Class content was better than I expected. Birdie did great, so proud of her! ♥ I took a blue mat and worked on ‘place’ from the get go. Same game we play at night in the living room – It Pays to Park Your Arse.
Sarah taught focus, release, getting into heel position and mentioned holding collars as we released the puppies twice for off-lead playtime. I expressed reticence but gave it a go. There were 4 puppies counting Birdie, none over 16 weeks and one mostly her size. One puppy was a bit of a bully, but Sarah was great about interrupting and removing that puppy in an appropriate manner. She interpreted canine body language throughout playtime. Birdie handled it with confidence and grace.
Curious that Sarah introduced herself as a ‘balanced trainer’ who uses both +R and -R. I didn’t argue that -R was actually +P. 😉 And prefers Martingale collars.She said to tell her, as we introduced ourselves, if +R was important. So I did.
First lesson was focus; reward when puppy looks at you. Second was ‘stay’…not really as she prefers to teach a release rather stay. That lines up perfectly with the first Glue lesson (teaching a release cue). I’m not keen on working Birdie in heel position. Sarah seemed pretty firm, asking me if I wanted her to walk nicely when she’s out and about. Well, ya! But stuck to my side isn’t my criteria. We’ll see how long I can get away with Parkour style Focus and Follow.
It was a gamble when I signed up. Plus we’re missing 2 of the 6 classes…maybe 3 depending on when Zopa and I are done with our run at the SCWTCD trial August 7th. It is what it is.
