This week ends with an off-leash hike in Tilden. We didn't participate in any organized training this week, but did a lot of work on Chloe's “stay” command. Margaret worked on Chloe's “bang” trick. It turns out that Chloe is quite the drama queen; instead of dropping at the cue, she slowly drops to her side and gently lays her head to the ground. She is Shakespearean in her delivery.
This week we were able to run three days for twelve total miles. Over the next few months we will increase our weekly mileage to 35. We’ll monitor Chloe's endurance as we slowly up our time on the trail. Last year she did well, but suffered on the warmer days. This year we have noticed a change in how Chloe approaches the run. To help Chloe understand that she is going for a run and not for a hike or to do longline work, we use a pulling harness. We believe that when she has this harness on (and there is tension) she thinks that she is working. So much so that she will ignore dogs, rabbits and quail in favor of pulling my fat-self along the trail. If she does get curious, she simply gives a quick sniff and I mush her along; she happily complies. If it is a leash-free trail, after a mile or so, I can detach her from me and let wander ahead of us to sniff and do her dog dance.
All things considered, it has been a pretty fun week with our Dober-girl. We played in a field near Jack London Square, posed with White Fang, played in the sand, gave her a bath, and had an 100% off-leash hike. We did some running, training and had some fun morning walks. Next week we return to some organized training and get her ready for another Barn Hunt competition.
Fog rolling in behind Chloe near Volmer Peak, Tilden Park.