Down from standing

[Stacy]

Does anyone have any good tips on training a down from a standing position? I just realized we always do down from sit and I think we are going to need just a straight down. But it's not working yet. 

Also, anyone have any good forums for dog obedience/rally showing? I really think we have the training bug, but I really have no idea what I'm doing. I think this is a hobby I could stick with for more than 5 minutes. 

Thanks! 

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

I am training rally/tricks with a great trainer. I am having an awesome time learning this

Sit is hand motion up, if you are standing with dog at heel use left hand.  You can  use a small hand/wrist motion or a big hand/elbow motion so that your whole hand and forearm go up on your left side. 

Down is a whole arm motion with a straight arm going from waist high to your side.  Right arm if dog is in heel position. 

Sit then down is left arm straight up from elbow, extend left arm full and lower to waist.

Luring a down from standing is face dog, treat in left hand pull slightly toward you and also down (kind of a 45 degree angle, while sayin down and lowering right arm as described above.

Progression is remove lure, use voice and arm motion.  Then remove either voice or arm motion.

Have you registered your doodle with the AKC?  Did you make up a cool name.  I am trying to think of one for Murphy.

You can only do rally, agility, and tricks with a "mutt". Obedience is for AKC "approved breeds".

I might be able to send you some good video links from someone who is in the class with me.

Good luck, let us know your progress!

[Stacy]

Maggie's paperwork is still sitting on the kitchen table. I really like the suggestion of Believe in Magic as a name, but I felt like she needed a "kennel" name too. I've been mulling it over and my favorite drink is Diet Orange Sunkist. So I think she's going to be Sunkist Believe in Magic. It sounds like it could be a show dog name! 

I love our training classes, but youtube is also our friend for training questions. It's amazing some of the stuff the dogs do that I never even thought of teaching them. One of the things my trainer told us to look up is pot work - where the dog stands on a bowl or a low pot and moves around it. It teaches them where their rear end is. I put Maggie's feet on a pot and she thought I was really weird. We need to keep working at it! 

I think you can do obedience through the AKC canine partners program. Here's the link: 

http://www.apps.akc.org/apps/canine_partners/faqs.cfm But I really think that Maggie will do better with Rally. You can talk to them in Rally and she really responds well to being showered with praise. I promised her that we will never get uptight about her training. We are only doing this to have fun. And if she never gets any titles it's okay. She can make mistakes, I can make mistakes. We're just doing an activity together. You might see us on a blooper reel one day. I think I found a drop in agility class we can take. She can definitely jump, but I'm not sure what she will think about that whole thing.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I'd skip the fake kennel name, lol. There is a fairly well-known Border Terrier breeder called Sunkist Kennels with registered champions under the Sunkist name. If you feel like you need something in front of "Believe In Magic", why not use your name, or a family name, or your town, or something related to where she lives or who she lives with. :) 

[Stacy]

Of course there is! I tried looking for a list of all the AKC kennel names, but came up empty. I'm not that creative. Anything I come up with someone has thought of before! ;)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Well, technically the reason they put a kennel name in front of the registered name is because the breeders require it. In the event that a dog does become a champion, it's great publicity for their breeding program. It was in my purchase agreement that I had to put "Absolute Silver" in front of Jasper's registered name, which was actually a pain, because you are only allowed a certain number of spaces without having to pay an additional registration fee, and that part took up 15 spaces! Be glad you don't have to deal with that, lol. 

[Stacy]

Absolute Silver is a long one. That definitely makes it harder. Katie's official name is (kennel name I don't advertise) A Star Is Born. Like Katherine Hepburn. I know we don't need a kennel name. It's not like I have a breeding program, or show dogs. I just think it sounds more official that way. You can always identify Louann King's papillons by their kennel name, Loteki - which is a combination of her and her husband's names. I need to figure something out like that. Maggie probably doesn't need to be official, but I like it. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

My DD is named after Katharine Hepburn so I am a stickler for spelling it correctly, lol. 

[Stacy]

I knew I should have double checked my spelling! People are forever getting mine wrong. I's and E's everywhere! 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

So you understand how my poor DD feels having her name constantly mispelled. Some people actually try to correct her when she spells it. LOL 

[Stacy]

I do! But I'm not sure I've ever experienced anyone telling me I'm spelling it wrong. Katharine is a perfectly acceptable way of spelling, if not the most common. Who wants to be the most common anyway? 

Have you experienced the recent trend of creative spelling? I don't even blink at silent z's (or silent any letter, really) or apostrophes, hyphens, or any combination of all three. Although I do think it's unfair to be upset with me for my mispronunciation when Tiffany is spelled Tzipfani.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I think that naming a child Tzipfani is unfair to the child, lol. 

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

I've been teaching for a while now and let's say I've seen some "Creative" spellings.  I always say a disclaimer before I do attendance for the first time that the students correct me if I mispronounce their name :p