Casey and I have not been trialling since May of last year. He did complete his Rally Novice title with high scores and two placements, earned a Rally Excellent leg (and placed!), and earned his first Companion Dog leg. My goal for this year is for us to give our best performance everytime we go into the ring and have a ball doing it. In the process I aim to complete his Rally Excellent and Companion Dog titles by November 30, 2010.
We have been taking it easy since May so I have decided to back up and start from scratch. This will allow me to benefit as a trainer from what I learned last year, and since it's material we covered last year we should get through it quickly. I intend to draw up a training plan and keep a training journal to keep me on track and record our progress. Last night Casey and I went over basic skills. His tuck sit is not quite what I'd like, so we'll work on that. We worked on finding heel position; he comes to heel position, c/t, reset. Down is good, fast, and on cue. I captured some good, square stands. We worked on coming to front using Susan Ailsby's ray and circle diagrams. I started using these after we'd started trialling last year and found them very helpful.
We will continue working on Casey's tuck sit. We'll walk a bit at heel position and practice holding heel position as I turn in place. We'll begin stay work with the down and practice down at heel position. We'll practice going into a stand from sit and down. We'll also go up a notch on the front diagrams.
I really don't think I need to start from scratch, but I think that it will be good for both of us to do so. If there are any holes that I missed last time they should show up quickly.
