by Julie A Symons | Jul 21, 2018 | Dog Sports
I was reflecting the other day how well my dogs sleep at night and wish I could do the same! They are out like a light, often belly up with the fan cooling their underside. They also even sleep in! I do have an older dog, who’s age does affect how much she...
by Julie A Symons | May 24, 2018 | Dog Sports
A training gem I picked up many years ago from Patti Hatfield Mah was that our seasoned dogs still need to have baby dog training days. Pick one day a week where you go back to training your foundations skills. Foundations is everything! Without a strong base,...
by Julie A Symons | Feb 23, 2018 | Dog Sports
With many teams getting ready for NACSW NW3/L3 or AKC Master/Detective levels, having a solid search strategy and a strong mental game plan is key! At these higher levels, you will have unknown number of hides – very different from knowing how many in each...
by Julie A Symons | Jan 29, 2018 | Dog Sports
In my nosework classes, I talk more and more about how important handler mechanics are. Mechanics include your handling (position, movement, leash), timing, markers/cues, and delivery of reinforcement (having them ready, not dropping treats). This is very ingrained...
by Julie A Symons | Dec 24, 2017 | Dog Sports
As discussed in my last blog on how training methods need to make sense to you … I’d like to chat about how I handle false alerts in nosework and why the approach makes sense to me. You need to decide what makes sense to you. A false alert is the...