Focus while walking

10/12/08

Went back again and Amika was really well focussed on me. I’m now to the point where I feel like I am luring her with the bait bag or treats in my hand. But better bribery than being ignored at this stage. I think she pulled on the lead briefly about twice,.and I was able to call her off the creek quite well. Part of that I think is that she is realising that it just isn’t available.

She still ignores her name a fair bit, but at least I was getting an enthusiastic response most of the time. I am now feeling like the lead is a bit of a crutch for me. However, with a creek and roads nearby, I can’t let her loose. I think next step is a different environment. That is, she is relatively comfortable at this spot, so we need to get comfy at another, and another.

I videoed today’s outing. This too is a learning curve, but worked well to point the car and sit the camera on the dash. Unfortunately, it only held about 6 minutes. Will try turning off the sound next time and see what happens.