Left Turns and Self-Control

After watching the video from Thursday while editing, I decided to devote this week to getting Dusty to work more calmly.  Specifically, I want to see him be able to run a sequence without head checking.  Additionally, I want to be able to send him from a standstill to an obstacle without him devolving into a barking, twirling canine mass.  Lastly, I want to work on getting him to do a hand touch with just his nose.  He normally goes at it with too much gusto and a wide open mouth.

With Belle, I want to continue on her driving off the start line and getting her to turn in the direction the course takes.

This is the Elite Jumpers course I set up Thursday with two sequences that take advantage of the tunnel and dogwalk I added.  A third possibility is to go from the 6/11 jump to the unnumbered jump and on to 14-16.

I am at a loss to explain why Belle fails to turn left when I told her to "turn" at #4 on her first run in the video.  On subsequent runs, I used the word "left" and she nailed it each time.  The problem is that neither one of us is consistent in our usage of "right" and "left."  However, that's what practice is for.  I've never made an effort to teach "left" and "right" to Dusty, but for these exercises I decided to use "left" instead of "turn" with him also.  However, unlike Belle, Dusty understands that "turn" means "turn away from me" and is fairly consistent in his response to that command.