Heeling/ Obedience Vids

[leopuppy04]

http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user...puppy04&p=r

Link to my Youtube profile.... there are a whole bunch of vids taken today. Unfortunately my camera doesn't zoom when taking vids and dad was a novice 'video cameraman' so I didn't want to make it too complicated for him! Sorry about the quality.

Some are better than others - have a look and i'd love to hear what you think (if you can see it properly!).....

I've already picked up that Kinta surges at times and goes a bit wide on turns (as suspected).....

*She lost attention when I took off 'heeling' in the positions video as I didn't let her finish eating first

*Kinta did sit a little to the RHS of me for the recall - I wasn't overly worried and still rewarded as she came in nice and quick and did a good sit . I am working on the position of her fronts as a separate exercise.

*Kinta's confusion on the LAT was my fault as I wasn't keeping it fluid - I was stopping my own footwork

*Leo's turns at times were a little wide, but I was happy with his heeling

Thats about all I could pick out from the rather blurry vids!

Edited August 18, 2007 by leopuppy04

[poodlesplus]

These are little things, they might get noticed by a judge but might not. Over all, it is dam good work.

You are rounding corners a bit much, and you aren't giving him consistent footwork to get around it. I didn't know whether you are putting in a good body swivel either.Some put in two short or slow paces, some put in one.

You are bending down to give him the drop signal. Some would say that at open level this is a double signal.and you shouldn't go further than head level. Since i have such a tiny dog, i can go further :D

On the recall. My preference is to get some real speed out of my dogs, so that I never have trouble with distractions. I also practice all sorts of lengths. Short lengths can sometimes be harder than long lengths. Have you thought about adding a flip or continental to your finishes? Adds a bit of sparkle, helps the judge forget a crooked finish.

This is personal, but I hate those pivot about turns with a passion. They just never look as keen as an about turn done without the pivot.

Look I am a keen observer, but frustrated to the max about what I can do with my young one. She is a lovely reliable dog, but suffering greatly form my footwork. I am quite tall, very clumsy, slightly disabled,I can't do a lot with my footwork in a hurry so we are going to can a few points. I just thought I would tell you this so when you see me around the traps, you wouldn't think i was some kind of ra ving hypocrite I know that in the past , i haven't enjoyed getting advice from people who really can't handle or train a tea towel.

[leopuppy04]

These are little things, they might get noticed by a judge but might not. Over all, it is dam good work.

Thanks PP - i'm still very much a novice, so appreciate the compliment

You are rounding corners a bit much, and you aren't giving him consistent footwork to get around it. I didn't know whether you are putting in a good body swivel either.Some put in two short or slow paces, some put in one.

As always - yes, footwork generally is my issue . I did notice that some of my turns weren't 'crisp' enough and a bit 'over-compensated'..... we are working on that one :D what do you mean about the short/ slow paces?

You are bending down to give him the drop signal. Some would say that at open level this is a double signal.and you shouldn't go further than head level. Since i have such a tiny dog, i can go further :D

No fair :D..... point taken - will work on that one.....

On the recall. My preference is to get some real speed out of my dogs, so that I never have trouble with distractions. I also practice all sorts of lengths. Short lengths can sometimes be harder than long lengths. Have you thought about adding a flip or continental to your finishes? Adds a bit of sparkle, helps the judge forget a crooked finish.

Yes - I also practice all sorts of lengths - usually the further you go out, the better and faster so I practice lots of little, short ones too. As for the continental finishes - it is a 'work-in-progress'... we are getting better, but at the moment, the judge would have to be blind not to see the crooked finish .....

This is personal, but I hate those pivot about turns with a passion. They just never look as keen as an about turn done without the pivot.

I don't hate the U turns (I assume you are talking about the left about turns), although I think unless you can execute it perfectly, it shouldn't be done..... unfortunately - I fall into the 'can't execute well' pile

Look I am a keen observer, but frustrated to the max about what I can do with my young one. She is a lovely reliable dog, but suffering greatly form my footwork. I am quite tall, very clumsy, slightly disabled,I can't do a lot with my footwork in a hurry so we are going to can a few points. I just thought I would tell you this so when you see me around the traps, you wouldn't think i was some kind of ra ving hypocrite

Not at all - I appreciate all kinds of advice and I know that it is much easier to observe and see the errors than correct the errors in your own handling! It doesn't bother me at all - but sometimes I do choose not to go ahead with the advice offered, because I *do* prefer the current way I do things .... either way... Thanks for the feedback, even with the rather seedy quality!

