Indoor training for when temperature plummets to minus 18 degrees!!

Despite the clear blue skies and sunshine, the temperature showing on the thermometer this morning was minus eighteen degrees. I opened the side door for Lusi to go out and she took one brief look and decided that she could wait until it was warmer, thank you very much!


Shaping The Retrieve:
We have spent the morning doing several five minute short training routines and now Lusi is peacefully asleep. I was pleased with the progress that we are beginning to make with the retrieve. She now understands that she should try to make contact with the kong and is either catching it or following it and picking it up. She will also make a reasonable attempt at bringing it back.


Our Indoor Training: Shaping The Retrieve

Marker training:
Sometimes we are just getting a nose touch on the kong and she wants her treat for just making contact. If this is at the start of the session I give her a treat but then I ask her for a "fetch" if she hasn't tried to actually hold it in her mouth and bring it back any distance. I have used my finger,in a waving gesture pointing to the kong and saying, "fetch" to which I almost always get some positive response. Our last throw sent the kong further than our meter or two limit and she scampered after it, returning it right to me. That was great!


Indoor Tracking: Practicing the down on an article.
I have got the old leather gloves out and set them aside so that we can start doing some tracking indication practice. I have been teaching Lusi to "down" when she gets to the article during our tracking sessions, so this is something we can practice indoors, to "down" on the glove.


Crate training:

Sitting quietly in the crate...
with door closed,
earning a food reward!

The crate training is definitely improving and I have started asking Lusi to go in her house more often during the day for short periods of time. I am now closing the crate door for short stints as well.