The dogs had their last local indoor agility trial this weekend before the outdoor season begins!! It was also Ginny's first time back since her long break after her spay. And unfortunately, the trial was harder for her than I expected.

I was a bit disappointed on Saturday as we had been making such nice progress! It's hard to see them take steps back.

Thankfully while it felt slow and meh, it wasn't all that bad. She followed my handling, and the only real disconnects were her first attempts at the weaves in each course.

Sunday I (reluctantly!) made the choice to run "NFC" and use a toy in the ring. I didn't want to, but I'm so grateful that UKI has always allowed for training runs with rewards on any course!

Run #1 I went back to setting her toy down with her leash at the start. We continue to work on this every single practice for at least half her runs, and usually all of them.

She had a few "ball feelings" moments, but overall ran really well. She was fast, she could weave, and she workd really hard to not go to the toy unless cued! I waited to cue the reward until she had turned away from it on both sends. I failed to plan for how I would get back on course after the first toy reward, but she was happy to just run with me and we eventually got back to it!

UKI also has a food box! If you're interested in how to do more of a blend between practice and trials, check out this blog I wrote on how to get started training the initial skills. (Or join us in Bye Bye Cookie class! Registration closes Monday!!)

Run #2 for Ginny on Sunday I took it a step further. This time I gave her toy to a friend instead of carrying it in the ring with me. This matched what it would look like for her on runs "for real." She started a little slow, but was able to do her weaves and then I waited for a moment she was picking up speed to cue the reward. I was happy it was at the back of the ring too! When I cued the toy, a friend chucked the reward into the ring! (Technically they missed hearing my cue and the throw was a bit late, but still a nice surprise!

Then I set the reward down on the floor and ran the rest of the course.

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All said, while it was difficult to make those choices, it will pay off in the long run!

And I'm grateful I've put in this time with her to not only work on the ring routines but that ability to really know her reward cues and the rules around them. It opens up so many more options for working through some stress and motivation issues.

Free Mini Webinar

I'd love to help you on these foundations too! If you haven't already, check out the free mini webinar I put together on the first few steps to working on teaching a zen bowl cue. If you're already subscribed to this newsletter it won't send you double emails if you subscribe again!

And my full class on this topic is running right now! You're not too late if you sign up by Monday!

Current April Classes

Registration closes today, April 15th, so grab them fast if you want to follow along!

This is where the fun really starts! Work on go outs, directed sends, position changes at a distance, sidesteps in heeling, working with distractions, and so much more! Check out the prerequisites, I bet you have them! TEAM 3

This class is all about getting your dog happily working with rewards at a distance. Teach that elusive "zen bowl" skill! Important foundations whether your dog is brand new to the concept or whether you want to start really prepping for trials! ​ Lots of focus work in this class! Bye Bye Cookie

Follow me on the social media platform of your choice to try and catch all my daily training videos. I hope they inspire you to try something fun with your dog!

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​Tandem Dog Sports​