Dog play. There is so much to unpack on this topic. There's dog and human play. Dog to dog play. Dog and other species play. Here's a snippet of Willow (ridgeback) and The Chad (huntaway/kelpie) playing. The Chad only has eyes for his frisbee. It looks like Willow has devised a game to try and get him to play with HER. Can you see why I think that instead of guessing that she's just wanting to play with his frisbee? There's 3 things I notice straight up. You might see more. Risë VanFleet, Ph.D. Risë VanFleet I thought you'd like this example of dog-dog interaction/play (or one sided play 😄)
Willow is taking 21 pills and capsules this morning. She's not eating well and I can't hide them in food. But fear not! This is exactly why I have taught her to take bare pills and capsules. I'm using her favourite treat to reinforce the behaviour of taking the medication and to help swallowing: a chaser. I'm also asking her to do other tricks she enjoys in between the pills. This is more enjoyable for both of us, rather than forcing pills into her mouth, clamping her jaws shut or restraining her. One of the reasons I train the way I do is because it has the power to make stressful tasks fun. In my opinion, it's totally worth the time and effort.
Cargo bike milestone: Able to lie down and eat from a home made puzzle while we are moving. In the beginning it was difficult to lure her into the box with food. You've come a long way Willow 😍
Cargo bike milestone: Willow runs alongside moving bike and jumps in when asked. I stop as soon as she trots ahead of the bike in response to my request to get in.
Building a reliable recall. That means: come back immediately before you greet your best buddy the first time you are called. Testing supersizing the reinforcement: high value chicken, thrown (to add the thrill of chasing) and wrapped up (to add the fun of ripping to get it). We could be on a winner.
Milstones: Willow showing how eager she is to get in the cargo bike box. She's come a long way.
Recall Training.
Problem: Willow will come when called except when first meeting her bestie. She will initially run right up to her bestie to touch/greet him for half a second and then come bounding back. After the initial greeting she can be recalled immediately even when galloping towards him or when in the middle of play.
She loves her bestie.
So, why is this a problem?
It's not a problem within the park. Or at home. But ....
a) if she's off lead in the park, and
2) she sees her bestie approaching on the other side of the road before I do, and
3) there's a car coming ...... that half a second greeting before returning could be a tragedy.
What's the likelihood of this happening on such a quiet street, in a large park when I'm always watching what is going on? Probably minimal. Next to nothing. But not zero. It happened once, years ago, with another bestie and no traffic. That's all the information I need to do my risk analysis on whether it's worth doing extra training for this one scenario.
So I am teaching her to come BEFORE that half second greeting when her bestie enters the park. I then reinforce that beautiful, quick return with a high value food AND the opportunity to go greet her bestie: another high value reinforcer. In this clip I'm actually encouraging her to go greet him with the cue "go get him". I'm then testing if she can resist running right up to him before she returns to me.
She succeeds.
Bonus is, the training is fun for both of us. Added bonus: there's no risk of harming the relationship between her and her bestie. If I corrected her for the first greeting before returning (ie. punished the unwanted behaviour), there is the risk that she may stop greeting him altogether or start avoiding him. I won't know what side effect may occur until after the punishment has been given. This is not a side effect I'm willing to gamble with. It's easy to create. Much harder to reverse. I am achieving the desired result without fear, discomfort,
Willow hasn't quite got the hang of using a snuffle mat. You know, using her nose to sniff and discover hidden food. She thinks it's a shake'n'roll mat. I guess she gets bonus points for not wasting time rifling through the mat. Just dump 'em all out and eat. 🤷🏼♀️
Cargo bike milestone (a BIG one): Lying down while the bike is moving. Willow is resting her head on the rim of the box. This is a great sign for a dog who used to be scared of putting one foot in a stationary box. Sitting is good. Lying down is an even more relaxed posture.
Some slow TV. I love watching Willow looking around from the cargo bike. Even more interesting is how she is air scenting.
Willow sabotaged my training video. She's a weird eater. I wanted to show how she wouldn't eat food from my hand but would eat the same food from a dispenser (Kong Wobbler). It's still a great example of how being patient and observing when a behaviour occurs can help you reach a goal. I never give up when dogs refuse food.
Specialist visit yesterday to review blood test. It's a clinic an hour away, Willow's only been once before, about a year ago. She hesitated to enter last year. This time straight in and up on her crate ready to go. Even barking to hurry up the treats while I was talking to vet! She did have the help of Gabapentin to ease her nerves. She did have Gaba the first visit as well, so I'm crediting her husbandry preparation for her increased confidence 😉 I'm grateful to Dr Fleur James, Registered Specialist, Small Animal Internal Medicine from Animalius Vet. I was ecstatic that this was so enjoyable and stress free for Willow.
