Activating your dogs potential through positive training. Private training based in the Illawarra
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Imagine a dog who listens around other dogs and people. Imagine a dog who walks nicely on lead. Imagine a dog who responds to signals. Imagine a well behaved dog who is a joy to be around.
Group training is a great way to learn new skills and practice getting your dog to pay attention around other dogs.
Join in on the fun and book now to secure your place in my Mind Your Manners class.
https://activatedogtraining.as.me/schedule.php?appointmentType=category%3AGroup+Class
Training is great but sometimes management is enough. Take a dog who is excited about visitors coming to the house. You could 100% teach your dog to sit for pats or do some mat training and keep them on lead until you're training is reliable. These are all really great alternatives to jumping on and harassing guests for attention.
This takes time, consistency and commitment but the results will be awesome. However, you could also place you dog behind a barrier (baby gate or back door) and provide your dog with fun puzzles instead. They could be chewing a bone, having kibble scattered in the yard, a couple of their favourite toys and even a box to shred. Doing this allows you to enjoy guests company while your dog is enjoying their own personal wonderland of fun. They will still have a positive experience to people coming and be learning that visitors are a time to be off duty and do their own thing.
Training is awesome, a part of that is setting up a winning environment. And sometimes it means taking the pressure off yourself while still setting it up for your dog to learn good habits.
Here is Atlas bobbing for carrot chunks outside while some workman are moving about the house. He saw them, and then went off to explore his yard for whatever games I might have set up for him to play instead. Not a care in the world and super chill! That's a win!
On Friday I proposed a question, if you were limited to teaching your dog 3 skills what would they be? Well, here's mine. Given some of the great answers I got I may have to think again.
My 3 were Touch, Place and Wait. My reasoning is that these three give me a basis for come here, go over there and a wait where you are. It gives me the ability to call him from something dangerous and keep him safe.
I love training with Atlas. As a result he has a rather eclectic mix of skills, from sit to spin and from circle an object to walking backwards. But I had a thought, if for some reason I was limited to only teaching him 3 skills what would they be?
I'm curious to see what skills you would pick for your dog. Would you go with 3 fun tasks or 3 safety behaviours, or maybe you have 3 skills that you find most useful. have a think and let me know in the comments.
What 3 skills would you teach your pup?
I will be on holiday for the last 2 weeks of May. I'm off to spend time with family overseas and meet my beautiful newborn niece.
For any questions or enquiries please send through an email and I'll address these on my return. I wont be available by phone.
The daily walk is something most pet parents are excellent at. They make time to ensure that their dog is getting some physical exercise each day. Our dogs are complex creatures and have needs beyond the physical. An enrichment plan which allows for expressions of "dog" behaviour and a chance to use many senses will offer more fulfilment.
Here are a few ideas to get you started...
I love to play around with Atlas and teaching him new skills. Mostly just figuring out the steps and making it a game. Atlas loves to learn new things and it helps to reinforce for him that training is fun.
In this video I am working on an emergency stop. As Atlas moves toward me I want him to STOP when I cue it. He's doing really well and we've even started to add in a skill at distance. To start this behaviour I simply created a pattern where I throw a treat, and when Atlas returns to me I throw another treat. A great recall game on it's own! Once he was returning I would fist my hand, raise it above my head and say STOP. Then immediately throw that treat, I did not wait for him to stop. It only took him a couple of repetitions to see that raised fist and wait for the treat to be thrown.
What do you think?
Ever been to Woolies and Coles and seen the baby food isle? All those neatly arranged packets of puree. They are great for training your dog and offering a delicious reward. Perfect for practicing recall at the beach. It fits nicely in to your pocket and the goodness is sealed inside so it doesn't matter if it gets wet.
Looking for a fun enrichment option. The puree is easily used for stuffing kongs, spreading on lick mats and even just putting little bits all around the yard for your dog to forage. The different flavours make for great variety.
I recommend starting with simple meat options first and then exploring other ingredients.
Miss Cali has recently been adopted by a wonderful family who want to give her a great life.
Can you guess what breeds might be part of her heritage?
Did you know dogs see differently to us. They see less colours than we do but have a wider field of vision.
