Ryder Bootcamp: Day One

Yesterday was the puppy three year birthday.  I met up with Luke's owner and we went for a lovely walk along the river.  The dogs always have a great time with her pack.  It's peaceful and enjoyable.  After she had Luke show off some of his agility skills.  She took the time to do some agility games with Ryder.  He had lots of fun and has decided she's his new favorite person!

There are no agility classes starting until November so I'll be relying on her expertise to teach him new skills until then.  Based on his behaviour I've been giving him minimal herding work and today started him on agility Bootcamp.

We worked on targets.  I used a plastic lid and every time he nosed it I gave him a treat.  It was great seeing his tail wag.  Next we did hand targets.  I held out my hand and waited for him to nose it.  When he touched it I gave him a treat.  I made sure to use both sides.

After working on targets I switched to toys to figure out his favorite toys.  In order his favourites are: flying squirrel, boomerang, tug rope, holey ball.

We next went outside where I had him work on the foundation for dig.  We lined up at a tree and if he went around it he got the flying squirrel.  He prefers being on my right side so I need to work on getting him comfortable on the left side.  He is starting to catch on.  I had to bump him onto his feet a few times as he was convinced he could stare the toy into his mouth.

We finished with a fun game of fetch.  He took his waiting turn so Diva could also get in on the action.  Overall, it was a good start.  I was pleased with how eager he was.  My goal is to maintain this enthusiasm.