Obsidian BLCK

07/07/2024

The Glue

Heelwork is the glue that holds all the rest of the obedience together. We spend a LONG time perfecting Heelwork, making sure that it is appropriately proofed and tested.

Ivar in the video is a little over fifteen months now and things are really starting to click together now which is so great to see!

The key to this is to remain consistent over the long haul. If we flit between different systems and methods things will never align well.

Remain loyal to the process.

04/07/2024

Balance is Key

The objective of Obsidian BLCK is to build the grail protection dog. Beautiful in the sport behaviours, balanced in the head and a real protection dog in life.

There’s no faucet more important than another here. We are looking for balance across all aspects which is why naturally it’s a long process.

Drogo has been in the system for over 12 months now and we are just scratching the surface of stuff we need to do.

This puts some people off and fires other people up. The thought of such a long and diverse process excites one and demoralises the other.

If it excites you, and you’re up for the challenge, drop us a line and let’s get you in the team!

01/07/2024

Latest White Cap!

Had the pleasure of promoting Elliott to white cap the other day and the progress these guys have made is just excellent!!

Elliott travels all the way up to Yorkshire from Brighton to come and train and he’s super dedicated to the journey!

He’s been up here for 1-1 work, club training and even seminars and is a super keen member of the team, also coming over to The Netherlands with us in September this year!

Keep it up brother! You’re smashing it!

28/06/2024

Intensity
Clarity
Completeness

26/06/2024

Man Down!

Apologies for being quiet guys, we’ve been dealing with a huge headache with this golden girl!

Saturday night she went out for her last toilet of the day before bed and decided to hurt her leg! Turns out hurting her leg is a huge under statement,

We went to the vets and found plenty of broken bones and the injury suggests she’s put her foot in a hole and twisted it!

Well a big plate and five pins later we’ve had the surgery done and she’s back home and on the mend.

I want to give my vet Roger a massive thank you, he stepped up to a headache fracture with Y breaks and floating bones and did it like a pro. Also came in at 9pm and 3am to give her painkillers and then came in on his day off. I cannot thank him enough, I’ve never found a vet like him and he will be the only person I entrust with my dogs!

Long road to recovery but she’s a warrior!

A brand new philosophy to training the grail Sport Protection Dogs

20/06/2024

What is BLCK?

Obsidian BLCK is a sport programme with the view to build the grail protection dogs. Ultimate obedience, precise nose work, strong protection and great life skills.

The objective of Obsidian BLCK is not to have a dog perform brilliantly on one day of its life, but rather perform at the same level consistently in any scenario, in any environment. Many of our handlers however do also train in a specific sport as this doesn’t conflict with the overall goal.

All members have access to the online video library and two support chats. One for training, and one for community. Having a good, strong community of people was also the ultimate goal for Obsidian BLCK. A group of good friends who love to train their dogs together and we’ve managed that so nicely.

Any questions on the programme or how to get involved, drop us a line and will be happy to help!

17/06/2024

Starting Fresh

This is our newest recruit Arya who joined black the other day and its time to get to work!

When starting out in a sport journey, the earlier it happens, the easier things are. Laying appropriate foundations in preparation for behaviours that you will be looking for later is much, much easier than trying to change the narrative years into the dogs life.

Some things absolutely can be changed later on, and some things will be so embedded that they will never truly be gone.

When starting with a blank canvas, all the foundations can be put in on a clean slate. This means the dog has no bad habits to navigate, no issues to work through, and the journey is much smoother, however that does not mean it can't be done later on.

Many of our members in BLCK have started training with their adult dog and although more difficult, it definitely can be done!

A brand new philosophy to training the grail Sport Protection Dogs

14/06/2024

Koji and Elliott

Today we had Koji in for a private coaching session and working with these guys has been nothing short of an absolute pleasure.

Elliott was one of the people I knew very early on would fit in with the BLCK ethos perfectly. They’ve been working through some really mundane and boring things and have just cracked on with it!

The fruits are coming now though! Today in the session Koji looked the best I’ve ever seen him! His drive to work is awesome and his attitude in the work is exactly what we want!

Tomorrow these guys will be at club and we’ll continue the journey! Amazing work guys! Absolute pleasure to have you on board!!

13/06/2024

2 New Videos!

Thursday means two new videos for all members, so if you’re a member, get watching, if you’re not, get signed up!

The Black Grade - The final video of the grading series explaining exactly what each grade entails and how to achieve them.

This Will Kill Your Goals - The most common reason I see for people falling off the band wagon. This is an insanely important Mindset video for any success in this game!

Any questions for members, grab me in the support group!

10/06/2024

Sometimes our mistakes can outline great things, and sometimes they outline issues.

Drogo pushed the box out the way here on entry, and it showed that despite this mistake he still understands the correct position to guard the decoy.

Allowing mistakes in training opens up doors. We don’t need to search for perfection, only progress.

07/06/2024

Talos Ivar
15 Months

Step by step we are building!!

05/06/2024

Stronger Together

One of the main Ethos of BLCK is to learn, and grow, together as a team. I absolutely love our club days, because everyone chips in, and everyone wants the whole team to succeed.

Learning is an absolute must in this game, and the second you think you know what to do, it's probably time to stop. In this photo I am listening intently to Nake Florin who was helping with some bitework techniques at the workshop we did with him. Forever the student is the only attitude to have in this game.

Every club day, we support each other, we grow together, we fail together, we win together. The team ethos is so so important to us all and it's amazing to have.

A brand new philosophy to training the grail Sport Protection Dogs

31/05/2024

Holly and Freya getting the work on them jumps!

Looking super clean here, definitely on the improve now!

When teaching any behaviour, consistency is no doubt the key factor. If you’re insanely talented but don’t do the work, you’ll get nowhere. If you’re not talented but work hard you will progress.

BLCK is about the journey, not the destination.

Love the journey and the end takes care of itself!

30/05/2024

Yin and Yang

It’s super important in the BLCK programme that dogs aren’t just protection dogs, but also normal members of society.

On switch and off switch.

Both are as important as one another.

28/05/2024

Control From Clarity

Control begins in clarity of understanding. Once the dog is clear on its route to access the reward, the process becomes much more straight forward.

In place of fighting with a dog’s desire we can use them to nurture the behaviours we are looking for.

Work with them
Not against them