WHAT COLOURS DO DOGS SEE?
Contrary to popular belief, dogs are not colour blind.
A dog’s visual world is certainly not as vibrantly colourful as ours, but they do see a range of yellow, grey and blue shades and have better night and peripheral vision than we do.
Colour is interpreted and discerned by nerve cells in the eyes. The retina has two main types of cells called rods, which detect light levels and motion and cones which differentiate colour.
A human’s eyes have three types of cones which can identify combinations of red, blue, and green.
Dogs have only two types of cones that are only able to discern shades of blue, yellow and grey – this perception of colour is called dichromatic vision.
An ophthalmology professor at the University of Washington discovered that dogs could see blues and yellows but not reds and greens. This information would have been confirmed by anatomical investigation of a dog’s eye.
It would make more sense if manufacturers of dog toys would take a dog’s colour spectrum into account when producing dog toys.
Toys are usually made to visually appeal to people, not dogs.
Shades of yellow, grey or blue are far more appealing to your dog than a bright shade of red or another colour.
FAQ "If I'm trying to teach my dog to behave around other dogs and people, why is my trainer telling me to avoid them?"
I get this question a lot, as it seems to people that I am just avoiding the problem rather than working with the dog to do better. But just continuing to expose them in the hopes they'll get used to it often makes the behaviour worse in the long run.
By managing our dogs to reduce trigger events we give them and their bodies time to relax and settle. We can work on the skills we need to do better in those situations in future in a safe, stress free environment. We also reduce the opportunities our dog has to fall back on old habits which makes establishing new ones extremely difficult.
This isn't a long term solution, but it is an important part of our overall training plan.
UPDATE: crisis over and the website is back up and running again.
EEEK! My website is currently down. I'm working to get it back up as soon as I can but do not have a timeline for this as yet. For any questions or enquiries please feel free to email me directly at [email protected]
Meet the lovely Coconut, Coco for short.
I met Coconut a few weeks ago, she does not like having visitors come to her house. She barks at them and sometimes with air snap. This confused her pet parents because if she didn't like it why is she going up and jumping on them?
One of the first things we did for Coco was remove surprise visitors. It is very hard to prepare Coconut for a visitor if we don't they are coming or don't know they have arrived. It is also safer for visitors. We have done some training as well but in this case the management alone has made a huge difference.
It has made visitors more predictable. It has given time for Coconut to relax and has reduced the amount of reactions she has had.
A HUGE WIN!!
At our last session I was greeted by a very happy dog who was happy and excited by my arrival. her pet parents had successfully had visitors Coconut knew and Coconut met her new dog walker. She was able to remain under threshold and significantly more relaxed. More training ahead but it is always great to see the proof that we are on the right track.
Personally I love a good rain day 💦, I'm always ready to snuggle up with a good book and read away. But for our dogs rainy days can be the worst as they are cooped up inside with less exercise and stimulation than they are used to. That doesn't have to be the case though. Here are a few ideas for adding some fun into your dogs rainy days.
🟢 A long lasting chew or frozen treat is a great way to keep your dog occupied during a rainy day
🟢 Teach your dog a new trick. From shake and spin, to pick up your toys and put them in the box there is no shortage of tricks we can teach our pooches.
🟢 Place a selection of cardboard boxes around the room and hide treats in some or all of them for your dog to find.
🟢Go for a trip to Bunnings or the pet store, generally these are large spaces where you can walk around inside and explore the space.
🟢 Turn your living room into a fun obstacle course. This is great for physical exercise and brain power
🟢 Play tug of war. It's a fun game and a good opportunity to practice your give, get it and wait signals as well.
Last but not least, suit up and head outside. There are many dogs who will enjoy just running and walking in the rain as well.
What do you do for your dog on a rainy day?
When thinking about teaching your dog a skill or try to change behaviour it is important our dog is in the right mindset. I call this the think and learn zone. Others refer to this a green zone or learning zone etc.
Ideally this is the zone where my dog is able to split his attention between his environment or distracting stimulus and me.
