# Head spinning, but progress!



## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

Sounds like you found a fantastic trainer. What a great opportunity to train with all smaller dogs. If you want to pass along any tips you picked up I would love to hear them  Sounds like Vasco is excelling; I can see why you are proud of him. It is amazing how far you can come in a short time when you have someone who really gets dogs as a trainer. Are you going to have more sessions with her?


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## minipoodlelover (Jul 25, 2011)

"Kind and positive competitive obedience" sounds like the right approach to me. "Finding the right motivation" is also so much better than negativity.

Kudos to Vasco for being such a trooper!

I would also very much like to hear any tips you think would be helpful.


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## JE-UK (Mar 10, 2010)

The most amazing thing for me is how suggestions for tiny tweaks from an eagle-eyed trainer can make a huge difference. We've been working obedience in our local pet training club for 18 months now, and Vasco loves the work and is good at it, but there is zero emphasis on precision. 

Stepping our game up now feels like totally the right thing; we've been getting complacent!

Things we are working on:

- Looking at the dog. Bad handler! I need to get my head up and stride out more in our heelwork. Tough for me, but definitely makes a difference. "Trust that the dog will be with you."

- Footwork. Me again. I make my about turns WAY too swingy and don't give the dog a fair chance to stay with me. 

- Distinguishing between a "wait" (meaning stay until I call you to me) and a "stay" (I'm coming back to you). I use "stay" for both, so need to retrain this.

- Getting him heeling MUCH closer than we are used to. Practicing 3 or 4 steps of this at a time. Advice from Maria for competition to let his coat get very long so the fluff will disguise it if he comes off my leg :smile:.

- Foot placement on the recall. I always put my feet in a slight V, to pull him in. Apparently, this can make the present look crooked, so I'm to change to slightly duck footed.

- Footwork again! When stepping out with the dog to heel, lead with the left foot. When leaving the dog in a stay, step with the right. Body language to make it easier for the dog to understand what's being asked.

As usual, Vasco learns amazingly fast and I am the laggy, thick one in the partnership!


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