It was really nice to see so many of you get into the Two Bowls Game! Thanks to @Ave Paasuke for that - it was fun to revisit - and for tagging me to take up the mantle this week. Here is a reverse orbit - the dog circles around you whilst you stand stationary. Start by having them sit in heel position and lure them backwards around your body. If your dog has never gone backwards in a straight line then I would recommend looking at that first. If they all struggle some hind end awareness with a pivot bowl or platform would really help you. I purposefully didn't clean up the vid too much, because you might run into the same issues- I had some confusion with her guessing I wanted position changes and so she got a little stuck. Just chuck the treat to reset and try again. I've clearly also taught her to sit with her right hind splayed out like some kind of chicken drummer so make sure you don't teach yours that. It's very ugly 🤦‍♀️https://youtube.com/shorts/zMfqZDJkWQg?si=8FGgCt2jUeSUySjg Reward the smallest try and in a different place each time.

Well, it's a special weekend this week as it's Easter. What are you getting up to?

Obedience classes for both dogs, with Kairo on Tuesday and Amigo on Wednesday. Kairo was super clever and passed 2 more tests towards her Intermediate Obedience Certificate. Plus, we demonstrated her orbit and came 2nd in the emergency stop competition (although she would’ve been 1st without the boing into the down!) Amigo was equally good tonight, helping everyone else with their tests since he passed all of his a long time ago. His heelwork was excellent and he did the world’s speediest send away!

So many things to teach and so little time! Now that the grass is finally dry(ish), it’s time to properly restart hoopers training. I filmed a session of hoop value shaping with both dogs, as it’s a useful comparison to show people the different stages - Kairo being more experienced than Amigo. On the obedience side, Kairo and I are continuing to work on contact heel. I accidentally backwards heeled into the wall so her backup was (understandably) wonky for the next few tries, but I’ve been able to straighten it again. Kairo had man-trailing on Sunday and trailed an excellent double blind, although she did decide to activate parkour mode and take us over a fallen tree lol. Tonight, Kairo and I did some play with restraint - mostly holding her back and racing to the toy. Amigo even joined us, which is unusual as his toy drive is minimal! I’m still trying to build up Kairo’s toy drive and create value in the toy. And, after being on the waitlist since December 2024, Kairo has managed to get into a Beginner Scentwork course! Looking forward to starting that in mid-April, as I think Kairo will naturally offer a freeze indication.

Let’s start a training chain. How it works is that we take turns sharing an exercise or training challenge with the group. Everyone can give it a go at home and share their videos or daily training posts. We then tag the next person to share the next exercise. You can either film it, type it up or share any way you feel comfortable. Just have it ready to post by Sunday 😊