Fall #15

 Have been having fun playing article games with Otis since our last tracking session 12/3. Will continue to play for fun. Had dropped the ball on maintaining that skill and it showed. Laid a short article track in the snow. Otis was definitely back to enjoying his article retrieve, a bit too much perhaps with the first one. Before the start of this track, however, he was totally distracted by something to the left I couldn’t even see. He eventually started but I feel totally at a loss as to how to “compete” when a visual distraction whatever it is that is that consuming. I called him back to me before the start. Tried multiple ways to get him engaged with me and he would not even look away from whatever it was. Finally started but still without full attention. For the second track over some rocks and into the cemetery he was distracted again at the start. Managed the rocks well and good retrieve at the end.

https://go.screenpal.com/watch/cTl1r1nYeBA

https://go.screenpal.com/watch/cTl1rQnYeBK

https://go.screenpal.com/watch/cTl1r6nYeBM






Comments

  1. Jack's JourneyDecember 8, 2025 at 5:41 AM

    I assume the distraction was before you turned on the video. Your jazzy ReadySteady is jacking him out of a thinking brain, in my opinion. If you go back thru other videos, sometimes you are business like, others jazzy. Just be aware of jacking him out of thinking.
    Distractions - you can work his connection to you away from tracking. Start in the back yard, on leash. Good rewards. When he locks on a squirrel, "leave it", when he looks your way STEP BACK invite him to you, pet and feed. Then take it on the road to a school or store.

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  2. JudiDecember 8, 2025 at 10:21 AM

    I’d even consider Leslie McDevitt’s “Look at that” game—and please, play it Leslie’s way, not any of the 100 morphs of it that are out there! Again, I think buying “Control Unleashed” and using those games with him would be super helpful. FWIW, I am suspicious that he didn’t see anything. I’d suggest trying the exact same track, at the same place, 45” min old. While he loves articles enough to support your decision to age the track on an article track (I probably would have suggested that), disconnecting like that can be an “oh, this is really hard” response.

    I like ‘look at that’ a lot—Fletch can lock onto a squirrel, i can point at it and tell him “look at that squirrel!”, pause, and call him. And he will come and get cookies/toy. And I’ll send him right back to looking at the squirrel, and call him again….until he chooses me over the squirrel. It takes time and reps to build this (and I do it with anything that claims his attention, not just squirrels), but it works. It’s back to the simple calorie equation—working with you results in more calories taken in than staring at the squirrel!

    Happy to brush up on LAT and help you with it, suggest you watch lots of YouTube videos on it, and buy the book!!!!

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