the weather is finally cooling off enough to work with the dog and the boy outside. unfortunately, we seem to have a couple of problems:

the start again/stop again schedule of training has made gypsy a bit lazy. it's as if she thinks if she's difficult enough, we'll stop. she hasn't associated stopping with the hot weather.

taz doesn't have the authority down yet, so she tends to not listen anyway. his voice is too soft and if she pushes, he moves. not good.

it doesn't help that i have a difficult time getting into these habits. it's one of the reasons why i haven't done much with the tai-chi either. of course, summer temperatures from hell haven't helped much. who wants to be out in the sun when it's 104 outside? or 97 and humid? and with the swamp cooler, if can be in the 80's inside, but have a humidity that makes it seem like 105. so, summer becomes a bad time to do any of the training or exercise thing.

but the days are cooler (if a bit shorter), the thugs are no longer congregating outside our front door (long story there, maybe i'll tell it some day), so it's a good time to do at least the training bit. i really need to get gypsy up to par for my son.

so, last night we get started and find that both of them are so rusty it's just plain sad. he forgets to say commands, she pushes him into the fence, he let's her choose to get away from his side the way she's supposed to be, she decides everything else is more interesting than what she's supposed to be doing. and gypsy has been spooked by my husband since he went back to work earlier this year. having him back home all day and him trying to give her hugs and treats have not worked. he betrayed her by leaving and she won't forget it. so, he's out there and she's being all weird because he's out there.

it took some doing, but by the end of the evening i had the two of them following behind me with taz giving the correct turn commands. even so, it's going to be a rough time for all of use trying to get her up to par and listening to him. i really think he should have been in on the training from the beginning because he just does not have the "command voice" and she's had trouble adjusting to it since he started getting involved.

for now "follow me" will just have to work. maybe that will be enough to get us over the rough patch. i hope.