Happy birthday, Exercise Finished!

Exercise Finished was one year old yesterday! I had no idea what I was doing when I started this blog a year ago but it’s been a lot of fun and I’ve met a lot of great people. And I still don’t know what I’m doing.

One year ago, I was getting psyched for Phoenix to debut in Novice obedience. Now he is 10 days from his AKC Open debut. He got his U-CDX last fall but that admittedly wasn’t our best teamwork and I have high hopes for brighter performances this spring. He’s grown up, my understanding of what he needs from me as a trainer has improved and our relationship has strengthened. The journey continues.

He has a solid understanding of the individual exercises. At least I think he does. (I’ll write about proofing some time. Proofing a mal is something like throwing a lit match on gasoline. You asked for it.) Group stays remain a weak spot although they have gotten tremendously better and we keep working them constantly. I suspect that may be the story of our lives. Phoenix simply does not appreciate being left behind. He wants to go where I go.

Probably my biggest training hurdle with Phoenix is making the exercises challenging enough to keep his mind engaged but not so difficult he can’t succeed, while at the same time building precision and maintaining attitude. It’s like juggling four balls in the air when normally I have to focus really hard just to catch one. Nix learns quickly but then it’s like, “Okay, I get it, now what are we going to do?” Not a dog you want to train by drilling. He is without a doubt both the easiest and most difficult dog I have trained.

Here is my serious obedience dog demonstrating his single minded serious focus in the motel room in Des Moines last weekend.