THIS is why I do what I do. I took this video moments after we walked past another dog and Henry is his usual happy self! I didnāt ask him to sit when the camera started rolling, his choice!
Disclaimer: Iāve been taking Henry out since we started with wee puppy pee breaks so coming up on 7 years. It doesnāt take this long to create relationships like this but it does take empathy, patience and consistency.
One of my favourite memories popped up today and I love thinking back to this moment so much that I wanted to share it here and now I can rewatch it daily.
Some context for you: 4yrs ago during covid times my husband created this little RC table in our basement and we had the wonderful idea to let Jamal explore it for some extra indoor enrichment. If you know Italian greyhounds, you know that they donāt often enjoy winter weather.
We just marked 18months of missing our sweet sweet Jamal, these videos help provide some comfortš¤
Alsoā¦.sorry to my husband for blasting his rc table online
Today is the most perfect weather for building in the snow! If you get a chance before the rain comes, get outside and create with your dog!
Be sure to check todayās story to see Posie succeed!
*Disclaimer: After seeing the carrot was too high for her I angled it lower and had her try again before it caused any frustration. She devoured her prize afterwards!*
Sharing a bit of our walk from today and showing how a little situation was handled!
Letās kick start this post off by saying there is NEVER a reason to be harsh with your dog, I donāt care if they picked up something gross on their walk or if they stole food from the counter *cough my Posie* there is simply never a reason for it. This includes yelling at them and or yanking on their leash or collar, they wonāt effectively learn from the scenario and will only lose confidence in you.
INSTEAD if this happens simply trade them with something of higher value. How does this become reliable? Practice, practice and more practice! Create pretend scenarios and then build up to teaching them a release cue.
Maverick found something yummy that was not a safe snack to find so I stayed calm, traded him and created distance from the item right away.
As always, proud of Maverick!!!
Oh my spunky Lola girl, you are a thing of beauty!
The last two weeks Lola and I have been working on her āThis Wayā cue to help improve our communication and the quality of our walks together.
As mentioned, my clips sometimes are short and sweet so that I can share a bit of our outings but also so that I can keep my attention on our surroundings when out in the community.
Have questions about improving walks with your pup?! Iām always open for messages or e-mails [email protected]
[Video Description]: A golden retriever wearing a black harness is quickly walking along the sidewalk before turning direction when asked āThis Wayā
Today as we headed out on our walk a pest control worker caught us off guard when we stepped outside. My goal was to keep Maverick feeling as confident as possible and staying under threshold.
What I did to help:
-Created distance as quick as possible, this is KEY
-Heavily rewarded him in the direction away from said worker
-Used natures snuffle mat and scattered some treats for him to sniff out when we were in a safe area
I could have also engaged in the 1-2-3 pattern game by Leslie McDevitt as this is something we have worked on too but Maverick was quick to disengage without it
What I did NOT do:
-Stand there and let him bark
-Scold him or tug on his leash
Every dog has their own comforts/discomforts and their own feelings. Itās up to me to learn the dog that Iām with and make our outings the most fun experiences that I possibly can. Itās about more than just holding a leash and if youāve been following along on my page or are even new here, youāll see for yourself. I love what I do š¾
[Video Description:] A small white dog wearing a black and blue harness is being walked along the sidewalk and being offered treats as reinforcement
I havenāt taken Maverick out since 2022 and look at this engagement with me šš„°
I try not to take too long of videos when out walking as I want to ensure my attention is on the dog Iām with but I do like to catch short snippets of our walks!
As I get back into a busier schedule again I plan to be more active on my social media accounts and share more of my outings and the sweet faces I get to work with.
The u-turn is a skill I will be working on with all of the dogs I take out. Sometimes you may need to quickly change the direction of your walk and I want to make sure the dog Iām with understands the short notice change and that there isnāt any leash pressure
Itās been just over a year since I last took Tima out and we picked up right where we left off! Her family has continued to do such an amazing job with this sweet girl and I am beyond thrilled to get some time with her this week. š„°
[Video Description]: A black collie mixed breed wearing an orange harness is walking along the sidewalk in the sunshine.
Itās been just over a year since I last took Tima out and we picked up right where we left off! Her family has continued to do such an amazing job with this sweet girl and I am beyond thrilled to get some time with her this week. š„°
[Video Description]: A black collie mixed breed wearing an orange harness is walking along the sidewalk in the sunshine.
Dog Walking and Force-Free Dog Training- Teaching through kindness and empathy since 2017š¾
