Just where does the time go? Since my last post Steeler and I have been busy. We had an APDT Rally trial at the end of August. Steeler was entered in his first Level 2 run - which is off leash. I entered him in a level 1 and level 2 run that morning. Neither run was very pretty. :-) He's never been up to All Dogs Gym before and while he did great hanging out in his crate and hanging out ringside with me - when he got in the ring he was totally distracted! ARGH!!!! The level one run was first and is on leash - so I wasn't sure what I should do for his level 2 run. Well his level two run wasn't pretty either and I ended up putting the leash back on so he couldn't practice things that I don't want him to do - but he didn't leave the ring and we had a few moments of being connected. In thinking about it and talking about Steeler's propensity to be distracted in new environments with some training friends - we have a new training plan. :-) Poor Steeler - I keep changing the rules of the game with him. More on that in the coming days. We have a couple more weeks of working on things before we are entered in another APDT rally trial - 2 level 1 runs and 2 level 2 runs .... sometimes I think I am completely nuts - but the only way I know how to work through some of the anxiety related behavior is to actually enter trials and deal with the anxiety. I really think that my anxiety levels are much lower than they used to be, but with all the practice that Steeler and I have had where we enter the ring and disconnect because of my nerves and his concern about the environment around him it is just going to take some time for us to find a way to remain connected in the ring.
We've been working on some agility stuff too. We've been doing some of the things that we explored at the Julie Daniels Seminar, and we are working on a new way to teach rear crosses after our instructor went to a seminar a few weekends ago.
Just for kicks I took Steeler Lure Coursing on Sunday. What a hoot! He had a blast! He lost the lure on the first run - the grass/weeds were kind of long, but his second run he had that game figured out! Here's some video for you entertainment.
