Heeling under distractions
The basis of IPO centers around obedience, and heeling is one of the most important exercises as well as being plain beauty in motion of a canine human team. The obedience routine involves heeling through the whole exercise, as well as the protection routine. To have a dog who can heel focused in any environment shows great self control, and dedication to their handler.
Raina in a platz
I’m a dog trainer, but i’ve never been a dog trainer who really LOVED teaching obedience. I usually took on the behavioral cases the more challenging canines because i liked the adventure it took me on and i loved watching the dog transform. Now, my dogs have obedience training and all the dogs i teach must have a good foundation of obedience but i never thought i would really enjoy teaching strict competition level obedience.
WELL THAT CHANGED!!!!!!!!
A. It’s necessary fact of life, my dogs already have great obedience why not prove it a bit?
B. It’s wonderful to teach more then just fun tricks and real life skills, obedience routines are an amazing area to perfect a relationship.
C. I like to stay busy?????? ( Please excuse the question marks, sometimes i think i’m nuts)
D. It is FUN!!!!!
I never had anything against competition obedience, i just seemed to focus my training in other venues. This summer however my goal is to get both Abby and Raina obedience titled. This means major focus on their heal, finish, and drop out of motion obedience commands. The commands are less used in everyday life (hence the reason i never really focused on them) but do complete the obedience routine nicely. Both will compete for their BH (Begleithund) which is the precursor for all Schutzhund work. Neither will compete in schutzhund, as they are both SAR certified already and i personally do not wish to mix the two but i figure why not expand my training in knowledge into yet another area?? That is what good dog trainers DO!!!!!!
Keep an eye out for more posts on their training and success during this adventure.
With over a dozen dogs milling about some sleeping, some chewing on bones and others scoping out what to do next you can see what a stable, calm pack can look like. These dogs range from my 6 pound chihuahua to my 65 pound high drive working shepherds all living happily in the same pack. My work as a dog behaviorist and dog trainer has allowed me to manage an ever changing pack of dogs. It is not as simple as throwing a bunch of dogs into a backyard, you must be able to communicate effectively with your dogs and have a solid foundation set in your training methods. This is not something made for TV, this is real life, this is MY life.
Elite Instinct K9 Training 