Been training every day for the past 2 weeks and there is a huge improvement in Saffy. I think she has overtaken me in the learning stakes. My husband has taken to videoing us during training yesterday and today and although it makes me feel self-conscious I am able to learn so much from the playback. Saffy doesn't need this feedback she is doing very well on her own. She was a feisty little pup and wasn't afraid of anything thing she learned how to switch the light of the garage on by climbing on the mower (see picture)

Background

Saffy is two years old now and I've had her since she was 9 weeks. My husband is a dog training instructor and we bought Saffy and her brother to train as search dogs. As pups they were very boisterous and always chasing each other. When they were 11 weeks old they were chasing each other in the field and Saffy got knocked over by her brother. After a few visits to the vets due to her limping an x-ray revealed she had torn some cartilage off her shoulder. This resulted in a very expensive operation and 10 weeks of very limited exercise. During her recovery period she spent alot of time with me while my husband exercised our other dogs. Her brother continued with his training but she was months behind and this is where our bond started. Dogs have been a big part of our family life for over 30 years. I have worked some of our dogs in the past, usually after they had retired just to keep them active and for fun (mostly for the dog), but I have never trained a search dog from scratch. In the beginning I would occasionally train with her to give her an interest but during the past few months I have taken it more seriously as she enjoys it so much.