Recall and release to an indirect reward
Leroy and I went out and worked on proofing some basic behaviours today. Super happy with his down “plats” In Motion. Is it IGP level? Absolutely not. But it’s come along way. It’s also important for a pig head like Leroy to get some forced rest in between our training. This dog will go till there’s no air left in his lungs. It’s impressive to watch him work, but it’s even more impressive for me to watch him rest. He struggles with this, but we are getting better at it.
Working 2 dogs at once
Want to challenge your skills? Try working multiple dogs at once. You would think this is twice as hard, but in my opinion it’s 4 times as hard. You have to make sure the dogs can understand when it’s their turn to act. I do this using body posture techniques and direct eye contact.
This is actually the first time I’ve done this with both, and you can see how just adding one extra dog can amp up the difficulty. For example: I was so concentrated on making sure the dogs knew who I was talking to that I merged my verbal cues with the body language cues. I also marked and went for the reward at the same time a few times, which can make the action of getting the treat out of my bag confused as the marker. but that’s why it’s important to observe your work, and challenge yourself. It’s the only way you’ll improve.
A lot of trainers talk a big game, but when it comes to their own dogs, they struggle, or simply don’t keep up with the work. In the words of @larrykrohn , “shut up and show me your dog”
I’ve been working with Ashley for about a month now and her confidence is really showing! I originally starting working with Ashley because of her fear reactivity. When I have a dog that is lacking confidence, I like to switch the leash to either a long line or flexi. I find it hard for a dog to be confident when they’re glued to your side and not aloud to explore. This doesn’t go for every dog but the majority of the dogs I’ve worked with who lack confidence to incredibly well when they’re able to explore their environment. We just have to let them be a dog, and investigate things on their own.
Now I wouldn’t recommend doing this until your dog has the basics down like a good recall, good engagement, and a strong reinforcement schedule. These things will ensure better control. Still be aware of the thresholds and the environments you’re in so you can set your dog up for success!
Here’s a small clip of me letting Ashley investigate a deer. She let out a little bark, but I was quickly able to get her to disengage, and she moved along. Notice her posture. This is a dog starting to display confidence.
Love this little girl ❤️
Kenya and I have been working on addressing some dog reactivity the last couple sessions. I do this from a safe distance where she can see the dogs, but isn’t close enough to have a reaction. I apply basic operant conditioning in hopes to condition a better response. This was our second session today and she had no reactions. Very proud of this young lady. Next week we will begin to work closer to the trigger.
Meet
Ralph!
Ralph is an American bulldog/ boxer cross, and is a beast as you can see. He struggles pretty badly with reactivity and classical approaches hasn’t seemed to work as well with it. As you can see he’s got extreme toy drive. From the minute I grabbed his leash, he found the balls on my belt and pulled me ass to the ground 😂 All though this might of been discouraging to some, I found it a really good thing cause I know his toy drive was next level.
I spent the session bonding with Ralph, and playing with him to gain his trust and respect. We had a great time. We were really put through the test when a dog walked right beside us on the sidewalk. Not going to lie, when I saw this dog coming I didn’t think I had a chance of getting his attention since I was certain he was definitely over threshold, but to my surprise he quickly turned around, ignoring the dog and reengaged in play. Why? Because he found more value in playing with me than the other dogs!
Now in the beginning the play is used for redirection, and gives him something to put his intense feelings into, but over time with constant repetition, his feelings will start to change about seeing other dogs due to the positive association of play constantly being applied at the same time he sees a dog. Now this type of play needs to have a lot of cooperative and competitive aspects to it for it to work. Changing a dogs complete mindset about their triggers can take a long time, but the results are worth the time!
Now this may seems easy and impressive right? Well I would hope so. This is my full time job. The real impressive part of it is yet to come. When I help transfer these skills to the owner to ensure she has the tools to work with her dog not only now, but years down the line. That’s what people pay for. Long term results.