If you're dogs complete focus is on the environment or trigger within the environment then you aren't in a good position to teach him the expected responses or desired behaviours. In fact your do is likely already or about to engage in the unwanted behaviours you are trying to stop. This is often referred to as over-threshold. It means something needs to be adjusted so the dog is able to acknowledge the distracting stimulus but still engage and respond to the trainers signals.
The opposite can also happen. The dog is not engaging with his environment or has zero response to the distracting element and is solely focused on you. This sounds great but you're dog is not learning about what to do around that particular stimulus or it simply isn't a distraction. For example; I have a dog who is super excited and interested in birds and I see birds in the environment and do some training. My dog does great and I think woohoo successful session around birds. The reality is my dog never noticed the birds and therefore didn't learn that these skills are relevant around birds. This is under threshold, not a bad place to be but ultimately not helpful to what I was trying to achieve.
When thinking about your training, observe your dog and find where that think and learn is.
Do you have a young dog and looking to get off o the right foot? A teenage terror causing trouble? Or perhaps an older dog look to refresh their skills?
My Mind Your Manners Basic Obedience Class is a great place to learn the skills you need to live harmoniously with your dog. Join in on the fun and practice your skills around other dogs and people in a safe space.
Book now to secure your place in my Mind Your Manners class
Schedule your appointment online Activate Dog Training
It is not uncommon for people to feel like they woke up one morning and feel like all their training went out the window. Things were going smoothly, in a good rhythm and then at about 6 months their cute puppy doesn't listen anymore.
After puppyhood we enter the joys of the teenage dog. Even though they may now look more like an adult dog they are still very much a young and immature dog. Depending on the breed teenage hood typically starts at about 6 months and lasts until social maturity at 2 years of age. There are of course outliers, dogs who enter this phase earlier and/or reach social maturity later. In this phase, there is still a great deal of changes happening for our dogs as their brains and biology continue to develop.
Common behaviour challenges for teenagers is more energy, a lack of impulse control, easily frustrated and distracted, not as responsive, over stimulated, lose focus and an urge to explore more and they may even become fearful of things that didn't bother them. It is a lot for dogs and dog parents to process. You may find yourself overwhelmed, frustrated and worrying that your not doing the right thing.
It is normal for the wheels to fall of your training at this point. To have amazing days where your teenager is doing really well and then wonder if they've ever been trained before the next day. Upside it is a phase and it will pass and we can still focus on encouraging and shaping desirable behaviour.
Be patient and consistent. Keep rewarding behaviours you like. Keep work on your foundation behaviours. Make sure you continue to enrich your dog. Mental stimulation and calm enrichment, like sniffing, are perfect for the stage of development. Continue to expose your dog to different people, places, animals and experiences in a safe and positive way.
And reach out for help if you need it. A professional trainer can help ease the overwhelm of the teenage terror.
Congratulations!!! Another group has completed Mind Your Manners a basic obedience class.
These guys all learned how to focus and settle around other dogs and people. Maintain a loose lead walk. Leave things that don't belong to them. And some amazing stays and recalls all around. A wonderful group. We had a lot of fun.
Interested in learning new skills? Getting your dog to focus around other dogs and people? Have fun in a safe space?
Activate your dogs best behaviour today and reach out 😀
What is Cooperative Care?
As part of living with a dog we engage in a lot of activities to care for them. We check them over for lumbs, bumbs, cuts and sores. If we find any we have them hold still while we clean and dress the wounds. We clip their nails. We brush them and clip their hair when needed. We bath them and rub shampoo and conditioner all over them. We clean their eyes and ears, check their teeth and brush those too. We take them to vets and groomers where they are poked, prodded, tugged on and sometimes have things put up their butts. We give them tablets to make them feel better or prevent parasitic infestations. There is a lot that goes in to ensuring our dogs are healthy.
Cooperative Care is a phrase used for the training that goes into ensuring our dogs are comfortable when we do all these things. That they remain happy and relaxed. There is a lot of training happening in the world that takes this even further. We teach the dogs to ""cooperate"" and help us with their ""care"". Thus the term came about.
This training can be anything from teaching a chin rest so they hold their head still to presenting a specific paw at a time for clipping. It can include teaching a dog to file their nails on a scratch board and even open mouth when asked for teeth brushing. Even a simple hand target, so you can position your dog for weighing or examination can be a care behaviour.
