work. If he gets a sniff of bad attitude from me, he does the canine equivalent of phoning his lawyers to discuss custody of the squeaky rubber fish, or shutting himself in his room and listening to Coldplay (thank goodness he isn't a man :lol: ) If he ever actually develops a taste for 'meaningful' (misearable) music, I will confiscate his tuggy toys! Anyway - fortunately, 99% of the time, things go well and they went really well on Sunday. We did our sausage-march around rabbit skins - which was a great way to stay focussed and had a discussion about heelwork styles. Apparently, of you do the 'hernia' heelwork where you grasp your abdomen and adopt a pained expression with the dog actually leaning on your leg and touching you in trials, you can lose marks :yay: After that, we did a tracking exercise, halfway through which a very fine looking big brindle staffie cross almost came bounding over, but fortunately, my esteemed coach ran over to ask if they minded keeping off the track and they were very good about it. Amazingly, Dill kept focussed and kept on tracking. A few months ago he would have lost the plot. It gave me confidence too :) No jumps as it was too frosty, but we did a couple of sendaways - on the edge of the wood, but he dropped like a little United player :P exacly when he was told (but without all the writhing around, clutching his leg) After that, he got his ultimate reward - manwork :yippee: Our coach only had the training bite-pad, so he held it in front of him, at about waist height. Dill went charging in and flung himself with all his might............right into his crotch :yikes: before bouncing up again and grabbing the bite pad. Who says pastoral breeds don't have a sense of humour?! (well, me usually) As usual, after some serious tugging games, I had to call him off. That's the bit where I shout 'leave!' and Dill lets go immediately :) before whipping round and sitting at the criminal's left side because the criminal has the reward :doh: We finished by letting all the dogs off to play and Dill played like a maniac with his ball on a rope - which he had studiously ignored at the start of the session! A dog who regulates his own rewards! Whatever next?! I'm sure really it is all because he needs to get going and release lots of endorphins before he can shake off his puritanical pastoralness ;)


Working Trials · Working dogs