Originally Posted by
TuMicks
During the morning, they ran young (9 months or so) dogs on single T. Mr. Hillmann asked me to run RD so he could see her whistle sit. I was dreading this because she takes several steps after the whistle and swings her butt to starboard as she turns to look at me. However, Hillmann says she's doing about as well as a really fast, leggy dog can do, making a genuine effort to stop. He also had me give her a late whistle to see if she would stop once she had a full head of steam, and she did even though she ended up 3' from the pile.
Clouds began to break up today and we managed a set of water marks. It was a re-entry (or up-and-over). I screwed her up on the short diversion mark, so they had me repeat the double. She is a water fanatic, and so she really, really wanted to creep. Consequently, they had me use a rope looped about her neck, with a knot in it at about the right spot to fit her neck so it couldn't choke her. Told me to give a brisk jerk and say "heel" using the left foot thing again. (Remember, this is a 4 year old dog, so it's not like they are suggesting to jerk around a puppy who hasn't gotten these lessons down yet. Not a teaching tool.)
Oh, a hysterical thing... Mr. Hillmann pointed out that I use way too much hand motion, for just about everything. He said I was acting like a Golden owner! (What a low blow!!!)
One more thing about the squeaks. Though Hillmann said the noise itself was not unacceptable, he pointed out today that she's literally saying... "Shut up. I have other things on my mind." So, rather than keep saying "Quiet" over and over, I should give her other things to think about. Like following my left leg forward and back.
It's becoming more and more clear that the dog's problem is her handler!