01/09/2026
Really pleased with Willow today! 🥰 I truly adore this girl.
We took our 1-to-1 out around the farm, which gave us lots of different distractions to work around.
Her lead was much looser for alot of the walk. She did still pull when she really wanted to get somewhere interesting to sniff, but overall she was much more connected with me. ❤️
She also walked past the sheep without barking, even though they were definitely tempting! 🐑😂
Some birds caught her attention too, but she then chose to turn back and check in with me — exactly the kind of choice we want to reward.
Today we focused on loose lead walking and DMT — Distraction, Mark, Treat.
Basically, when Willow notices something interesting, rather than letting her become completely focused on it, we look for that moment she chooses to check back in with me. That moment gets marked and rewarded. ❤️
It teaches her that seeing something exciting doesn't automatically mean she has to chase, pull towards or react to it — checking in with her handler is a really good choice too!
It’s still very much a work in progress, but today showed some lovely progress , little wins make big changes.
Very proud of this clever girl! 🥰🐾