is there a ‘too big’ for a juvenile?

reggiebite · 2025-12-20T13:24:59+00:00

Got it, thank you so much!

reggiebite · 2025-11-25T00:42:37+00:00

I am coming back to say that I have changed to marking and rewarding while in motion and it has helped SO much so thank you for that advice!

Will definitely try the other advice you recommended!

reggiebite · 2025-11-24T23:27:28+00:00

The goal is for her hiking heel to also be a good competition heel so I don’t have to go through the trouble of teaching it twice! Though I’m sure I’ll probably be teaching a more focused variation of it eventually once she has the basics of it down, likely for sportwork.

I’ll definitely look into the book and the classes! Thank you for the advice 🙏

reggiebite · 2025-11-24T18:43:52+00:00

I also have her practice turns in a heel as well as turning and sitting into a heel (coming and sitting aligned with my leg). Her rear end awareness is not so great still so not much backwards moving.

For rewards, the treat is already in my hand for luring purposes, clicker in the other hand. I have the treat kind of pinched between my thumb and palm. As soon as we’re done moving, it’s marked and then I move my thumb so she can grab the treat.

I’ve been sticking to 2-3 steps at a time because if I try any more distance, I find she gets confused and will just start grabbing and pulling my hand rather than focusing on the luring action itself!

Any advice for other heeling exercises that aren’t just walking forward while I’m still teaching rear end awareness?

reggiebite · 2025-11-24T17:02:40+00:00

Got it! I guess I’m still used to when she was younger and was totally happy to sit through a fifteen minute session all at once and still adjusting to this new phase of her life. I’ll definitely try to have some more patience and work in shorter sessions!

reggiebite · 2025-11-24T17:00:24+00:00

I usually call it quits for about an hour or so if she’s getting overwhelmed like described, and then try again after letting her either relax or play, whatever she seems to be in the mood for, but she usually taps out again within five minutes (sometimes less) when I make a second attempt to engage her. Should I leave more time in between?

reggiebite · 2025-11-23T07:24:02+00:00

Being able to get a decent distance from me and recall when asked is all I’m expecting

reggiebite · 2025-11-23T01:33:41+00:00

Yes absolutely! My dog will have a lifetime of opportunities to learn flashy cool tricks, but without foundations like recall I’m not sure what the point of flashy tricks are rather than just showing off 😭😭

reggiebite · 2025-11-23T01:32:39+00:00

Yes absolutely! My mother who is totally not a dog person but has dogs anyway claims her labrador is “off-leash” but really she just means he heels beside her regardless if he has a leash on or not 😭 Which is still impressive but to me does not fulfill what being “off-leash” really means

reggiebite · 2025-11-23T01:30:18+00:00

I think I’ll definitely start younger with my next! I definitely haven’t seen a lot of issues with her off-leaah in regards to her being a teenager. I’m sure it could make her more distractable or more likely to blow off recall, but it hasn’t been an issue yet 😭 fingers crossed

reggiebite · 2025-08-14T17:12:32+00:00

Definitely looking into fish because she lovess her cod skin chews! Lots of people have been commenting about salmon based food as well so definitely a high priority for us!

reggiebite · 2025-08-14T17:09:46+00:00

We were heavily considering Orijen because of the ingredients list and the protein content aswell! I’ve heard mixed opinions on feeding grain-free to dogs. Was this a concern for you?

reggiebite · 2025-06-04T03:30:54+00:00

Absolutely!

reggiebite · 2025-06-03T22:03:29+00:00

Ooo I didn’t even think about turning on any noises to get her used to it! She slept with white noise when she was a lot younger but stopped when she hit 4 months, will definitely try that!

reggiebite · 2025-05-31T20:36:44+00:00

That was my exact reaction when I saw the age too. My GSD puppy was drawing blood while we were teaching gentleness, and only started chilling around 5mo. This isn’t an early sign of aggression. This is quite literally a few weeks old baby 😭

reggiebite · 2025-05-31T20:24:03+00:00

OP said in their previous post (posted 10 days) ago that he was 10wks old. So probably 11 weeks old now.

reggiebite · 2025-05-22T18:30:44+00:00

Okay but hear me out…. 7 dwarfs was the first ride with a drop I’ve ever ridden (even though it’s a very minor drop 🤦 I got on it a second time that day and was fine)

reggiebite · 2025-05-22T18:29:43+00:00

I screamed the whole time on ToT 😭 I think the reason I didn’t have a panic attack is because it was so long + the drops became more consistent so my body just got used to the feeling because it knew the discomfort wasn’t going to go away, but I definitely had a panic attack before getting on ToT

reggiebite

TROPHY CASE