There are so many cool things happening in the world of animal training. Have a think, and tell me what behaviours have you taught your dog to make caring for them easier for them and for you?"
Group class is a great way to learn new skills, practice those skills in a safe space and spend time with your dog having fun. Mind Your Manners is a beginners group class focused on teaching skills that come in handy when living side by side with your dog.
If your dog would benefit from improved manners leave a comment and let me know your interest.
NEW BLOG POST IS LIVE
I often get asked "what should I be teaching my dog?" Sometimes this comes from a worry that they are missing something that will help their dogs grow to be amazing adults. Sometimes it is pressure from 100 other opinions being fired at them, "oh should your teach you dog ...." or "every dog should know how to ....". Confusion sets in and pet parents don't know what to work on. And sometimes they are just frustrated with their young dog and don't know what to do.
I wrote this blog to reassure pet parents that you cannot do all the things and it is OK to focus on what is currently frustrating you or your dog. It is OK to focus on things that matter to you and your dog. There is no one right answer. This blog also goes over ideas about what you could be working on to make things easier for you and your dog in life.
So have a read and let me know what you think in the comments
https://www.activatedogtraining.com.au/help-what-should-i-focus-on-when-training-my-teenage-dog/
A great opportunity!!! Atlas and I will be there learning from this awesome trainer and hope to see you there too
📣UPDATE: EOI's for Working Spots will close on the 28th February!
🌟We are excited to announce that Jamie The Dog Trainer is coming to Bundanoon.....
👉Jamie is a professional dog trainer based in Ballart, Victoria. He takes a positive science based, motivational and practical approach to training dogs and has a special interest in ANKC Obedience and Tricks.
Jamie competes with his own dogs, Winnie (Golden Retriever) and Sage (GSD) in ANKC Obedience. He is also preparing Sage for her BH in IGP.
Jamie’s large social media following continues to gain momentum showcasing an abundance of dog training tutorials and dog training tricks along the way. His unique approach to creating power, intensity and engagement behaviours through movement and using rewards in creative ways that help maximise a dogs potential in the ring and in general life is something to be experienced.
🟣When: Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th June, 2024
🟣Time: 8am start each day
🟣Where: Shibumi Equestrian Centre, Bundanoon NSW
🟣Working Spot: $350 per day
🟣Auditors: $175 per day
💫EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST (EOI)
To ensure there is a great cross section of topics covered throughout the workshop, there will be an EOI process for working spots. To express interest please email Kellie; [email protected] with what you would like to work on and your date preference. Both Jamie and Kellie will be selecting working participants and will accommodate where possible. There will only be 8 working spots offered each day.
⏩️Contact:
Kellie Neville from K-N9 Dog Training
Mb: 0408 027 874
With all this talk of training I think it is important to remind people to have fun with their dogs. Just goof off, wrestle, play tug or chase and just enjoy your dog. Don't get me wrong training is fun too but there is a joyful freedom in simply engaging in play. There is peace and love in just having a snuggle with no thought about what happens next. Take the time to enjoy the moments and play and feeling free to share a moment of joy with you and your dog.
I love pet friendly adventures. As much as I enjoy me time without my dogs, I really enjoy spending time and adventuring with Atlas. He's a total goofball and never fails to make me laugh.
A couple of weeks ago we adventured to the Blue Mountains and completed the Lawson Watertfall Loop. Atlas stayed on a long line as required but this gave him the freedom to experience many waterfalls, sniff along the trails and stay safely nearby.
Here's a few pics to inspire you to plan your own doggy adventure. Do you have a favourite hike or experience?
A frozen treat is one of my favourite ways to enrichment my dog. It also helps me to calm him when needed, redirect his attention from guests or give him something to do so he isn't under foot. It is a tool I recommend a lot and the most common question is... you guessed it. What can I put in my Kong, Toppl, other frozen puzzle for my dog? So I thought I'd take time each month to share a recipe.
