Hoot had some huge milestones as far as puppyhood goes. At the start of life with us Hoot had several self-control issues (not unlike almost every puppy). But there are a few that I needed her to overcome before others. Ones that involve safety first and next, ones that involve being able to live in the pack well.
- Recall - This will always be reinforced, but I am proud to say that Hoot has earned my trust. On our daily jogs she can/will now come to me. She fights off the desire to herd Tangle successfully. Her recall has been tested while camping, at Cynosport, jogging, in our front yard, and off of the agility field. She has control of her demons and can come when called :)
- Stay - She has had a beautiful stay for a while. But within the last month she has been able to stay at the agility gate, the opening to all things fun, until I release her. First it started that she would stay, but not without having a seizure. Now she can actually sit fairly still and wait.
- Stay while the other dogs are running. This is still a work-in-progress, but I expect it to be. Right now Hoot can stay if I am doing semi-boring things with the other dogs. One jump skills, just the tunnel, that kind of thing.
Extension to collection work - we started off working this drill and it was kind of like the kids game "pick-up sticks". Any place she had to collect coming out of extension the bar would go down and perhaps the wing too. Just way too much for her. So I got smart, broke down all the skills, practiced them one by one and within a week this was our progress. Super proud of how quickly she figures it out. I am still running rather conservatively, but the aggressive handling will come. Notice that she complains when I ask her to collect after some extension. Slow is not her preferred speed.
