It's been a big week in training owners with their pooches to prepare them be future assistance dogs, responsive and good manner training in P.A.T ( public access training) is the utmost importance of the training.
So first .... the appropriate ID approval tag on the dog coat and owner by the NSW Registry and my ID tag as the trainer so security know we are not fake like a lot of owners coming into shopping centres with fake coats that's been purchased on line reading assistance dog just so they can take their dog with them, wrong dead wrong ! Not fair on the ones who are genuine and paying a good substantial amount of money for the appropriate training.
You know their is a lot that goes into P.A.T training and time as these pooches have got to be on their best behaviour and owners knowing the rules and how to control and train their pooches.
Check out some of the challenging tasks they need to prepare for before becoming an assistant dog.
Yep , owners ring and ask.... can you stop reactiveness towards other dogs and people all in one lesson John? My answer?......absolutely!
Once I teach you, (the owner,) how to control your pooch behaviour , I provide the knowledge, the tools, the proven methods especially where some dogs don't care for treats like this Australian Bull Terrier and the know how, then the ball is in your court, training, repetition and consistency in which I taught you will prevale in the very short future on your daily walks and satisfaction between you and your dog.
Be good, be safe, be kind..... John.
You know if you can introduce to your dog while he is a puppy the fun game of ball retrieval, there can be a lot of fun games and stimulating brain work in the future when they get a bit older like Aussie here and other dogs in my past I've had the pleasure of resucing to teach them a lot of brain and focusing points which leads into good working dogs in the future training for what ever task you set them to for.
As you can see, although Aussie here is at her highest level of obedience trained I love giving her new stimulated work outs like tracking for the ball it's pretty much the same technique as I use to do training narcotic dogs ( scent work, scent discrimination) so I apply the same with Aussie but with a ball, toy, wallet and even kids( human scent) kids are easier as they have a strong smell of sweet foods like lollies and soft drinks lol.
So I just thought I'd share a little simple game by ball retrieval play then once your pooch is hooked on the ball start hiding it, but make it very simple at first and when he finds it .... give him what he worked for ( ball and heavy praise) as they do with airport sniffer dogs ,they get their special toy only when they snif out the substance they were trained for. . So go on, give it a try if your pooch loves balls, now start hiding it before throwing it as this will stimulate his nose, eyes, and brains) it's a great game for both as in the real work force no matter if it's finding ( sniffing out) drugs, bad guys, food, search and rescue it's all about big game for dogs!.
Hope you enjoyed 😉.
Be safe, be nice , be kind.
Next topic .... Xmas treats for your pooch... the don't go there ones and the healthy ones.
As an assistant independent dog trainer, also recommended by P.A.T. for their clients, amongst so many other training skills that the owner and dog must muster and learn is this one what you see the wheelchair trainer excise as as it's very normal for a dog that's never seen one especially in movements so close to it can really spook it! So roxy the Kelpie here is not so confident by nature so it's going to take a lot more encouragement through positive motivation to distract her from the fear of the unknown ( wheelchair).
This was her first time and doing so well , I'm sure the second training session will be a breeze as she did with many other challenges objects in a shopping centre
Our last k9 boot camp training session..
So I'll make it a bit more challenging by executing most of what my handlers learnt through the 6 weeks of basics and the last 3 weeks intermediate by picking a busy Sunday location at soliders Beach top car park.
So, first... we meet at the desired location. Then proceeded in pairs to heel through the busy streets and traffic through norah Heads .. notice the young fella who wanted to join in my group? Obviously, he thought it might be easy to walk his pooch like ours with us, 😆 🤣 but he did well to keep up with us .. well done jettman.
Next.. a few excise training while heeling our pooches to the 2 ks walk destination and a few stays as well, while on the way back a few weaving patterns while on coming traffic ( heavy impulse training) .
Lisa and I just want to wish you all the very best in the future with your amazing dogs and hope you all had just as fun learning as we had just as fun and laughter in classes with you all.
And if any of you would like to join in again next year, you will also be engaging with my new agility and fluball class class.
So it's buy for now, and thank you all for your kind support .
