The things you never stop working on (part one)

Fronts, Finishes, Heeling, Attitude and Motivation.

Choose one or choose several, but these are the things that you should always keep on your training schedule. For today let's talk about fronts, I think that if you asked your dog what a front is he would say it means to come close and sit. For the handler the definition is different. Mine is: Dog sitting tidily with his spine straight, paying attention in the center of my body. The question is how do I transfer this very detailed skill to my dog? The answer is keep working at it. There are other variables that come into play.

1. Is the dog trotting towards you or cantering? When trotting the dog reaches forward with both feet to an equal distance, when cantering the dog will be on a specific lead leg. This means that one leg will reach forward further than the other. This might cause the dog to twist his body as he gets close to you throwing off his front.
2. The dog's focal point can make a difference. Is the dog looking at your face, your hands, or somewhere else? Generally where the eyes are looking the dog's body will follow. If the dog is looking up, in theory he will sit up straighter and have his feet underneath him when he sits. His focus will be center, providing that you are looking where you want the dog to be. If he is looking at your hands he will sit more off center closer to the hand that has his attention (usually the hand you feed more often with). He is unlikely to sit with his feet underneath him because his head will be lower and his feet will be spread further apart.
3. Is the dog carrying anything in his mouth. Often a dog will front differently with a dumbbell or glove in his mouth. The weight of the dumbbell may change how the dog holds his head and thus how he fronts.
   

Training Tips
Use a fronting clip (like a target) to help the dog come close enough
Use a front chute (two boards stood on their ends) to "mold" the dog into a straight front. The use of the chute is valuable because it increases the number of correct responses and rewards, with little help from the handler. You just stand there and let the boards do the work.

I will try to get some pictures of these two ideas and post them in the next few days.

Happy Training!!!!