Carrot & Honey Recipe (amounts vary depending on the quantity you make; amounts here based on filling a single Toppl)
- 2 tbsp Greek Yoghurt
- 1 tsp Honey
- 3 medium Carrots
To make this I simple steam and mash up my carrots. Don't worry if they are lumpy, puppy wont mind one bit. Mix all ingredients together until well combined. Then add to whichever toy or puzzle I'm using.
If you don't have a puzle to use, then tuperware is a great subsitute. Your dog is going to enjoy a yummy iceblock either way and will still take a while to consume.
Follow Me part 2
This video shows how this game becomes even more fun adding in spins he follows. You can also clearly see how this shapes a loose lead as he follows at my side.
Have a play and let me know in the comments how you go
Being able to enjoy a pleasant walk with our dogs is an ideal many dog owners share. A walk is an easy to physically exercise and enrich your dog on a regular basis. But... if you have a dog who is pulling you down the streat and reacting to other dogs and people it can be an unpleasant experience and a real chore to motivate yourself.
Try this training game;
Follow Me puts you in front of your dog helping them to focus on you. And easily following you around on lead, better yet a loose lead. It is a great way to encourage your dog to engage with you. Once you have a dog who is engaging with you shaping a loose lead walk is that much easier.
How to play?
Simply stand facing your dog, move away 2 to 3 steps encouraging them to follow. Mark and reinforce once they move toward you. Change direction and repeat. You can gradually add in more steps, move away quickly or slowing. You can even change direction a couple of times before reinforcing and see if they are really focused on following you.
Nothing too complicated. The point of the game is to get your dog moving with you on a nice loose lead, to be engaged with each other and of course to have a bit of fun.
I absolutely LOVE adventuring with my dog. In fact company on my walks and someone to share them with is a big reason I share my life with dogs. I love their antics, I love their joy in everything and I love their company.
Here's the question do you prefer beach walks or forest trails? AND would your dog agree with you?
I love forest trails. The smells and sounds, the peacefulness. I enjoy training my dog to run around trees, leap on rocks and balance on stumps. I enjoy the physical challenge of the trail. BUT I love seeing other wildlife, the birds, the mammals and even cool insects and reptiles.
Atlas would 100% be choosing the beach. This is his happy place. He loves doing zoomies on the wide open sand. He loves digging in the sand and scooping it up with his nose. He loves running and splashing in the water. And lately he loves riding the waves. He also enjoys the other people and dogs he can meet there.
So forest or beach? And do you and your dog agree? :p
Wollongong, NSW
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Last weekend Atlas and I did a private session with Jamie The Dog Trainer. Jamie has such a wonderful way of engaging training from the dogs perspective. His lure techniques are out of this world. He gets amazing precision with just the smallest movements. Atlas and I learned a lot. In this video Jamie was showing us how to move between sit and stand and down without Atlas moving his front feet. This keeps his positions nice and clean, without him shifting forward.
Back from holidays and ready to go. Atlas and I were back at agility over the weekend learning some new skills. This time around the course we practiced had obstacles closer together. Man! That jump out the first tunnel was a tricky one! We are having loads of fun playing and will continue to practice. #goldenretriever #positivereinforcementtraining #dogtraining #dogsofwollongong
I love to play around with Atlas and teaching him new skills. Mostly just figuring out the steps and making it a game. Atlas loves to learn new things and it helps to reinforce for him that training is fun. In this video I am working on an emergency stop. As Atlas moves toward me I want him to STOP when I cue it. He's doing really well and we've even started to add in a skill at distance. To start this behaviour I simply created a pattern where I throw a treat, and when Atlas returns to me I throw another treat. A great recall game on it's own! Once he was returning I would fist my hand, raise it above my head and say STOP. Then immediately throw that treat, I did not wait for him to stop. It only took him a couple of repetitions to see that raised fist and wait for the treat to be thrown. What do you think?
