Throwing a ball (repeatedly) for your dog.
I've made my thoughts clear on why I don't think the repeated throwing/chasing a ball is good for your dog both on behavioural and physical levels.
So what do we do instead? Here we are working with a young working Cocker Spaniel, teaching her to search and retrieve the ball. She's getting loads of exercise, working her nose (enriching and tiring), staying on task in the presence of other dogs and a whole bunch more.
Think of activities with your dog's toys which don't involve repeated chasing. Be creative. Put the ball chucker in the bin.
The last time I posted about this topic, it provoked some strong reactions. If you are inclined to object or defend your use of the ball chucker, I'd ask you to think deeply about what I've said in this post before doing so.
Love and peace.
#dogtraining #glasgowdogtrainer #cockerspaniel
Update on the awesome progress made with the continued application of the focus game.Both owners attended the Saturday seminar recently held in Melbourne.Prior to GDT neither of these dogs could play without escalating and behaving in- appropriately.The Doodle Milo would box the face of the other dog and or go into chase in a mode that terrified the other dog.Dixie the JRT would escalate to growling and snapping at the other dog.
So besides my old girl Bourkley Dixie now 4 years plus has never had a play mate.Milo the youngest of our group 2 years old has always had to be taken out of play with any dog. This video footage is a huge win for both dogs and their owners .Both dogs have a child or children in thier family's.
This is the first time a ball has been introduced to their play and it went very well.Both dogs have reliable recall in open space with distractions. Its been 9 months getting to this point.
Such a win all round.
Australia! Still time. I'll be in Melbourne on the weekend of the 11th March. If you'd like to cine and learn with us, comment or DM me for details.
🇦🇺 🪃 🇦🇺
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#australia #dogtrainersofaustralia #australiandogs
What we look at affects what our dogs look at. If we want our dogs to pay attention to us, we need to pay attention to them. This dog is super friendly but easily distracted by other dogs. When we have a dog like this, or dogs who lunge and bark at dogs, we can develop scanning habits, where we walk through the environment visually scanning for dogs. This teaches our dogs to scan for dogs too. We can overcome this by planning, using our peripheral vision and hearing and taking short glances up from our dog to kook for hazards, which then allows us to plan more.
Simple concepts, but not necessarily easy to do, they take deliberate, conscious practice.
Peace and love.
#dogbehavior #dogtraining #dogtrainingtips #dogtrainingadvice #dogtrainer #glasgowdogs #glasgowdogtrainer #glasgowdogtraining #dogtrainingglasgow #positivedogtrainer #positivedogtraining #positivereinforcementdogtrainer #positivereinforcementdogtraining #positivereinforcement #nobreedneedsaheavyhand #nodogneedsaheavyhand
Pathological approach to learning/teaching/behaviour- see behaviours you don't like as a problem which needs to be removed/suppressed/punished. Do not recognise the need the learner has in doing those behaviours.
Constructional approach to learning- recognise there is a function of ALL behaviour, work with the learners, construct behaviours, and construct behaviour which is incompatible with behaviour we don't like or want.
We are teaching Cooper to walk on a loose lead here. As we approach the house on the right, you see him start to pull sightly towards there. The reason for this is because he often gets to greet his friend there, so he's drawn to that area. He also lags behind a little and looks at me, he both likes me and wants to see what I'm doing.
None of these "bad" behaviours warrant correction. No shouting, eh eh, tugging on the lead (there is a slight tug a couple of times but his human is learning here too). No prong collar, no slip lead, no hitting.
Cooper is learning how to move with his human while he's on the lead. He's also learning that when he is being asked to do this, other opportunities (such as going to see his friend, may not always be available).
Teaching boundaries, teaching rules and doing so kindly, respectfully and effectively.
Positive training isn't a free for all. We can teach rules. How we choose to do it is a reflection of our ethics and beliefs. Which do you want to be.
Love and peace.
P.S. harnesses don't cause pulling
#dogbehavior #dogtraining #dogtrainingtips #dogtrainingadvice #dogtrainer #glasgowdogs #glasgowdogtrainer #glasgowdogtraining #dogtrainingglasgow #positivedogtrainer #positivedogtraining #positivereinforcementdogtrainer #positivereinforcementdogtraining #positivereinforcement #nobreedneedsaheavyhand #nodogneedsaheavyhand #harnessesdontcausepulling
Do you have preferences? I love Earl Grey Tea. If I'm out, I'll always ask for it. I also have several other flavours of tea because, although Earl Grey is my favourite, sometimes I like something different. Variety is important, makes life interesting and enriches us.
Here, we are testing Caesar's preferences. In the first part of the clip, we are using one brand of hotdogs. He seems to like them and takes them readily. We then switch to a different type, which his human has been using when they work together. You can see an obvious difference, he likes the first one, not the second. We then switch back to the first one and get engagement again. His human notes that he then took the second type, along with the first, maybe because of the combination of flavours, or maybe by accident.
When we do the same activities, eat the same foods, drink the same flavour of tea, meet the same people over and over, life can (not does, can) become unenriched. Too much variety means to predictability which can be stressful. To little variety can be boring and dull. Some of us are adventurous, others like more routine. Our dogs are the same, and that's ok.
If you've been using the same treat for weeks/months, try switching it up. Make a variety pot of chicken, sausage, smoked sausage, hotdogs etc and this might make it more interesting for your dog. Ot try sausage one day, and chicken the next.
There are always ways we can change reinforcement value.
#dogbehavior #dogtraining #dogtrainingtips #dogtrainingadvice #dogtrainer #glasgowdogs #glasgowdogtrainer #glasgowdogtraining #dogtrainingglasgow #positivedogtrainer #positivedogtraining #positivereinforcementdogtrainer #positivereinforcementdogtraining #positivereinforcement #nobreedneedsaheavyhand #nodogneedsaheavyhand
Working with Toffee at 17 weeks on his recall. He's late puppyhood/early adolescence and is starting to find the world away from his human a mire interesting place so we are working in his recall.
