Summer heat has finally arrived and this weekend is predicted to hit the upper 90’s and possibly 100, which pushes my evening training sessions back a little later. It also means that yard work consumes our time as things dry out, and with 4 acres and a 40×60 foot garden, training is very limited.
I resumed obedience training Tuesday night with Elvis, working on “heel”. It’s been several weeks – maybe even a month – since I actually devoted time to it. Elvis took a few minutes to catch on after the layoff, but Dakota helped a great deal by following us around the yard heeling herself.
Thursday night I worked with Elvis again, and after about 10 minutes of doing well with the “power bar” method, I unleashed him and he did quite well heeling.
Yesterday morning was more swimming. The river has dropped about 6 feet over the past several weeks and that’s where I took Dakota -having to swim in the river’s current gives her a more intense workout. After half-an-hour of swimming, I took her home and returned to the gravel pit ponds with Elvis and Sophie. Elvis still needs encouragement but once he begins swimming, does well. He began losing interest after a while and may have been getting chilled, so we called it a day.
Tags: bird dog training, exercising dogs, obedience training
