Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 8:57 pm Post subject: Obedience course with 'Mary Ray'
I went on an obedience course last week that lasted 2 days with the trainer Mary Ray.
It was absolutely amazing! I was in awe....
I spectated for the first day and took Bax for the second as was persuaded to by a few other members or the group!!
Bax's obedience is still very basic but we are making some fairlygood progress. He can do 'Stays', 'finding article's, 'distance control' and 'send aways' of some fashion but these all need much polishing!! He recall is still a bit ropey as is his heelwork but we are having fun improving these.
Bax can be a bit reactive (VERY friendly!!) to other dogs but he is becoming sooo much more settled - This is partly to do with the fact that we live up in the hills away from civilization I think and partly because of his VERY FRIENDLY personality!
Mary Ray was lovely and spent time with every individual owner and dog and made everyone feel good about themselves and their dogs. (Sadly two of the other people on the course we not like this - but this is another story...) She was just brilliant and could offer solutions to just about every problem
She got her dog Levi out just before lunch and gave us some demonstrations.... wow.....
Just wondering if any other people had been on courses run by her??
So are you going to start wearing sequins (you and Bax), and getting your groove on to music? I expect to see you in the main arena at Crufts before BIS in the near future Sorry, just teasing, the individual heelwork to music cracks me up It is amazing what she manages to teach them though.
I've never been on any sort of training course, but would like to. How did you find out about it?
Going to give the sequins a miss for now..... Bax gets distracted already - never mind me jumping around in sparkly clothes! Bax would look good with a pink sparkly collar though!
Found out about the course through a lady that lives me that I go and see occasionally for training tips! Mary Ray has a calendar on her site though I think??!
I think the obedience is enough for me and Bax at the moment let alone the heelwork to music........ The mind boggles......
Charlie Whyant started the instructor training courses at Totnes, He used to write the Obedience column in Dog World for years until his death. His favourite saying was "Use all the aids" He was a thinking trainer who perfected such things as body leads. I remember he started concreting scent cloths into flower pots to make it impossible for the dog to bring the wrong one back!
Barbara Hills was my dream handler! She came to us on the Monday before Crufts one year with her GSD Greyvalley Honey, for a final polish. I worked my old Mandy to give her a little competition, not that it was much competition! We were all at Crufts on the Saturday to watch her win the Bitch Obedience. She was a brilliant handler! I'm guessing that would have been about 1980
Another top handler of the day, and a great friend of Charlie's was Bing Belamy with her Sealight working sheepdogs. She was probably the person who first took BC/WS's to the top in the early 70's.
John Singlton, Paddy Burn and of course my mentor Andy Anderson were the names in those days.
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It is amazing what she manages to teach them though.
Bax would look good with a pink sparkly collar though!
I remember Sylvia Bishop but you have me on the other 2 John 
