Evenings in Carbondale, Colorado can quite literally be called the "dog days" for me lately. Blistering heat, a scorching, high-altitude sun and relentless deer flies can make dog training this time of the year a little monotonous at times. But if you want your dog ready for the fall, this is the time to get in all of the work that you can.
My younger dog is now 18 months old. She had plenty of fun puppy playtime and got lots of time to develop her prey drive and gain confidence. Earlier this spring she ran in her first field trial, placing a promising 1st place in Puppy and a 3rd place in Derby. She'll be running in several field trials in September and October, including the GSP Nationals Futurity. Now is the time to take her training to another level and let her know what is expected of her. She still gets plenty of fun playtime and exercise, but this usually comes after she has done her evening routine of dog training.
Here's some video footage of her first time on the whoa post shortly after we returned from our wedding in June. This is the first step in teaching her to stop solid when she feels stimulation at the point of contact around her flank. This will lay the foundation for later using her e-collar to make her stand. At this point I'm just teaching her the action without giving her any commands. Later, when she knows what is expected of her, I will overlay the command. In other words, I'll start to begin to use the words whoa. More on all of this later.
Too see the video with play-by-play captions Click Here.
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