What we are up to!
Butch and Agir will be leaving this week for the 2006 FCI World Championship of Working Dogs. He will be the only Doberman team representing the USA!! Good Luck Butch and Agir, we wish you the best of luck.
Results can be seen here: http://www.fci2006.com/rezultati.aspx
Really need to get some sleep, but my entire night/day schedule is screwed up…. So….um….that is why I am still up but should really be in bed.
Cosmo: We made PROGRESS!!!! Just after I explained to everyone that Cosmo REFUSES to heal backwards and I was more than prepared for her to act like a retard, she decides to take a step backwards. OMG!!! Not only did she step backwards, but she stepped backwards in front of club members. Now I have witnesses!! Ok, ok; so it was crooked as hell and she was all out of position, but the fact that she stepped backwards with me multiple times left me with hope that she can in fact learn to heal backwards. Thank you Cosmo for making my day! Yeah for the special red girl who rode the short bus to school. I tracked Cosmo Friday night and guess what the little red demon did? She not only tracked a beautiful track, but she INDICATED the articles without reminding her. Now, I need to fix her position. She indicates, but tends to almost turn around waiting for her reward. One tip I have been given is to continuously switch sides that I reward her from so that she doesn’t turn predicting the side I will come from. Weekend training wrapped up with protection and Cosmo did well. It was a challenge for her because another dog was on the field and she had to focus on the decoy. At first she was more interested in telling the world to F*** off, but Butch did a great job making her focus on him. Once she realized she only got to bite when she was focused she didn’t let the other dog and handler distract her.
Jingo: Mike tracked Jingo Friday on the ever so crispy parade grounds. We had drove all over post looking for nice grass, but apparently Fort Meade doesn’t believe in watering the grass. So we settled on the parade field. Mike laid a long track with many legs and multiple articles. Jingo did a great job and remained focused throughout the track. At the end of the track, I tossed to Mike Jingo’s reward. Unfortunately he missed and the container hit the ground and exploded. Poor Jingo had to swift through the grass to claim his reward. I don’t know who was more ticked at me, Mike or Jingo. On Saturday, Mike and Jingo focused on the long down. Gun fire was used for the first time in months. The first time it fired, Jingo did his usual get up and run around. The e-collar did an amazing job of reminding Jingo where he needed to be. So we re-did the long down and fired multiple rounds. Jingo just let out a sigh and laid his head down like whatever. I hope this remains clear to him for his next trial. For protection, Mike and Jingo had a bunch of fun. They have been so focused on obedience during this phase that we went back to fun stuff to bring his motivation up. I think Jingo really enjoyed it. 
Just when I think Cosmo’s obedience is going really well, it takes a turn for the worse. The problem is I am trying to teach her to heal backwards and she is not getting it. It is so frustrating, but I remind myself that she did the same stuff when I taught her positions. She seems to focus more on fighting with me than what I am asking her to do. She puts on a big scene jumping, kicking, and rolling around. All I am using is hot dogs and a little pressure to make her step backwards, but she would rather flip over than step back. Damn dog!! I ended up with a welt on my hand after she bit me too. It wasn’t out of anger, but motivation if that makes sense. She is a freaking monster about food and if I don’t let go fast enough I will end up with my hand bitten. I think I may need a glove to wear in the future because I seriously don’t want to loose a finger. Can someone remind me why I do this again??? Oh, yeah because it is fun 
The good thing about Cosmo is once I establish the behavior, she never forgets. She is a very consistent/resilient dog, but I do find myself ripping my hair out at times.
A very fun weekend for Mike and I. We attended Butch Henderson’s training seminar and the protection tournament to help support his trip to Europe to compete with Agir. We didn’t have any dogs in the protection tournament, but I entered Cosmo in the fastest recall. I knew she was crazy and fast, but had no idea how fast she was. Using a radar gun, she clocked in at an amazing 38 mph down the field when called winning the competition. Go Miss Mo!!!!
We stayed after for a quick training session with Butch. I was very happy with Cosmo’s performance. She seems to have really grasped the bark and hold, aus, and revere. Not only did she put on a great performance, but it was on a new field with lots of distractions. I was very happy that she remained focused on the decoy and the task at hand.
So not only can she run fast, but bite hard!!! How fast can you run
It has been way to hot to do much of anything. I am working on teaching Cosmo to heel backwards. It isn’t going so well at the moment because she doesn’t seem to see walking backwards as an option. She would rather roll onto her back before she steps back. I believe part of this is due to the fact that she is in heat and getting funky on me. In the past she would at least hop backwards with me, but as of lately she would rather be dragged back. I think until it cools down, I am going to pause-x obedience or get up earlier to work on this.
Jingo: Well, I won’t comment on him either. Between the heat and Cosmo being in heat, he has lost his mind. He is back to tracking for food until he finds his motivation
