Student and longe line

This clip of one of my students doing first day longe line work with her dog is just to fine to not share. This is her second dog, so she is not a new comer to longe line work. What we are watching was taken toward the end of the lesson and the dog is really showing some nice focus. The only part I am unhappy with is that while you can hear me ask her why she did the about turn when she did, unfortunately you can't hear her response. Suffice to say, that she gave the correct answer to my question of why?

I don't think there is any way I can explain why it is so very important to do longe line work as the precursor to any and all training. One of the most important things it does is to give the dog a chance to "buy into" the idea of learning. The other thing of importance it does is to give both human and dog a chance to learn each other's rhythm in a non-confrontational manner. When the longe line work follows time spent doing the "sit on the dog" exercise both students have taken the time to find their center and are ready to focus on learning. What a great combo and a solid foundation for all that follows.