A mixed bag of a session today, Artemis did really well on some things and not so well on other things.

Heelwork

Started off with normal pace and then slow pace. Artemis was fine today.

Stays

Down stay

Whilst doing heelwork, the trainer then asked us to command our dogs to go down. And then to stay.

With the dogs still in a down stay, we then stood next to a different dog and did that a couple of more times until we got back to our own dog. Artemis did well here.

Sit stay

Next was a sit stay. I asked Artemis to heel but didn’t give her a treat as she often thinks that’s the end of the commands. So I asked her to heel and then asked her to wait.

The trainer then went around distracting the dogs with treats. A treat was placed in front of Artemis and she just went for it and ate it!

I went back to Artemis’ side, the trainer put another treat in front of her, Artemis was about to lift her bum off the ground to go for the treat, I said “uh”, and she stopped dead in her tracks! I was so impressed!

I then continued to walk away and walk around, repeating “good wait” and Artemis remained in her almost bum off the ground position but she kept her eyes on me and not the treat.

When it was time to praise and release, I gave Artemis a treat, and then of course she went for the treat on the ground.

Off lead heelwork

Next up was off lead heelwork, which is usually a lot harder. The trainer advised I stand up tall and keep my treat hand close to Artemis’ nose. If she starts to sniff around on the floor too much then get her attention back on me.

We were walking quite slowly, as Artemis was sniffing the ground a lot so the other dogs and owners walking quicker overtook us frequently. Then Artemis saw one owner get treats out and she wanted to go to that person, I yelled “Artemis come” and she came running back towards me. The trainer said that’s the kind of voice I need for send away work.

I was experimenting with different treats and I think I’ve noted a couple of the really good treats that grab her attention – at least for a little while. Off lead heelwork is definitely harder work!

A recall

I asked Artemis to heel, then wait. I then walked down the field and back again, walked around the perimeter and called Artemis to heel, stretching out my left hand.

I couldn’t see Artemis running to my left, but heard the trainer say “yes she’s running to you”, then when I asked her to sit she went in the down position. I then asked her to sit and she sat fine.

So the recall element is fine, just the finish will need some finessing.

Positions

The positions today were: sit, down, sit, and then stand.

We also tried down and stand only.

This session I was foot to paw with Artemis and a few times her paws were on my toes. The trainer said next time I can give some more distance.

Stand was ok, I had to say “stand”, to which Artemis did indeed stand, and then say “wait” straight after so that she wouldn’t sit back down again. I tried to give her a treat in the stand position so that she knows to stay standing for a treat.

Though oftentimes when we’re practising at home I usually follow stand with a sit command, so that is probably why she wants to sit straight after standing, in anticipation of the next command.

Hold and retrieve

Artemis did not want to hold the tube. This time I threw it and she did run towards the tube and I moved it about to grab her attention, but ultimately she didn’t hold it.

The trainer believes it’s because we’ve told her not to pick things up from the ground before, so she doesn’t know that it’s ok to do it.

The trainer advised to continue practising close work in the garden, then to move outside out and about to increase distractions. The close work being ask Artemis to heel, have the tube in front of her, have her hold the tube and guide her to come sit in front of me to give the tube back. We will see how that goes.

Conclusion

I was super impressed by Artemis when I managed to get her to leave a treat, though it was after she had already eaten a treat before!

A recall was good, apart from the finish at the end, but that was easy to correct.

Positions was also pretty good, though that is something quite easy that we often practise at home.

As usual, it’s the hold and retrieve that we are having slow progress on. Much work still needs to be done on that one.