Brown Noser
I have really enjoyed Maddie turning four months. The last week or so, she has been a lot more fun in training. Her food motivation (the most important trait to me) has really improved. She has gotten much pushier and eager about the treats.
I normally use very high value treats because I like for my hounds to feel well rewarded and to give them a reason to work harder. But Maddie seems to see no difference between steak and dog food... so I have been training with dog food. And she is training great for dog food and is very pushy! I've also manipulated her meals so they are not so predictable and regular. She eats a chicken neck or two when the big guys eat and then the bulk of her calories come in training and/or away from the house. It has made a huge difference. Maddie is so much more engaging and interested in what I want to do now.
I took a lot more video of Maddie training this week. Here is a video of her doing all sorts of things. Targets, pivots on balance disc and on the flat, and basic obedience.
And if you are not bored yet of watching Maddie train, here is another one. Utility is the highest level of obedience with go outs (dog is sent to the other end of the ring and has to sit and then is directed over a jump and back to the handler) and scent articles (dog has to find the article in a pile of articles with the handler's scent on it) being very difficult exercises. I really hope to do Utility with Maddie in a few years so it never hurts to start introducing them to these two difficult exercises.
.jpg)