Anyone else? There have been a few views..... don't be shy

[JulesP]

Brock enjoyed the Kinta woofing! :D

[jesomil]

Ok, here are my comments. First of all your Dad is a really good sport for doing all that videoing for you!! My parents didnt really approve of all my dog stuff when i was younger :D , so i always love to see parents that are keen to help.

I only watched Leo's vids tonight as there are quite a few of them and i dont have too much time at the moment. Plus Kinta is only a baby so i dont want to be too hard on her :D .

He looks great as always but there are 3 things that stood out for me. Just remember i am being super picky as he is good. It is also a bit hard to see on the videos so i may be seeing things wrong.

Firstly his turns. They were slightly wide quite a few times. His left turns would look a bit better if he tucked his back end in when you turned.

The drop signal is too obvious. Your body shouldnt bend at all. He is not a small dog and he is looking up at you anyway so i dont believe you need to signal in front of his face.

Left about turns. I know Poodlesplus said this as well, but i also dont like the look of the turns where the dog walks around you instead of the dog backing up. I am sure it wont loose you points but for the overall picture, it looks better, flashier and more driven if they can back up.

Just my opinion though and feel free to ignore all of it :D . You guys are doing great .

Edited August 19, 2007 by jesomil

[leopuppy04]

Jules - you weren't meant to know it is Kinta - you were meant to 'assume' it was a random dog in the background

Firstly his turns. They were slightly wide quite a few times. His left turns would look a bit better if he tucked his back end in when you turned.

The disadvantage of having a backyard not suited to obedience training, having not trained properly for a few months etc - his turns have gone wide again .... I have duly noted this as homework for us :D. As for his left turns - Leo is difficult in the sense that his 'back end' is pretty much non-existent.... we have been putting work into this (walking back, swinging on a brick etc) so you should be able to see an improvement - if you scroll further down the vids - you will see a "Leo left turns" video which shows what we have been practicing ;)

The drop signal is too obvious. Your body shouldnt bend at all. He is not a small dog and he is looking up at you anyway so i dont believe you need to signal in front of his face.

duly noted ;)

Left about turns. I know Poodlesplus said this as well, but i also dont like the look of the turns where the dog walks around you instead of the dog backing up. I am sure it wont loose you points but for the overall picture, it looks better, flashier and more driven if they can back up.

LOL - and like I said to PP - I do prefer the LAT where the dog goes around.... I guess it is a case of 'what's taught first' and since this is the 'first' way that has been taught to me I'm in preference of it (I will have a giggle though if in 10 yrs you see me about doing the U turns )

Thanks for the comments

[poodlesplus]

"As always - yes, footwork generally is my issue wink.gif. I did notice that some of my turns weren't 'crisp' enough and a bit 'over-compensated'..... we are working on that one laugh.gif what do you mean about the short/ slow paces?"

One of the ways of letting leo know (and stop him going wide) is to slow down for 2 paces (not so noticeable you get pinged) , I reckon this will just about fix his problems. He is quite a big dog and needs time to get around. Here's how. Hear the judges signal, turn your body towards where you are going to go, early, and then do .one slower short pace body towards the corner, next step sort of "throw" the foot towards the corner then go around the corner. The best foot step diagrams is in Morgan Spector's book. Watch how you do it "naturally". You will do a body twist quite early. Most dogs really pick up on the body twist and love it!! Probably leaning towards the corner would be taken as "pushing the friendship" rules wise. You can help him understand the new cue by seeing what he does when you twist you body while standing still. Great cue for agility too.

Most judges expect you to take a bit of time and space to get round a corner.Good handling means helping your dog through using the rules to look good despite both of your limitations.

I have found that my little one loves flip finishes. I use them as motivational tools when we are doing open stuff. She gets to do them if she does an excercise really well. She really looks forward to them. I taught her by free shaping a jump to touch my hand., then a twist, then a sit. Took less time than the continental. It might be worth considering to help leo get through long ring routines if he finds it enjoyable. Some bigger dogs don't in which case it is not worth doing.

Also, he might get really cramped on a continental finish and you might need to work out different starting places for him, or a wider arc. I would not get my Lab to do a continental, but might have thought about a flip if he was sound.

As I have a small dog, I do not do a traditional finish. Small dogs get lost visually behind your legs while this happens!!

[leopuppy04]

*makes note that once home will check out Morgan spector for footwork*....

LOL - I can just imagine your little one getting lost 1/2 way through the continental....

I think Leo does like the flips - but then he loves the continental too.... anything that means he can wrap himself around my leg

This dog is MAD for obedience - loves it more than agility - but then I think that is coz his stoopid handler gets soo confused in agility