Morgan's Training

It seems I'm always starting over with Miss Morgan. I've pulled her from all obedience and rally competition because she just was not getting any better. Nothing brought it home more clearly than showing to a judge I showed to a year ago and having her do the same thing she did a year ago with no obvious improvement.  I am retraining but am seriously thinking of retiring her from competition.  I would like for her to be a happy worker but if she maintains her cluelessness in the ring, then what is the use? 

Anyway, I got some good advice from a couple of different sources. The people I've trained with previously are now showing their dogs in Open and Utility.  Morgan hasn't gotten her first novice leg yet :(  Anyway, we did some training with about turns, left turns, etc. to put in whenever she gets out of position.  She forges everywhere except on the slow (where she is in heel position) and fast (where she lags--go figure).  That was working very well.  I took some things from Michael Ellison about getting the dog to back up and that has worked with her as well. I am also teaching heel position and flip finishes. She falls apart on the first halt.  I think it is because she isn't paying attention and that is part of it but the other part is that she hasn't learned that she is supposed to pay attention. I have a lot of proofing to do.  I learned something very disturbing a few weeks ago and that is that Morgan NEVER looks at me.  I want her to look at me in the obedience ring when she never does it anywhere else. So now I'm retraining watch me.  AT ALL TIMES.  It is a slow, slow process. 

I went to a seminar last weekend and learned how I can use food to get that attention in a rather unique way.  I am carrying the food bowl and letting her eat out of it when she looks at me, when she gets in heel position and when I ask her to do anything -- sit, down, front, whatever.  I think that is going to go a long way in solidifying to her what it is she is supposed to be doing.  I think one of my biggest mistakes with her is to think she knows something when she really doesn't.  It was all a lucky guess. Again, I need to make sure she knows stuff with more proofing. DUH!

I put together goals for the first part of summer for each dog yesterday. Morgan's goals are: attention training. Finish sequence that we learned in seminar, finish weave pole training, finish salo jump tape.  Before I do jumping, though, I am going to have the vet look at her back. I'm seeing tremors in her legs when she sits and I'm not liking that.

I would like to show Morgan at our agility trial in June but I'm not pressuring either of us for that.  If she is ready and we are having fun in training, we'll go for it.