Lovely sit-stay, Kimberly!
One change: mark "good" at the 'greatest point of challenge' for Boyd. So, when you're walking behind him in a circle and he stays, unshifting, in the sit stay, mark "good" at that point and then return to feed. Currently, you're marking "good" as you deliver food. Remember, the mark is to indicate a moment in time when they are correct. Affirming him for correctness at the point where you're behind him (for example), and then return to front to feed.
Illustration: at :51 of your video, if you were to stop there, mark "good" and then return to the front to feed - you would be more precise in communicating that moment of 'challenge' was what is being rewarded. It's small details, but worth mentioning.
And really nice focus work from the front.
2 technical inputs here:
1) It is critical when we start teaching focus that we use our terminal bridge to 'end' the behavior before rewarding. In your video you are breaking posture before terminally marking, and as you feed (and he's no longer focused on your eyes) you then mark "good". Instead, as your arms are extended, mark "Yes" to signal the end of the exercise, at which point you can break posture to feed.
2) I believe, after watching my videos back, that i set a bad expectation for putting this behavior on cue. I am much more a fan of, these days, waiting until the behavior is happening more readily before adding the cue. You'll notice in the videos i've done I overuse the cue "watch" before the dog fully understands it. instead, i would avoid using the cue and simply wait for the dog to find my eyes, at which point I would click/yes and reward. Practice this alot until you notice that the dog rarely looks at the end and readily focuses on the eyes. AT this point, sneak your cue in (capture) the behavior. This way, we don't waste our words as much!
Really solid, clean work, Kimberly. You guys are ready for to proof the focus more (from the front - don't shift around the clock yet).
