Disappointing Practice

Had a tough practice last night. Wyatt had trouble with the jumps, leaving too early and hitting the jump twice in a row. We backed him up and he did better. Some folks thought he needed 2 strides before the jump. I am not sure. He just seems to misjudge jumps once in while but I am going to try giving him some more room.

He also went down right away on the out of sight sit when we all left (including the "judge".) Going to ask the judge to stay by next time in case he needs a little reminder. She also suggested working spefically on the beginning part when everyone leaves. I came back and set him up again and he did fine. I suggested to the teacher that she check out the difference in our dog dogs during the sit. She saw what I see - how Wyatt's conformation really makes sits and downs difficult though I know he CAN do it. I am also going to have the teacher treat him randomly during the sits and downs. This was the first time I stayed out of the room the whole time without doing a lot of peeking and letting him see me.

He also came up 3 times during the down. This, I believe, is related to a cold/discomfort issue. I am going to put something under him when we do the out of sight down at practice until it is warmer and until we get the sit. At home, I work on both so I will do an out of sight with him on something and do an in sight with him right in front of me so I can fix any problems. Well, I guess I have a baseline to from anyway.

I should try to remember the good parts too - great heeling with almost no lagging and a perfect broad jump and a really good retrieve on flat. The teacher, who is an AKC judge, said I should substitute our other dog (who looks similar to those that don't know them) for the sits and downs. He was rock solid last night. I could not tell if she was kidding or not; she seemed serious! But obviously I would rather get him trained to do it himself. He is so good at everything else though and doing a lot of utility. I sure hope I can get him through this!