Coastal Paws

ATTEMPT #3 I was planning on doing another walk on my quiet road before adding more distractions, but not everything goes as planned. I threw Cricket in the deep end on this one with a brand new environment to her, snow and a heck of a lot of yellow snow to smell. The first few minutes were a lot of circles but after that she would often feel tension in the leash and loosen it up on her own. There were still moments she would forget and pull hard towards a good smell. Old habits are hard to break 😊. The loose leash walking improved as we continued on, and the longer we walked, the fewer circles I was doing with her. You will notice that at one point, I make some noise to get her attention as she was very focused on getting to a smell. The circle method is not meant as a punishment, so I am not yanking her to change direction and do the circle. A simple kissy noise was all she needed to get her attention back on me and continue our circle. Leash @mysticaltails.gear discount CP10 Sweater @ruffwear #looseleashwalking #victoriabc #dogtrainer #fearfreetraining #dogwalks #yyjdogs #alwaystraining #alwayslearning #alwaysgrowing

The Cool Kids ~ George, Tucker, Gemma, Fig ~

We had SNOW much fun on our winter hike today! ~ Poppy, Freya, Mick ~ #doghikes #snowsnowsnow #grouphike #dogadventures #dogphoto #positivereinforcement #dogtrainer

FIRST ATTEMPT Here is my first practice doing the Circle Method of loose leash walking. In an earlier post, I mentioned doing a webinar with @denise_fenzi through @fenzidogsportsacademy on this method of teaching loose leash walking where Cricket still explores and sniffs but learns not to pull tight against the leash. The beginning part will make you a little dizzy as Cricket didn't understand what was going on. After a few minutes, she started to understand what was expected of her. She would sometimes get into a smell and pull towards it, but overall I am really impressed with how quickly she caught on. During the video, I praised her a lot for following me to do the circle and for walking with a loose leash. Cricket is the type of dog who would stop walking all together if she felt she was continuously doing something wrong, so I wanted to encourage her. Another thing I noticed is that keeping the same counter-clockwise direction created predictability for cricket, which kept things moving smoothly. I tested out going random directions between counter-clockwise to clockwise but that seemed to confuse Cricket more as we started this new system of walking. For now, we will continue to practice a few more times on the quiet roads before adding more distractions. Why not just change direction? Why create a big circle? By doing the Circle Method, Cricket still gets to her sniffy location (as seen in video) to limit any frustration. She is also able to keep walking a good pace with circling around me, which also limits frustration. Keep watching for more attempts to grow this new skill of loose leash walking. #dogwalks #yyjdogs #dogtrainer #looseleashwalking #sniffywalks #victoriabc #fearfreetraining

Do you expect your dog to walk directly beside you or give them enough leash to roam and explore? I have struggled going back and forth on what I want from my dog. It would be nice to have her trained to walk beside me, BUT it would take away her opportunity to choose sniffing the ground. Yes, I could put sniffing on cue and give her opportunities to do so except that she is reactive to dogs and moving cars. You might wonder what that has to do with walking beside me....... ⬇️ Over time, she has now started to choose sniffing instead of distance seeking behaviours such as barking and lunging. If I had the expectation for her to walk directly beside me, I wouldn't have this nice calm, curious behaviour she is doing in the video. I also wouldn't be fulfilling more of her needs. It would be just about the exercise. When I let her explore and sniff, I am filling up her cup with all the good stuff. I just finished a webinar with @denise_fenzi on the circle method where you teach a loose leash AND allow the dog to explore and be more fulfilled in their needs. Watch for updates as I try this method with my own dog Cricket. My overall goal with training a fearful reactive dog is to help them feel more safe and comfortable. I love that she takes the initiative to go sniff without my help. How does your dog walk on leashed walks? Share in the comments below, I would like to hear all the different ways people choose to walk their dogs.

We aren't perfect but we do a pretty darn good job 😉 ~ Juno, Fig, Edith, Finn, Madu ~ #picturetime #dogpics #dogadventures #dogwalker #treattime #doggypaycheck

Working on co-operative care with an end goal of nail trims. What is Co-operative Care? This is where your dog participates in being handled as you brush them, trim nails, brush teeth, check ears, etc. By having them participate and in control of saying yes let's proceed or nope, I am out. It will give them more comfort in proceeding and less stress for them. This type of training does take time and patience but so worth it in the long run to have a dog allowing you to do all these things to them. Just think about how much better it feels for them, not being forced and restrained to get the job done at the vet or groomers. #fearfreetraining #cooperativecare #victoriabc #dogtraining #nailtrims #dogsofvanisle

Yes RECALL is an important skill to have with your off leash dog. However, did you know that radius training can be just as important. Having our dogs off leash safely can include a combination of skills. Teaching an acceptable radius between you and your dog will help keep things safe and enjoyable while out hiking. In this video, notice that I am not saying anything to the dogs to get their attention. With previous training of offering check-ins, I have been able to work on our radius training when I know it is safe to do so. #doghikes #dogtrainer #victoriabc #dogadventures #fearfreetraining #offleashhikes #offleashtraining #dogvideo #doggyfun

Let's Army Crawl It's a bit long to watch, but it's fun to see the progress on Mick's new trick of crawling! I started by luring him with food to make a slight movement forward, then marked that behaviour and rewarded him. As he started to understand the task, I had him make bigger movements forward before marking YES and rewarding. The next step we moved to was using my hand to get the movement forward but without holding any food in it. Once he made the movements I wanted, I marked and rewarded him with the food I had in the opposite hand. My next step will be adding a verbal cue to this behaviour! Most new behaviours need to be understood by the dog before adding a word to them, such as SIT and DOWN, along with many tricks too. Dogs need to know what they are doing to understand the English word we are adding so they too know the meaning of the word.

🎃 Happy Halloween 🎃 ~ Tucker, George, Gemma, Coco, Fig ~

🎃 Happy Halloween 🎃 ~Trixie, Boomer, Freya, Mick ~