Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Patrick Shannahan Clinic Review

Wow! What a fun time we had yesterday and to think Julie P and I almost thought about not going. Patrick is a great clinician and trainer and helped me get some amazing work out of Dutch. What a drastic change in such a short time with just a few little changes!

Patrick had me work Dutch just a little myself just so he could see him work first. Then he came and talked to me, he says Dutch isn't soft just super sensitive and that he doesn't like to be wrong at all. With some very light corrections and taking the pressue off of him when he is right and putting it on him when he is wrong, very lightly I might add, we had Dutch doing 100-150 yd outruns.

We also worked on his pace, at the top he now slows himself down, lifts them nicely and marches them down the field at a nice reasonable pace instead of blowing into them and tearing them down the field or quitting if you got after him for doing so.

All of this outrun work translated right over into his driving and he is driving much better now, I still walk along with him but he is pushing them along at a nice pace and controlling them.

I'm excited, can't wait to get him out and work on this with them. I plan to go to another clinic in the spring with Patrick if I can get into one. He works well with Dutch and I think he can help me along with him. And the fact that my dog doesn't like to be wrong thrills me....NO he's nothing like his owner :)