i am a thinker too!

Okay so I have been thinking about Deuce's performance alot here lately. I am a big thinker too and i have been really trying to dissect what I can do better to improve his drive and performance. One of the things I am going to try which was suggested by my friend Cheryl who is also a dog trainer, is to hide when he disengages or get in my car and drive off. As long as there is someone to watch over him, next time he disengages from me, I am going to do this rather than call for him or hunt him down and drag him back to where we are working. Let's see how important the momma truly is to him! The other thing I am going to do is really reward alot, really break down performances. I was just listening to Susan Garrett's 2 of 30 podcast and it made so much sense to me! I do train alot but I do very short sessions so I am trying to make these short sessions even shorter. Today for example, I did weave channels in the morning with maybe 8 runs through them total (two just driving straight through, 2 with rears, two with lateral movement away from the poles, and two with fronts). All had him driving to the target with lots of cookies and lots of praise. We quit while we were ahead and did another set of 8 tonight. I also did some go overs with a very low jump and target and then took up the target and did a couple of go overs and turns. Again, I quit while I was ahead. For the most part, today I saw drive and enthusiasm, especially the last set of channel weaves we did. I have really been revving him up with restrained recalls and lots of ready, ready, ready instead of putting him into a position and then releasing him. I did have to put him into position to do the front crosses and he was a little slower. I thought I had been rewarding his position at the start but maybe not enough?

Another thing I am worried about right now is the amount of calories Deuce is taking in. We do alot of target work and lots of clicker work in a day so he is getting lots of extra kibble. I have not cut him back at feeding time as I wanted to let him grow until at least a year but I also don't want him too heavy. He hasn't gained any weight in 2 or so months, but I feel like he is getting so much food right now. I have tried incorporating tug into his training but I can tell he doesn't like it as much as food and with the issues I have been having with drive, would be afraid that would make it worse. I have been using his kibble as food since his stomach is so sensitive but I wonder if he needs something more yummy. This would probably be more calories though! I need to take him to my vet to see if he is ready to be cut back, if he is done growing. I can add in green beans or other low calorie foods if he isn't growing anymore. So much to think about!