We started with getting better videos for Gimme's AKC Intermediate trick title. She has completed the requirements, but we haven't received confirmation from AKC yet.
I was prepared to follow her and put the leash back on at first, but didn't need to. She did start to wander, but came back right away when I called her.
Heeling w/distractions video - Gimme is so drawn to any prop. You know my girl - she's not convinced I have any reason to be the boss of her. Thus she's prone to making her own decisions about what comes next. It's been an issue her whole life. We should work on this more often, eh.
Sidepass into dog video - I'm trying to remember to cue her by stepping my far leg behind the near leg (toward her). It's still a work in progress. I wish I'd had a clicker, but it's one of the things I hadn't gotten back in the van yet. Still she showed improvement. It's probably too soon to be attaching a cue, but I just couldn't help myself.
Center-front pivot video - As usual it takes several tries to remind Gimme to stick with our center-front pivot, i.e. not turn it into "otto". Next time I think I should start going clockwise first, hoping to give her a hint about what behavior we are doing. I did find it helps if I maintain strong eye contact with her.
Backing in heel video - She started out really well, especially since this is the side where she is most likely to turn it into "otto". I think making the first iteration just one or two steps helped a lot. We even got a little backing in heel without a foot target - big progress.
"Fanny" video - I started with tossing treats and having her find "fanny". We haven't done this in awhile, so it took her a little bit to remember how it worked. We need to put some time into this.
"Otto" & "izzy" variations video - Gimme does better with "otto" than with "izzy" - no big surprise. I think I should use the guides to help her learn "izzy" variations, though breaking it down to smaller pieces worked well. Even with "otto", Gimme got uncertain the second time if I did the same pivoting the opposite direction variation twice. If I broke it up with straight-multiple "otto", then she was fine.
"Scoot" video - I'd like to straighten her "scoot"; she tends to angle to my right. Her normal tendency is to do just the opposite in other behaviors, so I don't know why we get the opposite here. I think I want to try using a foot target and clicking when she hits it, starting with very short bits of "scoot".
"Cane" & "orbit" video - She remembered the meaning of "cane" and "orbit", but tends to stop listening to what I'm saying and just repeats it if she hears anything. I wonder if I should use her name when I'm giving her a different cue, to get her attention and hopefully her listening ears.
Distance behavior video - I'd planned to teach Gimme to back to the matt and then spin, but she decided she wants to "scoot" instead. The requirement is to back from center 4 steps and then perform a distance behavior. We were actually backing 5 steps, so all we have to do is fade the matt and work on reliable performance. I saw the "back" getting lower and lower, morphing to "scoot", so I'll also need to practice the two parts separately. I absolutely have to have the clicker so I can mark when she's backing upright and before she turns to look at the foot target. This is an advanced behavior, so we have plenty of time to work on it.
We've also been working on the backward weaves at home, another advanced behavior. It's starting to come together.
We have two more RFE video events this year. I will enter the one in November. She'll be in the worst part of her false pregnancy, so won't enter the one in December. We just need one more leg for Intermediate, which I hope to get in November... then we'll need some time getting our Advance behaviors together.
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