HOCK WITH DISTRACTION and DAY 40

This is a video, taken last week, of Crosby (red collar on my left) and Rad hocking next to the horse as we pass a house with loose, barking dogs. Usually when I pass this house, the dogs come running out after me. On this day, they stayed on their own property and just barked. Crosby and Rad were very good dogs, and remained at hock. Crosby is totally off-leash in this video. He is wearing a choke collar with a "tab" attached (a piece of rope). At a Road Trial, Crosby will be expected to remain at hock while we pass a hiker with a leashed dog.

DAY 40: (Friday, Oct. 10, 2009): We walked this morning in the COLD. FRIGID would be more precise. It was 12 ° this morning when we walked. That’s right, TWELVE. And windy! Crosby handled it just fine. His tail carriage was good throughout the walk, so he was not particularly bothered by it. I didn’t ride until afternoon. The temp was up to about 28 by then. I took Crosby out by himself (so he doesn’t always cue off of Rad).

Today was a “maintenance” day, where my goal for mileage was to keep him in shape, but not do too much. He was a good boy. He still doesn’t understand the sit-stay. I think he has a “clock” inside his head, and he expects a treat or reward within about 50 seconds. When he doesn’t get that reward, he thinks he’d better try something else. I’m sure he is thinking, not just “disobeying”. He’s used to “asking for it”, so when I tell him to stay, and he stays for a while, but then he doesn’t get a treat right away, he begins to wonder if maybe he’s not doing the right thing, and he tries something else, to see if that will get him the treat. So I have to “reset” that clock in his head, to about TWO MINUTES.

We practiced “on the ground” stays again today. Not the classic type, but stays with distractions. As soon as I put him in the stay, then I begin to walk around, wave my arms, make meowing sounds, bark, kick my legs, etc. Anything that might make him wonder. Then, if he moves, I put him back in the sit-stay. This helps him understand that the “stay” means “forever” (or at least until I TELL him to get up… no matter what happens). This is very important for the RD sit. If the horse fidgets, or moves around, the dog must still stay (unless the dog is in danger of being stepped on). Today when I was practicing moving around and making noise during Crosby’s stay, I found that Crosby could stay through about everything – EXCEPT if I sat down. When I drop to the ground, Crosby drops! So let’s just hope I can stay on the horse. Then Crosby should be fine!

MILEAGE: 4