Dylan’s Blog – Hydro

Dylan had his first hydrotherapy session last night. I wish I’d taken my camera, he looked adorable! Mollie has a session every month to keep her moving, and we thought we’d let Dylan come along for some fun yesterday because the dog that usually shares Mol’s session couldn’t make it. I wasn’t sure whether he could even swim, but he just took it all in his stride and was straight in there, really confident and not at all bothered by the new surroundings or new dogs. I was very proud! He wore a doggy life-jacket for this first session, since he hasn’t quite got the hang of staying afloat, but it didn’t phase him and he was diving in with Mollie and thoroughly enjoyed himself.

At home our outdoor training is a bit restricted at the moment. By the time I get home from university it’s dark outside, and it’s impossible to get anything done. So we’re working in the hallway on just basic obedience, and getting him to “go on” down the hall. There isn’t much else to do right now! Realistically I won’t be able to start even basic agility training with him until February, when he’ll be 10 months old, but I’m not really bothered about rushing to bring him out at 18months. I’d rather make sure he’s enjoying himself and working well before I start chucking him into competitions. So he can start doing tunnels and flat A-Frames etc at that age, and we’ll take it from there.

Dylan’s Blog

We haven’t really been working on anything new this month, just improving what we already have. Lefts and rights are nailed, and target training is going really well. Plus all the basic obedience seems to have kicked off – finally! – too. His heelwork is getting nice, presents and finishes are good, and his stays are really improving too. He’s kind of got “dead” too, although my Dyl boy always looks suspiciously alive when he does it, usually because his tail is wagging.

I have to say I’m really pleased because he’s learnt “catch” too. You wouldn’t believe how long this has taken to teach him – for some reason he couldn’t grasp the concept of having to move his head and open his mouth to catch something thrown at him. Toys and treats just bounced off his head! He’s got it now though. I don’t think I’ll be doing Crufts flyball with him in the future, but if I do, this is a great command for him. I’m using the same technique I used for teaching Kim to catch, and Kim is amazing at catching. Dylan is first put into a down, and then he get’s the command “catch”, which actually means prepare to catch. Kim demonstrates this best when she effectively goes into a play-bow, which is ideal for Crufts flyball. Dylan is beginning to do it, which I’m really chuffed with. And then I throw the ball/treat/whatever. It’s such a silly small thing, but it’s an achievement for him!