My $60 leather article tip...

2GoodDogs

2GoodDogs

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Frustrated, I drove several hours away to a fabulous and well known dog trainer. We weren't doing so well with the scent articles and my abundance of patience was wearing thin.

So, with a fancy private lesson (and a three hour drive to get there, one way..) she solved my problem in less than 10 minutes.

I always scent and do the metal article first, for no good reason, it is just what I do.

Her solution? When I take the metal article from him, wrap my hand around the bit and set it on the chair. His spit on the metal article will mesh with my stink (opps, I mean scent) on the leather article and it would be like a neon sign beckoning to "this one" Mr. Bobby.

Well, it has worked so well for me, I thought I would share my little treasure and gem of a tip, just in case it could work for someone else too.

Now.. share your superstitious (or not) trial tip. Whether or not it is foolproof, doesn't matter, it probably only works because you BELIEVE it will work... :biggrin2:
 
That is a great thing to try if you has dog has problems finding the article and needs more scent.

Justice hates the metal article always has. I always did the leather first until he was half way though his UDX2 and he stopped doing the metal. He would indict it and pick up the closest leather one. So I switch to the metal first. That worked. Then he decided that he didn't want to do any articles. Teeth check out fine. Turned out after trying a couple things that I was scenting them too much because I wanted him to find it so bad and he was finding them offensively stinky. I do 3 light rubs on the bars that it for him now. I still do the metal first because if I do the leather first, he knows the metal is coming next and pouts. Walks to the pile slowly, slowly searches and gingerly picks up the article. The drama:rolleyes2:. Doing UKC helped so much as they only have metal articles.

Ember I always do the leather first as I think it gets her brain engaged. I never do the metal first with her. 5 rubs on the bars with 3 fingers and I lightly palm the ends once. I never vary. Never.:smile2:

Copule of my biggest superstition are - on signals I never look at my dogs before giving them the signal only the judge. When the judge gives me the signal I start my hand motion and shift my eyes to the dog. If my eyes move or I look at my dogs before my hand moves, my dogs, especially Ember will go on my eye movement then the big NQ happens.:( On returning from stays I never look at my dogs and I always tell them what exercise they are doing next. Like are you ready to do your Drop? We are doing the drop now. Because they of course know what I'm going to tell them to do that way.:smile2: In UKC utility, they have 2 glove retrieves, I always pivot away from the glove they did first cause I think they makes them lose orietation for the second so they don't retrieve the same glove again.
 
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I really like that JM (do you mind if I abbreviate your user name?) - to not look at your dog until you are about to signal! I've used that on stays with my former beloved, as eye contact meant 'recall"

I'll try breaking that metal first habit and see what happens, we will do scent articles and signals before dinner.

Just starting our UKC training, we are going to start with Novice in October, oh boy!




I wish you lived across the street.
 
2GoodDogs said:
I really like that JM (do you mind if I abbreviate your user name?) - to not look at your dog until you are about to signal! I've used that on stays with my former beloved, as eye contact meant 'recall"

I'll try breaking that metal first habit and see what happens, we will do scent articles and signals before dinner.

Just starting our UKC training, we are going to start with Novice in October, oh boy!




I wish you lived across the street.
Click to expand...

Yes you can abbreviate. Good luck on your UKC training. I love UKC obedience. Justice finished his UKC Grand Obedience Championship this winter. Ember is starting on her UKC Obedience Championship this fall. I love teaching the UKC gloves exercises my favorite in all of obedience to teach. I know I'm weird. As a result my dogs love it. Ember got her first UKC UD leg before she got her first AKC one. If you need tips when you get to that ask.:smile2:

I wished you lived closer too always great to train with someone new.
 
I never understood the gasps from the AKC folk about the UKC Directed Retrieve, probably 'cos when I taught it to my Sasha she learned it quickly. Connie Cleveland taught me how to teach it.

I haven't watched UKC utility in a few years. Got to UCDX with Sasha before her hips got so bad, even though she could do utility, except the jumping. We just let her run through the uprights with the jump poles on the ground, so that she could feel successful.

Looking forward to our UKC start up club getting approved this summer, we have to drive far to UKC trials. The state incorporation is done, yay!

I'm using right arm, left arm, and right arm over my head for the "go back"
Can see that I might want to change my verbal cue for the go out, so that there is no confusion on how far. How did you deal with that, did your dogs stop short when you wanted a full length go?
 
2GoodDogs said:
I never understood the gasps from the AKC folk about the UKC Directed Retrieve, probably 'cos when I taught it to my Sasha she learned it quickly. Connie Cleveland taught me how to teach it.


I'm using right arm, left arm, and right arm over my head for the "go back"
Can see that I might want to change my verbal cue for the go out, so that there is no confusion on how far. How did you deal with that, did your dogs stop short when you wanted a full length go?
Click to expand...

I refined my method(taught myself) with Connie Cleveland's from her book. It similar but not quite the same. I'd have to look it up to no how its different.

I use the same signals. My go back one is like a cast. Push out flat hand, above my head.

I never really had problems with my dogs stopping short. I use go out for my go out command and my glove 2 retrieve. If they did stop I just slowly walked them with one hand on the muzzle,one in collar using mild opposition reflex to the target or glove. Show them it released and sent again.

I taught Justice go outs with tennis balls so he knew to kept running and retrieve unless I told him to stop. Ember doesn't like toys and is not a natural retriever. I used a target stick with her and taught her to run to that and nose touch it unless I stop her. I transfer that to the gloves using treats on top of them. I don't use ring gates to teach so they run into nothingness. Just learn to go straight. I over train the distance too about 100 ft so they are used to running farther then they ever need to in the ring. I will then stop them randomly at 20 ft ish or if 40-45ft or full run to 100ft. It is a game. If they are going slow thats when let them go long.:smile2: They learn to run fast until stopped. They never know when. I'm teaching Diva now I'm using a touch stick. I have good drive to about 40 ft so far but all I'm asking for is speed right now. She lose intensity and focus over 40ft, I wn't add the sit until she is running full out for 100 ft. I'm teaching the turn seperately on leash with a small pause box. The hardest part with Justice was keeping him off Glove 2. :smile2:
 
Laura Romanik is having us work a pile of metals with only the correct leather for him to find. His confidence is improving, which is helping me with my confidence in him.
 
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