by Grayson Schaffer | on June 16th, 2010 | in Features, Training, Video Clips
Stream crossings are often where your dog’s obedience will go off the rails. Usually what happens is you set foot in a creek and your dog bolts to the other side. If you’re lucky, you’re not in his way. We prefer to train for stream crossings so they happen in an orderly manner and you never get knocked down. To perfect a stream crossing, all you need is a rock-solid heel, where your dog knows that even though the terrain has changed, the rules haven’t.
by Grayson Schaffer | on April 20th, 2009 | in Features
My mom's pup and his sire, Whiskey
Friday was puppy day at Wildrose Kennels, in Oxford, Mississippi. Three litters went home with people who had flown in from as far as Michigan, Washington, and California. I met my mom in Memphis, where we rented a car and drove down to pick up our new pups—hers from Whiskey and Piper and mine from Hamish and Carol. Here’s the highlight reel.
-
- My mom’s pup and his sire, Whiskey
-
- My mom’s pup and his sire, Whiskey
-
- Wait, Whiskey, Nooo!
by Grayson Schaffer | on April 8th, 2009 | in DVDs, Media
The Wildrose Way DVD
The Wildrose Way DVD arrived with my chocolate, Danger, as a sort of Labrador owner’s compendium. Mike shares his low-force, operant training methods from basic obedience to advanced retrieves. Having raised a dog and watched the video several times, I’d recommend using it it primarily for the more advanced retriever training like whistle stops, casting, and blinds. The drills like the circle memory, walking baseball, and ladders are excellent tools for slowly raising the bar on your dog’s retrieves. The Wildrose Way covers basic obedience and makes it very clear how important it is, but no DVD alone will get you and your dog up to speed on the subtleties and difficulties of raising a dog that wants to do nothing but perform for you. For that, you need to learn from actual human experts. $35
