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Looks like you and Blitz have a very solid relationship, with a lot of mutual respect. Blitz really looks to you for leadership. Here are a few questions, comments, & suggestions: Are you clear about the difference between Phase 2 Escape and Phase 2 Avoidance Training? I don’t always hear you using ‘No’ consistently. Sometimes you say ‘No.’ and other times ‘Eh-Eh.’ That’s not the end of the world, and using synonyms comes naturally to us humans, but if you can, it’s better to be as technical as possible when training, so I suggest you use one or the other word as your marker word. In the same vein, sometimes I hear you using ‘OK’ to release Blitz to do what he wants (that’s the way Mike uses it) and other times I think you are using it as the release word, instead of ‘Free.’ When you tell Blitz to Climb, I don’t see you Look, Point, and Step. That’s not a big deal, because he obeys. I’m raising it as a reminder, in case you train other dogs. When you say ‘Come,’ it’s a good idea to make sure your dog comes close enough for you to be able to grab his collar. That can be very important for safety in real–world situations, so the more automatic coming right up to you becomes, the safer you’ll be. I’m not sure why you begin so many commands from a Climb. That’s not wrong by any means, but it would be nice to see you doing more command without Climb. I may be being picky here, because you probably have space constraints because you are videoing this and have limited space. But this does bring up a larger point: As I understand it, Mike uses Climb as to teach command structure (first Escape and the Avoidance). That’s because Climb is very easy for both dog and handler to do. Then, once dog/handler know the pattern, he goes on to teach specific commands. I really suggest getting a 6-foot leather or biothane leash. It makes Leash Ninja stuff much easier, for both you and your dog. In that regard, Blitz certainly obeys your tugs on the leash, but I wonder how you would be if your gentle tugs weren’t working and you had to escalate to finger-pumps, or maybe even wrist-pump. When you’re in Heel and stop and then start again, technically your dog should know he’s in Heel until you release him, so when you start he should just start walking with you without your having to tell him to. That takes some doing, to be sure, but that’s what you should be aiming for, in my opinion. I hope I haven’t been too picky. That’s a great dog and it’s clear you two have a solid relationship and that he knows that you are the leader. Good luck!