Pete is gaining confidence!
Pete and I had our theod session today and the amount of work I’m his handlers have put in him since our last session is really showing! Before Pete couldn’t be within 100ft of someone without barking, but now he is choosing to make better choices and getting paid handsomely for it.
To remove some of the tension I worked with him on a long line. This just gives him more freedom and gives him the ability to create a lot like space when he feels like he needs it.
Pete responds very well to recall, reward markers, and even verbal corrections. I can tell the long line did a lot for his confidence. So we will continue to use it but in more busier environments next time.
This took some time to train but hell yeah! We got it down. Switching from bark at handler to bark at target. That a boy Leroy!
Look at Molly go!
making a dog stop pulling, or getting a dog to leave things alone is easy. But will your dog choose to make the right decisions on their own? All though it is harder to do, it’s a lot more meaningful to the dog.
Go out and let your dog make their own decisions, and reward them heavily for the good ones.
Casey!
cuddles with Casey in Home Depot!
Today it was raining so Casey and I decided to go back to Home Depot to work around some distractions. Today I really wanted to work on learning how to sit still and watch the word go by. Now when I’m working on this stuff I usually do prefer the dog in a down and settled, but in an environment a dog is just learning to be in, I allow the dog to get in any position that makes him comfortable. In this case, it was cuddled up next to me in a lawn chair 😅
Eventually I was able to get Casey to settle In the down position beside the doors. This was huge for him! Casey is a high drive breed, and I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, teaching a high drive dog to settle is one of the most important things you can teach them. This behaviour does not come easy to them, so it’s important to use lots of reinforcement once they’re in this position so they find a lot of value in it, and are more likely to offer it on their own.
Meet Pete!
Meet Pete!
Pete is about 4/5 months and was recently adopted by his new mama. His mom reached out to me letting me know that Pete is quite sensitive to the world out on walks, so we are working together to show him that the word isn’t as scary as he fears. Using plenty of positive reinforcement and operant conditioning, we will help turn Pete into a more confident puppy
Just finished my session with Henry!
This little guy is coming a long really well. Today we decided to go sit outside of Sobeys and work around people distractions. Compared to how he was our first session, I’m incredibly proud of this boy!
The one thing I’ve really noticed is how much slower we are going through food rewards. This is a great thing though. I’m able to stretch out the duration between rewards now because I was so consistent with them in the beginning that’s he knows what behaviors are desired now.
I believe in the beginning it’s OK to reward your dogs lots. They’re learning a new skill and a lot of reinforcement helps. Just like us, when we are Learning a new skill, a lot of reinforcement goes a long way. Same for our puppers.
#brandonmb
#brandonmbdogtraining
#Manitobadogtraining
Meet Odie!
Odie and I just had our second session today and he did great! I wanted to see where Odies threshold was around dogs, and the good news is he has a pretty high threshold which is great!
Odie is very food motivated which made all of this a breeze. You can see in the videos how he makes the quick decision to come back to me and get a reward instead of engaging with the dogs on the other side of the fence.
Odie is such a joy, and as you can see he’s extremely friendly and playful. He such a silly guy too. He was cracking the kids up at the playground with all is shenanigans.
Kenya is learning alternative behaviours!
So when I first got a message about Kenya, one of the owner’s biggest concerns was her tendency’s to be a bit reactive when someone was at the door. We thought today was a good day to work on this.
So how we achieved this was first desensitizing the cues that someone is at the door. After that’s done, we kept a leash on her and began to engage dynamically with her to give her a structured outlet for her initial energy. Once that was done we introduced the place command to give her a safe place to retreat where she can be left alone and not have to worry about any guests disturbing her.
Kenya took to this extremely fast. Within a half hour, the handler didn’t need a leash on her, and she happily went to her place herself.
