Mac is now 21 weeks.
Heel work on a leash is woeful.
Heel work off a leash is 6 out of 10 but he is trying (very trying!)
I've been channeling Mac to encourage his game finding and hunting skills by throwing disc dummies and balls into long grass and covert and encouraging him to hunt and retrieve.
Mac's retrieving is coming on nicely. He is delivering everything to hand and he has stopping the larking around when he finds a ball etc. I do have to work hard to make sure he enjoys coming straight back to me whenever he picks something up.
I've been introducing him to left and right retrieves and short memory retrieves. I also throw in a few straight marked retrieves and a few blind retrieves just to keep him interested.
I've also introduced the stop command with the whistle.Basically, I peep the whistle before I setup a left, right or memory retrieve. I want to associate the stop whistle with good things.
I've also started to steady Mac to dummies by making him sit and wait while I throw dummies around him before picking them up myself.
I'm really pleased with him just now. He has tons of drive and loads of raw hunting ability.
I'm conscious of not putting him under pressure and I want to keep it fun so I tend to ignore the bad stuff and concentrate on the good things.
Happy days
