First, a quick update on the health situation. He's fie. Sunday was scary, but by the time I got him back home, he was drinking up a storm and acting like his normal self. We have an appointment with a holistic vet tomorrow where we will discuss physical issues (exercise, etc to keep him healthy and limber) and I will ask their advice about tick treatment.
He rocked agility class tonight! It's so much fun to see him work the contact obstacles. But where we struggle is on focus and things like stays. My trainer and I are having a disagreement about that. I, personally, am unclear on what she wants me to be doing, so I should probably clear that up next week. He's being asked to hold a stay longer than I know that he can without being reinforced, so I may just have to take that into my own hands. But I also need to start working him on some focus exercises and see if I can improve that. I did sign up for a Fenzi class on Focus, but tried doing too many things at once that semester. So I am going to try picking that back up now. And I am in a Fitness class as well, so that is being good for me teaching him new skills.
So... one of the things that the Focus group asks is to define what we mean by "lack of focus". Based on the examples given, here are the areas I want to work on:
1. High natural activity level. He wants to be moving and doing things. All the time. Staying still in one spot is really really hard for him. Hence my problem with things like sit stays.
2. High interest in the environment. He finds a lot of things very interesting. Extremely interested in scents, and fast moving objects. Which is part and parcel of always wanting to be moving... there's so much to see and sniff and explore!
3. Making training more fun and interesting. I have a hard time making myself more interesting than the environment.
Here is some video of the first focus exercise, Rapid fire Treats (RFT). The idea is to create a strong emotional connection with Rigger.
And, just to be complete, here is video of the second week of Fitness exercises:
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