John , Lisa and Kimberley.
Luna the French bulldog, isn't kidding around here she has bitten and is willing to bite me !
So my job is a last resort again lol, is to challenge Luna, show her I'm not fearing her, prevent her from biting me, and calm the state of mind she's in!.
Why is Luna like many other dogs and owners I've attended to even rescue dogs I've rehabilitated? It's because we treat them like human babies!!!. When you start treating a dog like a human baby especially security dogs, bull breeds, little lap dogs, any breed really chances are... you're going to cop the change of behavioural consequences when they mature!.
So let's help the owner get some k9 psychology and connect! Boom! Done and dusted!. Good girl.
Looking back at some of my bloopers with a little laughter on my face , I thought I'd share a smile with you all, after all, nobody is perfect, right? Lol
1.. pooch missed my cue to jump in the car.
2. Longline training, but the dog kept running .longline not long enough.
3. Whilst conducting a serious consultation, I get a call on my watch from one of my kids to buy him a lollies on the way home, right?
4. While taking a team photo one of our dogs slips away.
Enjoy.
Don't know about these new Micro dobermans, first time I got chased out of a house! Lol
Na,...I never run away from dog attacks. It's the worst reaction you can display to a dog.... was just an assessment of how high his chase drive is..... all sorted, lol. Remember?? I'm a dashie specialist. I see that many with this is my house go away attitude, but this is only a 5 month puppy so let's get it right before it goes wrong I've seen some serious injuries out of these little fire crackers so don't be fooled as mentioned at top... these are micro dobermans! Lol.
Intermediate class, now that our k9 bootcamp basics are over, we are now in our 2nd week of Intermediate k9 bootcamp and check these guys go........
Notice... the weaving excise with the witches hat that on each hat on top is a slice of shoulder ham and a Frankfurt sticking up lol, that's our impulse heeling excise at our camp. And also, check out the impulse stay excise with the remote rabbit running about!.
They are all going great guns.
And to finish the hard core impulse training techniques, it's play time end of class with lot's of water to cool down with.
See you all next week guys.
Next year I'm thinking of introducing basic agility class aswell in our intermediate class.
So what happens when these modern day dog treat trainers have a clients dog that won't except treats? Especially highly aggressive dogs ? Easy... like this owner that was advised by her last trainer and like many others that come to me ... best to go and see John Gatt k9 hes the last resort lol.
So when owners come to me for help with their muscle dogs that literally dragging them the road or dog taking owner for a walk so to speak, I then have to first assess, then, decide best tools for dog and owner, then train both how to connect!,. I can only provide the knowledge and tools, and then the rest is up to the owners to start a new heeling program with their dogs and that takes days or weeks like this beautiful big fella.
A new addition to my assistance dog training program .
I just got a high recommendation as an assistance dog trainer by PAT Australia. ( Thank you guys). Glad you love my work.
After the first initial assessment (temperament and abilities)to ensure that this pooch has what it takes to take on the training with the owner, now it's time for her first P.A.T ( public access training) to see what see might not be comfortable with example: crowd pressure, bright lighting, lights, elevators, stairs, dark rooms, how
food driven she is especially around cafeterias , and and food refusal. A lot of impulse training goes into my type of assistance dog training to the highest level!.
So, based on just her first training session her with the owner they both are going to pass very quickly and easy
Hard core distractions?? Absolutely!.
These handlers and their beautiful dogs have been trained to enforce the stay beside each other while basic stays were introduced ( end of leads), then intermediate stays( tennis ball thrown, treat temptations offering by team)
And now.... advance stays... as you've all seen before a puppet rabbit on a remote control car wizing around...
So the last one is one of the heaviest....my bike with a very loud echoing exhaust pipe, notice how firstly some pooches are unsettled ( fear of the unknown) then by the handlers confidence of reassuring her pooch nothing is going to happen to you.. boom! Already settled and trust comes in between dogs and owners.
Now you know why we call our specialised training classes K9 BOOTCAMP ! Toughen up cup cakes ! Lol.
Be nice.
Be kind.
Be safe.
John.
