"Stop and down" is one of the new signs. I blew a sign in competition for "stop and down" once - YOU must stop, not just your dog! (Not that you asked that - but that was the mistake I made.)
Y'know, I never stopped to ask myself why the hell they started saying "stop," but I think you just figured it out with your explanation. I think it is indeed to differentiate the autosit implied in "halt."
@Lauren & Luna Good question.. My instinct is to say that it won't matter too much. Especially after seeing her be so perfect while you did the chair game with no treat pouch on you. You could use the chair, too, if running to it and feeding from your hand feels more comfortable at this stage. Just keep an eye on her looking enthusiastic vs. confused about how she is getting rewarded.
Just do a warm up and give it a whirl! If you try doing a full course and she gets flat, don't keep pushing her. But I bet you're there or damn close.
I think our backyard will be tight or I can do it in 2 phases. I struggle with setting it up and making it flow the way the course should 🙃. I will try this weekend and let you know!!
I anticipate her taking awhile to fully loosen up with going to the bowl on cue. You may want to do a few sessions of just immediately following "jackpot" with "free" to help you fade off the pointing faster when you are not sitting right there.
Also be careful about "ah ah"ing her here - she's already hesitant to go eat! In the rep where she gets an "ah," you probably could have just said "sit" and gotten the same result, without the conflict.
Once she learns the cue and is confident she won't get in trouble for going to eat, this is going to be such a high-value reward!!!
I know, I need to be more careful with my words. Or just use less overall. i will try the jackpot free thing, she mainly hesitated when she is seated only? I didn’t know if that would mess her up on the command with adding free at the end.
@Lauren & Luna Ah, I didn't notice the pattern of being seated, but that makes sense! She does seem to hesitate slightly in every rep, though (which is normal, in the beginning!).
Patterning "jackpot, free" is actually perfect - if she already knows "free" in the context of being released to a treat/food bowl, especially.
Signs 30 and 34
q- what is the difference between ”stop” as in “stop and down” and “halt” as in “halt and walk around”?
does halt mean stop and sit and stop just means stop walking? Why does the AKC love to confuse people?
Sign 32
Signs 27 and 35 (I know I should have called her swing from face not wrap) 🤦🏻♀️
Sign 26
q - does she follow me as I step back or does she hold the sit then follow through with face?
More jackpot!
Woohoo!!!
I anticipate her taking awhile to fully loosen up with going to the bowl on cue. You may want to do a few sessions of just immediately following "jackpot" with "free" to help you fade off the pointing faster when you are not sitting right there.
Also be careful about "ah ah"ing her here - she's already hesitant to go eat! In the rep where she gets an "ah," you probably could have just said "sit" and gotten the same result, without the conflict.
Once she learns the cue and is confident she won't get in trouble for going to eat, this is going to be such a high-value reward!!!