Follow Me part 2 This video shows how this game becomes even more fun adding in spins he follows. You can also clearly see how this shapes a loose lead as he follows at my side. Have a play and let me know in the comments how you go
Being able to enjoy a pleasant walk with our dogs is an ideal many dog owners share. A walk is an easy to physically exercise and enrich your dog on a regular basis. But... if you have a dog who is pulling you down the streat and reacting to other dogs and people it can be an unpleasant experience and a real chore to motivate yourself. Try this training game; Follow Me puts you in front of your dog helping them to focus on you. And easily following you around on lead, better yet a loose lead. It is a great way to encourage your dog to engage with you. Once you have a dog who is engaging with you shaping a loose lead walk is that much easier. How to play? Simply stand facing your dog, move away 2 to 3 steps encouraging them to follow. Mark and reinforce once they move toward you. Change direction and repeat. You can gradually add in more steps, move away quickly or slowing. You can even change direction a couple of times before reinforcing and see if they are really focused on following you. Nothing too complicated. The point of the game is to get your dog moving with you on a nice loose lead, to be engaged with each other and of course to have a bit of fun.
Meet Oreo!! Oreo is a young Labroador, adopted by her family just a few weeks ago. She was doing g well in so many areas but mums shoulder was sore from the leash pulling. Here is a video that Oreo's mum has shared of where she is at now. Starting in the backyard and the moving to the front driveway. Now street walking. She's come so far in such a short time. As mum says "look, just one finger". Absolutely nothing wonky about this video it showcases some amazing leash walking !!! Would you like to enjoy your walks more, reach and Activate your training.
Beach trips are great fun in the summer, it is cool and refreshing. We are fortunate to have a selection of great dog beaches across the Illawarra. To use the beaches it is important to ensure our dogs have good recall but also PROXIMITY. proximity my dog stays close enough to hear any directions I give. Here's a few tips to improve your dogs proximity; 🟢 Capture those check ins. Anytime you dog moves close to you reinforce it. Play, treats, praise. 🟢 Play with your dog. Be fun and engaging. If you switch off so will your dog. 🟢 Use a long line or have a good recall. Call your dog back if they move too far away or use the lead to manage distance. 🟢 If you see a person or dog approaching, place your dog back on lead until you can be sure they wont run up to stay hello.
💦Water play is a great way to stay cool this summer. ☀️ Sprinklers and hoses can provide a lot of amusement to dogs who enjoy the water. It has the benefit of providing dogs an outlet for physical energy and helping them to stay cool. What is some of the games you enjoy with your dog during the summer?
There are dogs who just love to shred things! A simple activity suggestions for those looking for non food enrichment ideas. Yes, you guessed it. Provide your dog with some cardboard boxes and or paper to shred. I have a couple pro shredders here getting my boxes ready to be recycled. My boy Atlas loves the grocery shop because he gets to shred the bags when we have finished unloading the groceries. He will sit quietly while I read catalogues and then shred those too. Yes I have some messy clean up to do but the smile on his face is totally worth it, as is the hour or so of quiet I have because he's busy. One thing to keep in mind. This is a shredding activity and not an eating one. Watch your dog and if they look they are eating it, swap it out and redirect to the larger pieces for shredding. If you find over time the continue to rip and eat then this is not a suitable activity for your pooch unless supervised.
There are times on a walk or adventure we come across a scenario that is just not a good idea for our dog. Perhaps I'm walking my excited puppy and there is a group of people coming up. Eeek, last thing I want is puppy pulling to and jumping all over them. Perhaps I have a dog who lunges and bark at other dogs and there is a dog heading our way. It is ok to say, my dog is not ready for that life event. The best thing I can do for them is to avoid or escape until we are. If you simply went ahead and hoped for the best, there is a good chance they would simply practice a lot of undesirable behaviour and send your training plan backwards. Here are a couple of strategies you can use to navigate past these distractions. 1. Treat scatter - move off the path, create space and scatter treats on the ground for them to sniff out. 2. Treat magnet - move off the path, grab a handful of treats or get your food tube ready, place it on the dogs nose and continuously feed as you move past the distraction. 3. Treat bowling - move off the path, take a large treat, show your dog and bowl it in front of you. Keep bowling treats in front of you as you move past or away from the distraction. As you read creating distance and or moving behind a visual barrier is also key to avoiding mishaps.
Have you tried giving your dog an egg?? Scrambled, runny or mixed in with kibble it is always a great hit. Here is a video of Atlas, with just a plain ole egg from the fridge. I haven't boiled it so when he did finally break it by dropping it on the bricks he got to enjoy a tasty treat. in the meantime he spent quite a bit time prancing with it in his mouth and pawing it around. Try it out with your pup and let me know how they liked it.
