10-15-23

 Closed church near home. 55degrees, 15mph wind, clear sky but track ~1/2 in shade. Track laid 9:50 & aged 25 minutes. Short damp grass with an area of broken asphalt with lots of grass growing in it. Track put in 10 yard wide alley between back of church building & a brushy, viney hedgerow.

Goal was to sharpen Seren’s down at article skills. Followed outline as listed in the training exercises section. Used 4 fabric, 2 leather, 2 plastic, & 2 metal articles. I fed after each down (while still down), which I don’t normally do.

First pass down the line she was down almost before I could get the word out, except for one that she missed due to catching scent of some yummy poop in the hedgerow. I also missed that one due to sort-kinda forgetting about it while trying to get her out of the poop, which appeared to have come from a Great Dane. On the second pass she decided that some of the articles were more fun to play with than my treats were fun to eat & after the down she snatched them up & I had difficulty regaining possession. By the third pass she clearly knew where the articles were & just skipped #s 8&9 to get to #10 which she knew the rules said she could play with, but she did lie down nicely for 1-7, & at 10.

I will have to think of a modification for this game for my smart-ass dog. Maybe 3 separate rows of articles so that I can pick up each one after she indicates it.

Question for Judi - at a TDX or VST, what happens if the dog steals one of the intermediate articles before  the handler has it in her possession? Are you allowed to reel the dog in with your line & take it, or do you have to have a betting recall than I do?