Training, Walking, and the Clicker

Long time no post. Sepp and I haven't been to training in a while because our decoy was injured and then I had a massive horse vet bill to pay off so we've had a ridiculously long break!

All of that changes this upcoming Wednesday - we're schedule for training at 3:30pm. I can't wait! I am going to talk to the trainer more about our goals. I worry that without being in a club we will never be able to trial, I need to work on more tracking [we don't do it enough]. He's going to be 5yrs old this year and I'm wondering what the reality is that I will be able to title him. Like, maybe we should just try personal protection? We'll see what she says.

In other news we've been walking more! We've gone several times on my lunch break and this morning I actually got up to go to the gym but felt unmotivated so I took all of the dogs for a walk instead. It was nice to get out and I know they really enjoyed it. It was also nice because the distractions were limited and so was the traffic. I can control all three dogs, but it's nice to be out when it's quiet and not much is going on. I'm lucky I live in a decent neighborhood but even if I didn't, I don't think anyone would harass me with the three dogs! I'm feeling it in my triceps tonight, I generally don't let the dogs pull too hard, but I do let them walk ahead and they pull a little bit. Sometimes they shift around so I would have two in one hand, particularly Seth and Sepp so it was a good arm workout!

Also-

I'm going to get a clicker. My horse is having to have some time off from riding and if I can't ride I'm going to teach her to fetch, or do an equally awesome trick. I've been considering getting a clicker for a while just to make marking behaviors easier. I'm anxious to try it with the dogs as well - I think it would be really beneficial for Seppel. It isn't that he is stupid or slow, I have taught him tricks and he learned quickly, but his mindset is definitely different than Seth's. It's hard to judge because Seth is further along in obedience, but it's been harder for me to teach things to Seppel. I just feel like he doesn't always catch on as well, he's easily distracted and I also think he just gets bored. He's just a different dog. I think it's time to branch out and try something new!