Now since the dog knows me this was a bit easier. The only challenge we had was keeping her on the bed because she wanted to see me. So her reaction will most likely be different in a scenario that isn’t set up, but I assured the owner with consistency, she is fully capable of getting to this level when a stranger decides to stop by.
Very well done Kenya!
Time for some new challenges!
Sunny and his owner did so well at the dog park on a long line last week that we decided to switch up the gear to something they are more likely to use on a daily walk. Now this is a bit more challenging for the dog because there’s a lot more chances that there will be tension on the leash. But luckily, we taught Sunny how to respond to pressure, so he knows what’s expected of him now. Now when there’s pressure at the end of the Leash, he’s a lot more likely to come right back to the handler and receive a reward for the alternative behavior.
Since he was doing so well with this, we decided to really challenge him. Now Sunny goes nuts for balls. If he sees one, he’s bolting right for it. This is how the beginning of this test worked out for him. So of course we set him up
For success utilizing distance, shorter durations, and play with an alternative ball he was allowed to have. As you can see by the footage, Sunny did extremely well with this challenge. So well we moved to yet another challenge. Now Sunny is very intuned with sharp movements. He gets jazzed up very easily by it. Because of this, I created sharp movements in front of him, and this caused his to react a bit which I didn’t mind cause that wasn’t what I was concentrating on. I was more looking for the handlers ability to snap him out of it, and that’s exactly what played out after a few repetitions.
Since things are going so smoothly with Sunny, next week we are putting him through the ultimate test. Now working in front of a dog park in a controlled environment is great to get the basics down, but let’s be honest, it’s not a realistic scenario that they will run into down the line. Next week I’m bringing my own dogs into the picture and we will be creating realistic scenarios that Sunny will run into the future. This ensures the owners and dog’s success, and proofs the behavior no matter what the circumstances.
Don’t let the rain stop you… go out and work with your dog! Dont shelter them from bad weather, or they will never learn to work through it.
Home Depot trips!
Lately I’ve been utilizing Home Depot as an alternative to working outside with clients.
I’m a big fan of using home
Depot as a confidence building course. Now I don’t just take any dog here. When I’ve been working with them for a while, and I have a feeling they are ready for the challenge, then I’ll start utilizing public access outings.
I mainly have the dog in a nice loose leash walk the majority of time, but I always make time for sniff breaks, and exploring. It’s a great way to encourage confidence, and trust between handler and dog.
Before I go into anywhere public with a dog, I always make sure they have great engagement outside. This sets the tone for our walk inside.
Some pet friendly places in Brandon include, home hardware, home depot, marks wearhouse, winners, and Micheal’s, and Canadian tire (muzzle required). All dogs should remain under control even in a pet friendly environment. This is only fair for the rest of the shoppers.
Home depot trips!
Lately I’ve been utilizing Home Depot as an alternative to working outside with clients.
I’m a big fan of using home
Depot as a confidence building course. Now I don’t just take any dog here. When I’ve been working with them for a while, and I have a feeling they are ready for the challenge, then I’ll start utilizing public access outings.
I mainly have the dog in a nice loose leash walk the majority of time, but I always make time for sniff breaks, and exploring. It’s a great way to encourage confidence, and trust between handler and dog.
Before I go into anywhere public with a dog, I always make sure they have great engagement outside. This sets the tone for our walk inside.
Some pet friendly places in Brandon include, home hardware, home depot, marks wearhouse, winners, and Micheal’s, and Canadian tire (muzzle required). All dogs should remain under control even in a pet friendly environment. This is only fair for the rest of the shoppers.
Don’t let the rain stop you… go out and work with your dog! Dont shelter them from bad weather, or they will never learn to work through it.
Sunny brought his mom to school today!
Sunny has been doing so incredibly well with our sessions together that today we decided to bring mom along!
We decided to work in a high distraction environment outside of a dog park. We worked on a lot of the basics like engagement, thresholds, recalls, and of course lots of play!
Today I witnessed an incredible dynamic duo with these two working together!
