[ Post a Response | Ask Cheryl Carlson ]
Posted by Kathy Walden
on 10/26/2008, 5:10 am, in reply to "Re: Working APBT's for sale."
Kathy Walden
Hi Chris and Cheryl. I love to look at the pictures of these two beautiful dogs juxtaposed. APBT #1 looks like such a serious guy and APBT #2 looks like he wouldn't mind stirring it up a little if he had the chance. I guess what I'm starting to realize as a very amateur handler is that dogs really DO mature at different rates. #2 resembles Winnie to me in the sense that he could walk up to a dog or human and say, "Hi. My name is APBT #2. What's yours?" Kind of like what I see with Winnie less and less as she's maturing. There was much more of that gushing, playful, lets rip this place apart. Then this last week I saw a side of Winnie I'd never seen before, thanks to Cheryl. Winnie will be 3 yrs old 12/5/08, and was still not quite focused as much as she could have been on the protection aspect of sleeve/decoy work as she could've been. So Cheryl did an exercise I'd never experienced before with the intensity we did, where she took 2 decoys and essentially did a volley between them until Winnie's attention was on me after 5 releases. There was a perplexed look on her face when I finally called her out. She stood in between the decoys making sure there wasn't gonna be anymore funny stuff. Then I told her to heel, and it was the most beautifully aligned heel she'd ever done off a field. As I was on my way down to praise her like crazy b/c I was so impresssed, Cheryl calls out in the same motion "Praise your dog!" Oh you betcha!!!!! She's been still getting praised from time to time. Things in the house are much different. I apparently have now advanced to official alpha status.
This process is just so intriguing for me. I actually think both Winnie and I are both in a better place now to title up to P3 at least this summer. I just need to let us both mature as a handler couple.
Who knows, if Cheryl, Lori, or any of the senior handlers owned her, they may have been able to get Winnie titled much sooner. It's hard to say. But it's a moot point becasue I love my dawg, and we have fun together. I'll be ready for those trials in May. I can't wait.
So Chris,I hope your APBT #2 finds an appropriate, appreciative owner/handler who will nurture him to the star he looks like he can be. Beautiful dogs!! And as always, thank you for sharing your training techniques and questions on this board so that you and Cheryl can do some ad lib teaching. I find it very helpful, even if I don't contribute.
Kathy Walden
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