a blog about Kilt and her kids plus Trouble our JRT mascot.

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Sequim, Washington, United States

Monday, August 19, 2013

Patterning

Some dogs are super sensitive to patterning.  Champ is one of those dogs.  I constantly have to mix stuff up for him or he falls back into a pattern.  This can be good and it can be bad.  If you let this type of dog do it wrong a few times, he falls into a pattern.

Champ likes to work anything that moves and he is very enthusiastic.  He is the type of pup that wants to do everything correctly.  He worries about it.  I can flap a flag at him, etc. and he has no quit in him.  It's just that his want to please is over the top. It is a pleasant change from his mother who takes the reins right out of my hands. :0)   He is still checking in with me on his driving. I don't think he will be ready for nursery.  I may be wrong; we will see.  I don't want to pressure him.  I want him to slowly gain his confidence.

He spent 2 months with Suzy and she put the loveliest flanks on him.  Suzy starts all her pups cross driving because she feels it is the easiest for them to learn.  Now he thinks (with me) he should cross drive all of the time.  So, on our drive away, he constantly is looking back at me.  He is worrying.  So, I guess time and consistency, and patience is what is needed.  I try to move forward ahead of him so he won't look back, but easier said than done sometimes.

Champ is going to go back to Suzy for another 2 months this fall.  Now, it's even harder for me to send him away for training because he has become such a wonderful member of our family.  Jet was his 'mentor' in teaching him lovely manners.  I made sure he went everywhere with Jet as a puppy. He is an easy keeper.  But, hopefully he can SOAR with Suzy's expertise.



I will enter him in a few AHBA trials where he can work field geese and field sheep and do some ranch courses.  I only work him a few times a week....especially, with this hot weather.  But, now that I have the geese, we can work 5 min. every day.  I love the geese.  It's nice to be able to work on a few things (daily)...keeps them tuned up.

As far as USBCHA trials, Kilt is pretty set in her ways at coming 9 yrs. of age.  Every once in awhile she will surprise me with a ribbon in open, but not too much.  She always wants to do it her way.  But, she has style, stamina, and GRIT.  I just love that bitch.

Yoko is 5 yrs. old this year.  I'm sorry I have only taken her to a couple of trials this year.  I should really try to campaign her next year, because she is a lovely dog.  She has an upright, loose eye, different type of style about her, but she is a wonderful listener and tries very hard to please me.  I believe even though we only went to a couple of open trials she has a few open points this year.  I will try to do right by her next year.  This year I have too much on my plate to think about trialing.

So, that will leave me with Yoko and Champ next year for the trial circuit.  I hope we get everything sorted out with the move and all so I can attend a few trials.  I may have to take my geese with me so I can tune the dogs up in Sequim :0)  Who knows what the future holds.....

2 comments:

Jenny Glen said...

I know it will be hard to part with him for a couple of months but I'm glad you are going to send him to Suzy again. It will be good for his training!

gvmama said...

Yeah...I know. Still hard on all of us. But, I have to admit when I stopped by her place on the way home, he was all 'squeaky' to see her. :0)