11-18-25

 Taylor Park


Seren’s theme was ‘fun with obstacles’. Had one article with food in it in the woods & one out in the open in addition to start & end

She did great with the obstacles & I think had fun doing them. She was very proud of figuring out the fence & wanted to play with passer-by dog, which she never does. Article in woods with food in it is better than food leading up to it, but still needs work. The leg next to the woods was difficult with the slope, but she handled it well. Checked but discarded an opening in the woods prior to the correct one. I liked her attitude 

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video: https://youtu.be/NJXuCSGX9mk?feature=shared


Dylan had a classic stairstep, with novel articles at start & legs 3 & 5, familiar one at end. Age 45 min

Start not great - was distracted by dog park & shelter across the street, but didn’t take him long to get to work. Still doesn’t down automatically at unfamiliar articles, but does so readily with verbal cue. Turns good



video: https://youtu.be/5NvIy0KuPlY?feature=shared 



Comments

  1. JenNovember 18, 2025 at 9:12 PM

    I love how you played out line at the start to get a strong commitment to leg and willingly followed thereafter. Beautiful turns! It's a hard to tell from this video if your whole body is turning towards the next leg or if it's just the GoPro/ head looking, but something to be mindful of. I agree with your plan for articles on next practice. Great job

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  2. JudiNovember 19, 2025 at 11:00 AM

    Lovely! I really like your track design—most dogs find obstacles ‘fun’ and she certainly did. And YOU didn’t turn and go through the playground (although I’ll be you thought about it, LOL). Think about ways to handle the distraction next time—I agree it’s uncharacteristic of her, but having a plan will help keep your nerves in check at a test. I’d consider calling her back to water and rescent…and pet…until the dog/distraction is gone. This isn’t just for her, but also for you! Really nice track, and very nice tracking! Keep the food in the article!

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  3. JudiNovember 19, 2025 at 11:25 AM

    I sorta love what you consider a ‘not great’ start—keep that standard high! I also love that you’re offering water at articles. You’re applying the principles from Seren (letting the line run being the biggest) and it’s really paying off. This is HIS job, and he knows it! Well done.

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  4. Anne (Mila)November 19, 2025 at 5:43 PM

    Nice! So many things I liked about that one - all the things you listed as three things done well AND your line handling! You played out before stepping away very nicely and you limited his options when he wanted to smell around a couple of times. Having the video was so helpful! And the start was quite nice compared to what I expected to see based on your description! If you track there again and set up the start in a similar location, you could always add some extra reinforcement food drops 35 yrds or so after the start flag to reward starting in a high distraction settings. Just an idea... Looked great!

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