Find what motivates your dog! Every dog is different. There are food lovers and play aficionados out there. Dogs who like their cuddles and verbal encouragement. Whatever it is get specific and find out what really interest and excites your dog. Don't be worried about what anyone else thinks and get creative. Here's my tip; don't just say food. Food is a broad category, get specific. What food? Atlas here is trotting along for a lick of fruit puree. He also enjoys baby food and it makes for a great reinforcer! No mess or slobber on my hands 😜
Using games to improve your dogs skills is a fun way to do training each day. Here is ‘Through the Tunnel’ a recall game… Called many things by many trainers this is a great game to play and practice skills with your dog too. Here’s how… 1. Count out 4 to 8 treats. 2. Show your pup the first treat and toss it between your legs. We want the dog to go after the treat. 3. Move away, turn and get ready. 4. Mark the moment your looks toward you 5. Reinforce by tossing the next treat between your legs 6. And repeat.. 7. The last treat isn’t the end, after your pup has chased after the last treat let your dog run toward you and give them a big pat/wrestle. Have fun with it, we want our dogs to have fun with it too but keen to run toward us. Have a go! Play the game!
Pet Friendly Locale It can be so hard to find places to go with our dogs at times. MM Beach, Port Kembla. Like any space it has its pros and cons but in general is a fun place to spend some time with your pooch. As a 24hr beach it is possible to find quiet times to go down with your dog and enjoy the space. If you've got a dog learning their recall a quiet beach is great space to practice. There is plenty of parking up at the street, poop bags and bins provided at the north entry. The beach is relatively sheltered, and about 300m in length. There are rock at either end, where dogs cannot go according to council regulations. Like any beach look out for sharks, blue bottles and dead fish. If you think you and your dog would enjoy time together at the beach head on down. Is MM a favourite of yours? Do you have a favourite beach? Share you story below...
Summer has arrived. The weather has been quite warm these last couple weeks. Not to mention that humidity, which feels like it's in full swing today. Be sure have ways for your dog to stay cool this summer. Behaviours like digging can see an increase as our dogs try to find cool places to rest. To avoid this outcome have places your dog can go to be nice and cool. Atlas is not a fan of the heat. He loves his pool though so we make sure it's nice and ready for him on a hot day. #dogtrainer #dogtraining #dogtraining101 #dogtrainingtips #dogtrainingadvice #dogwalking #dogbehaviour #positivereinforcement #positivereinforcementdogtraining #rewardbasedtraining #obediencetraining #dogtrainingisfun #puppy #puppytraining #dogtrainersydney #sutherlandshire #sutherlandshiredogs #dogsofillawarra #theillawarra #dogsofwollongong #illawarrabusiness #smallbusinessau
Would you believe that teaching your dog to catch treats can actually help your training go more smoothly?? For small dogs being able to catch treats means I can work on delivering cues while standing. Without, bending over so much and tiring my back. And, for dogs who can be rough taking treats from hand, having them catch can save my fingers. It also allows me to work on other skills while teaching them to take treats more gently. Meet Miss Elizabeth. She is a short dog and an enthusiastic treat taker. Catch keeps things running smooth. Here's a couple of videos with her learning and succeeding to catch the treat. Training Tip; get them sitting and looking up and try to drop the treat directly in to their mouths
I love kids playgrounds as places to adventure with my puppy. There are ramps and bridges and unsteady to surfaces to interact with. As part of building his confidence I focus a great deal on teaching him to be aware of his body and what he can do. I keep him off lead so he has the freedom to move and make his own choices. We've been working on slides. A difficult challenge. Check it out!!!
Practicing the recall. One of the most important skills for you dog to learn and you need to practice regularly. Atlas and I had a quick session earlier in the week. He's getting better and better with plenty of room for continued improvement and pf course continued fun.
For a bit of fun my partner and I decided to teach Atlas to catch a treat. So sharing with you, in slow motion, Atlas catching a treat. Almost everything you teach your dog could be used in a practical way but it doesn't have to. It's OK to just have fun :)
