Practice "Heel" and "Sit" with dog at a specific locationPractice "Heel" and "Sit" with dog at a specific location: Various colored (red-blue-yellow-green) posts, barrels or traffic cones place a good distance away from each other. The group lines up and the course instructor gives the directions to be followed. The first team begins beside the blue post at the starting position. They then walk quickly and decidedly to the red post where immediately upon reaching it the dog trainer stops their dog and gives the command to "Sit." After five seconds the dog trainer and dog move off again energetically towards the yellow post where again they stop and sit directly beside it, wait five seconds and move off towards the next post. When the first team leaves the red post to walk towards the yellow the next team sets up next to the blue post and when the first team moves from the yellow post the following team moves from the blue post to the red. It is crucial that the dog trainers give their dogs the command to "Sit" clearly and immediately upon reaching a colored post. The dog trainers must pay very close attention during this exercise not only to their own dogs and where they are going but also to the team in front of them so that they move to the next post at the same time as the team in front is moving and in this way all of the dog teams are moving simultaneously. When the team finishes passing each colored post they would again take their place in the line.Practice walking toward a destination while making turns: Two groups with the same amount of teams line up in front of each other facing each other. There should be about ten meters between the two teams. The teams within the groups should be spaced about two meters apart. At the course instructors command all the dog trainers of one group make their dogs sit. The other group, all at once, then walks quickly forward and when they reach the opposite group makes a simultaneous half turn and returns towards their original starting line. When they arrive at their original starting line the whole group would again make a half turn and stop reassuming their original positions and the dog trainers have their dogs sit. The other team then does the same. The first group then repeats the exercise but this time each team will make a long turn around the team facing them. |