Behaviour is lawful, that means ours is too. Often, what happens is that we get the result we want and stop doing aspects of our behaviour which brought us those results initially. This then impacts our dog's behaviour and the process spirals downwards.
By concentrating on the rules, cue - behaviour - reinforcement we will keep behaviour strong.
#dogbehavior #dogtraining #dogtrainingtips #dogtrainingadvice #dogtrainer #glasgowdogs #glasgowdogtrainer #glasgowdogtraining #dogtrainingglasgow #positivedogtrainer #positivedogtraining #positivereinforcementdogtrainer #positivereinforcementdogtraining #positivereinforcement #nobreedneedsaheavyhand #nodogneedsaheavyhand
But my dog isn't interested/motivated by food/treats.
Try this...
#dogbehavior #dogtraining #dogtrainingtips #dogtrainingadvice #dogtrainer #glasgowdogs #glasgowdogtrainer #glasgowdogtraining #dogtrainingglasgow #positivedogtrainer #positivedogtraining #positivereinforcementdogtrainer #positivereinforcementdogtraining #positivereinforcement #nobreedneedsaheavyhand #nodogneedsaheavyhand
Resource guarding.
Firstly, this term is a label and not one I find particularly helpful. Rather than labelling it resource guarding or the dog as a resource guarder, let's describe behaviours, when they occur and what the dog is trying to achieve by doing those behaviours.
This dog is 6 months old and shows behaviours commonly described as resource guarding. Ask the following questions
1. Under what conditions do those behaviours occur?
2. Can we change those conditions?
3. What do we want our dog to do rather than think in terms of stopping a set of behaviours ?
4. Can our dog do those behaviours under different conditions? If not, let's train them.
5. Can we start merging the two sets of conditions, gradually?
We played a version of the focus game to ask pup to engage with us and did some practice before he got his chew. We then gave him his chew (which he would normally "guard") and practiced the game. Was he able to do it? How quickly?
The second clip shows some work which teaches him that when we approach, good things happen.
Nice, steady progress over the first session. Yes, of course there are things we can improve on, I'm learning about this team, they are learning the process and about each other during it (how was your first driving lesson? All you need is progress over time, not every time).
Change takes time, both in what we do and how we feel. Let's give ourselves that time.
No corrections, verbal or physical. No intimidation, bullying, taking the dog's space.
Kind, effective, humane, progressive training. It can be done.
I'll be doing a full lesson in this as part of our membership, you are welcome to join.
Love and peace
#dogbehavior #dogtraining #dogtrainingtips #dogtrainingadvice #dogtrainer #glasgowdogs #glasgowdogtrainer #glasgowdogtraining #dogtrainingglasgow #positivedogtrainer #positivedogtraining #positivereinforcementdogtrainer #positivereinforcementdogtraining #positivereinforcement #nobreedneedsaheavyhand #nodogneedsa
Working in movement, timing, reinforcement, observation, anticipation.
Simple exercises where we can both learn loads if we approach things well.
"But my dog won't take treats outside or isn't motivated by food..."
All dogs are motivated by food, they have to ve to remain alive. We could reframe the above statement to "my dog isn't motivated by food under these conditions" and this would be more accurate.
Ryan has been walking Molly for a few months, once or twice per week. At first, all she wanted to do was run out to the end of the long line and go back to the car to go home. He took his time with her, engaged with her when she engaged with him (smiling, talking nicely to her) and offered her a treat. She occasionally took it. He also regularly played the focus game. She didn't engage at all at first but with practice, she started to take the treats.
You can see a few moments in the video where she takes the treats and re-engages rather than immediately moves off. This didn't happen by accident, it happened because Ryan was consistent and understands the rules of behaviour change.
Behaviour is lawful. All beings on the planet follow these laws. When we understand them well, we can change behaviour. Behaviour, reinforce values and motivation are all subject to change. We can see that in the video.
If your dog isn't motivated by food under certain conditions, start where and when they are. Build a solid foundation and then gradually change the conditions. By doing this, you open up new possibilities and move further away from any need or temptation to use aversive training methods and equipment like slip leads, prong collars, e-collars or choke chains etc.
Your dog is worth the effort.
I'll be covering all of this in detail in March, please come and join us, we'd be delighted to see you.
#dogbehavior #dogtraining #dogtrainingtips #dogtrainingadvice #dogtrainer #glasgowdogs #glasgowdogtrainer #glasgowdogtraining #dogtrainingglasgow #positivedogtrainer #positivedogtraining #positivereinforcementdogtrainer #positivereinforcementdogtraining #positivereinforcement #nobreedneedsaheavyhand #nodogneedsa
Some work on reactivity to dogs and people.
The first part of the clip is moments after we started. Frankie Boston does beautifully with the spaniel.
My son is filming, he's 6'1", 90kg dressed in dark clothing. You can see how I'm dressed. Frankie was cool with us the whole time.
I'll be presenting on all the details on how to.mske effective, fast and long lasting changes in your dog's behaviour regarding aggression and reactivity (and a whole lot more) in March.
I look forward to seeing you there.
#dogbehavior #dogtraining #dogtrainingtips #dogtrainingadvice #dogtrainer #glasgowdogs #glasgowdogtrainer #glasgowdogtraining #dogtrainingglasgow #positivedogtrainer #positivedogtraining #positivereinforcementdogtrainer #positivereinforcementdogtraining #positivereinforcement #nobreedneedsaheavyhand #nodogneedsaheavyhand #melbourne #melbournedogs
