obedience video - Page 1

Hey everyone, just playing around with one of my xmas presents and took some video of us doing a little Ob. What do you all think of everything you see and any tips on making it better. I have not worked this dog much due to the fact that there's only 24 hours in a day. I'm hoping to do her Bh this fall. Thank you in advance for your comments.

Melissa

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vCN4A6gAS8

That's a nice dog Melissa .You are doing a good job.The dog looks to be happy to give it its all and it definitely is enjoying it's self good luck,have fun.

Hi Melba,
This is ONLY my opinion, so please take it as you please. I see a dog with ample drive to work, and she clearly enjoys working with you.
The biggest things I see from this video are the following: I don't think your dog truly understands the correct position. You give SOOO much handler help, and yet she still rarely gets in the correct position at a finish, and sometimes during heeling. You only make right turns and about turns, partly I think because she is too far infront.
The second thing is, it looks to me like this dog only stays with you because you always have the ball at your chest, and she sees it. If you walk with your hand in a normal position would she continue to be focused? Would she make it through a routine with your hand in a natural position? You give her the ball so frequently, that she doesn't have to work very hard.
I don't know how old she is, or how much experience she has, but if you are planning for a BH soon, it looks to me like she needs to work for longer periods of time before a reward. With that will probably bring the need for leash corrections.
All in all, I think she shows super potential.
Good luck with her, and keep us posted.
Candy

I gotta get my camera out if people are going to keep offering up advise like that. 

Thank you for the input. We have not been working that long, like I said, in my spare time... ha ha ha, who has spare time? At least it's warm where I'm at. haley is coming up on 4 years old next month I believe. This so far has been purely motivational off leash work. She is in the beginning stages of understanding what I want, her previous owners did nothing with her. She did come house trained, that's gotta count for something :) Yes she does rush, and that is exactly why no left turns, but I didn't realize until I watched the video that I had not done any. Thank you again, I come here to make myself better, so please bring on the constructive critcism!!!

melissa

ocoey,
If you are refering to my post, maybe you'd like to give it a try. In case you didn't notice, I was not offering advise. I was making observations based on an 8 min video with very little actual information. I gave my opinions, like was asked. Perhaps you would have preferred " Awesome! Looks perfect!"

Candy 

Oh boy, you misunderstood what I meant Candy.  I was being sincere.  I know a little rare around here.  I thought your post was great, wish there were more like it...honest!

ocoey,

Boy, I did get my panties in a bunch. How embarassing. Sorry. I did misunderstand. There is so much crap on this database, and I thought I was being attacked for giving my 2 cents. By the way, since I see new info from Melissa, it is clear Melissa has started some nice training.
Candy

Not to worry.  Santa brought me a very nice little digial video camera....now, can do I have the patience to figure it out?  

Melissa,

Just a thought, try moving your ball to your left hand and tuck it into your hip, the other position you can put the ball into is tucked up under left armpit, both of these positions should pull the dog back and reduce the leading as you do have good attention and drive. The other advantage to this change in location is it will allow you to straighten up your posture and walk with a stride that will have the dog trot beside you, also the dog will be better positioned to pickup your body cues for healing speed, left, right and about turns.   

If you are working on this without help of a trainer you may want to consider purchasing Ring Ready by Marie Sawford, Marie owns the  Companion Dog Training school here in southern Ontario, she has written a number of books on obedience and magazine articles, her focus is on CKC/AKC/Rally obedeince but the principles can be applied to a dog that will compete in Schutzhund.  I would recommend Ring Ready, An Obedience Handbook by Marie, this book is a step by step guide on obedience and provides correction to most problems you might encounter.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=marie+sawford&x=10&y=23

Right about now I wish I lived in a warmer climate, it is difficult to train with temperatures around -20 degrees Celcius with a wind chill below -30, and a lot of snow makes for limited training locations.

Best of luck with the training, your GSD looks like a happy healthy girl and she enjoys the work.