March had a lot of agility!

Loot actually got to trial again, and he did so good! He wore his headphones any time he was in the building- I took them off after we walked into the ring to run. He did his box feeding so excitedly all the way up to the ring gates. This really helped him ignore the barking around him! We will be back in May!

And Ginny traveled to the UKI Invitational for the first time. It ended up being a lot more intense than I predicted for her, as there were four rings in one room and pretty much non-stop barking! She was enamored with the turf due to both stress and just intensely trying to hunt for crumbs. In my ring confidence group, I included a post on how I handled her sniffing and warm-ups to account for that.

But every run saw improvement, and she worked so incredibly hard in the ring. I am pretty proud of the skill she was able to give me there when she was clearly overwhelmed!

Ravioli is continuing to trial his hydrolyzed foods, and we're still trying to figure out what exactly he can handle. I am just starting to train with treats again, and my fingers are crossed that some flare-ups were coincidental and not due to this particular food.

Opt Out Stations?

In case you've missed it, I have a free Ring Confidence training group on Facebook!

Here I have a post asking about opt out stations. We train opt in routines, start buttons, ready to work routines, but we often don't think about it's opposite. Click here to read

This post looks at how I handle Ginny's intense sniffing outside of the ring at the UKI Invitational. It looks at our acclimation time and warm up before entering the ring. Click here to read.

And this post looks at what we do between reps and training when we need to think or move equipment. Do you have a stand-by option? Click here.

March Training Videos

Here are 8 videos from the past month's daily uploads of training. Just click on the picture to be taken to youtube. (And if you prefer the non-music versions, head to facebook or instagram!) I hope these videos give you some helpful tips to try or inspire you to train something new!

Movement to stillness. Excitement to control. I love having this game as a foundation for my dogs.

Helo is working on his sit to stand

Ginny is working on the stand part before the backup in heel. She has such a fast sit that both times this sign has shown up in her rally trials she's tried to sit first despite my signal to wait. Here I'm adding the zen bowl for pressure!

Does your dog love clapping? I love this conditioned reinforcer!

Heeling foundatons throught pivots! Helo is doing great on my right side and it's a bit rougher on my left. Here was a recent session working on starting to move forward on my left

Loot's done some work on his retrieves to fronts- working on his front pivots with a dumbbell. This is something he finds so incredibly hard!

Helo is also making great progres on the retrieve! He's not licking the dumbbell anymore but actually biting it! We transitioned from bite to get the toy to bite to get the food.

And Ginny brushed up on reset routines before we headed down to the invitational. Make sure you practice how you will reset the dog in a trial when you won't have food or toys! The dog doesn't have to be wrong to practice!

Upcoming April Classes

Class starts today, April 1st, so grab it fast if you want to follow along! There are still a few working spots left too!

Open Obedience!

Start a retrieve! (Stuck on the boring hold?! Come learn it a completely different way! No trying to click a 1/2sec longer than last time!)

Use cones and cookie tosses to teach an amazing drop on recall, and feel fancy while doing it!

Check the prereqs- they aren't as advanced as you might think!

Near Minnesota?

I'm doing a one-day seminar at TCOTC in Minneapolis, April 18th! Morning session will be on rewards at a distance, appropriate for any sport! Then the afternoon we'll dive into some ring confidence. Agility folks are welcome, but this will primarily be focused on the obedience ring.

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! And join my free facebook group on building ring confidence for dog sports!