There is a large 4 day show in Jackson, MS in December. Bern and Grace are entered in Wildcard obedience classes and Grace is trying for her Rally Advance titled. We made it out to the obedience training classes on Thursday night. All three of us are rusty on our obedience skills so are in frequent practice mode for the next few weeks.
This morning I hauled out the "highbar"and the broad jump so Bern could practice. Since he will now retrieve his dumbbell with enthusiasm I figured it was time to see if he would try jumping with it. First time no problem. He dashed out over the highbar, picked up the dumbbell, and came flying back over the jump carrying his dumbbell. He then went back to his old habit of flinging the dumbbell out of his mouth at me and skidded to a front sit. So now all I have to fix is the lack of a wait until commanded to move and the need for Bern to actually still be holding the dumbbell when he skids to the sit in front. Good thing I bought some flank steak on sale yesterday... the higher value training treats are really helping with the obedience training.
Grace was doing much better by the end of her session this morning. She is trying so hard to please but would much rather be doing Open work than Novice. Unfortunately I need to keep working on her stand. She is unsteady and unsure of herself. Until she get comfortable standing she will never let anyone examine her.
We also need to practice stays (sits and downs). Grace keeps lying down on her sit and Bern's attention span is shorter than the Open level times require so we need to concentrate on over doing during practice so he can make it during the obedience trial.
New roof on the house last week. Yippee! Waiting to here about a start date for the inside of the house repair crews. Trying to decide how best to decorate the scaffolding for the holidays.
