Fast Sits
Dog training isnt the same for all dogs. Some common things that change depending on the dog- rate of reinforcement, expectation, repetition, break downs, backchaining, even consequences. And those are just ones I thought of right away. Don’t be fooled into thinking that your dog can learn the same way your neighbors dog can. It’s just not a thing! The dogs in the video are all part of the day train program and yesterday we worked on “fast” sits in heel position. You could see there are varying levels of skill going on and yet everyone got rewarded for their efforts! That’s dog training.
Reactivity Training
Reactivity is a struggle. It makes walks feel like a chore sometimes! This is why for some dogs a training session might be a better option than just a walk! Pick a spot and train! This fella is Ziggy, and he is quite dog reactive and sensitive to his environment. For this session we worked in a quiet area where it was unlikely to encounter a dog close up. But it’s important to change locations all the time- challenging the dog as they make progress. Here we are working on a loose leash, building focus and calmness by practicing things he’s already good at! I call it the Theory of Five. Five things that the dog and handler can do basically on autopilot if needed. Lots of opportunity to reinforce the dog and build good habits and patterns. It’s a win win for everyone. These sessions are usually super short. This clip is almost the full session! We took a break to sniff around and then did the session again! Easy Peasy. Notice how I don’t discourage him from looking. I let him look and then reward his work after. No big deal. Good work Ziggy!
Staying still is hard for puppies!
Staying still is hard for dogs- especially puppies!
Here are some tips to a solid stay:
- Be sure you are reinforcing the correct things! Reward the dog in the position.
- have a clean release! Use a word and not movement to release. (Okay!)
- take it slow. Duration before distance.
- I like to use sideways motion before backwards motion.
- reward a lot! I suggest at least two cookies with time in between to build predictability! Watch the video closely and you’ll see that!
Little Holly is well on her way to being a good citizen! Happy Training!
Jumping into the week like…
Jumping into the week like….
1. Kona the Setter cross. Cautious but optimistic.
2. Norman the Frenchie. All in, reckless enthusiasm.
3. Bailey the doodle. In for a good time, but by herself.
4. Lydia the Eurasier. Maybe. If there are snacks.
5. Hailey the little white dog. Absolutely not.
You think obedience with one dog is hard? How about two? Some brave students are going to give Rally Brace a try at the upcoming show!
First official practice night went great! Lots to work on but a good start!
So fun.
Some good challenges for my rally classes last night! Everyone is doing so great. Here are a few snippets from the Excellent level class.
Well done ladies!
Here’s some cuteness to get your day going.
To get good Christmas photos a dogs gotta stay even for a second. Norman has the proverbial “ants in his pants” and cannot stay very well. So we worked on it over and over and over again until he figured out that cookies were only handed out on the bench. He had some lightbulb moments and we got some cute pics for his family.
A Christmas Miracle indeed!
💚❤️💚
This weekend was the local CKC show and I don’t even know what to say!!
I am so proud of my people! So much great work, and effort and teamwork. I just love it so much.
From literal perfect scores to really good tries everyone had good connection with their dogs. I loved the teamwork and that everyone knew how to support their dogs when they needed it. This stuff isn’t easy and there were quite a few brand new teams at this show- and you all went into that ring and tried it. That’s a win on its own! The titles and scores are just the icing on the cake.
I love dog sports because everyone is so supportive of everyone else. The cheering and clapping and little pep talks. It’s just the coolest.
I didn’t get a chance to video everyone but I did get a chance to watch everyone at least once and you guys are the best!!! I did scrounge Facebook for photos and such when I made the video too. But I know I’ve missed people!
Thank you all for putting your dogs first and representing MMP! Congratulations everyone!
Puppies come to your house knowing only what they’ve been exposed to. Depending on the circumstance that might be total freedom, an expen, a dog run, or a crate. Or a combination of those things. How the pup has been raised in that first 8 weeks is obviously different than your own house!
So when we get them home and have plans about how we are going to raise them it makes sense that there are some struggles. Puppies don’t understand our world!
Up first- Confinement and the big feelings they cause!
It is SUPER important that you work through this with your puppy. You are doing your dog a disservice if you don’t. Even if you don’t Intend to crate the dog long term there will absolutely be a time in the dogs life he will need to be confined!
Wether it’s a crate or an exercise pen, or even a baby gate it’s good to start slow and practice some rules.
Rule #1. Never open the door when the puppy is screaming or barking. Wait for the puppy to be calm even for a second. Letting the puppy out when he’s frantic teaches him that’s the behavior he should do to get out. So be patient.
Rule #2. Never open the door when the puppy is jumping up, pawing or biting the door. Again, wait for something polite then open the door.
Rule #3. Build some good feelings! Meal times are great in crates or Xpens! Play some simple crate games. Hang out near the crate or pen when the puppy is in it. Bones, snacks, and food puzzles are so helpful. If your puppy is too frantic to eat it means you have missed the “easy” window and have to go backwards and start from scratch to eliminate the stress. Which leads us to number #4
Rule #4. Do not just let your puppy scream itself out. The amount of adrenaline and anxiety this builds can wreck a dog pretty quickly. Sometimes you can’t undo it. Help them. Go to the kennel. Sit beside it. Put your hand on the door. Soothe them. Once they relax then you can either open the door, or try a cookie. The goal is to prevent this
Happy Halloween!
From the Tuesday Stay and Train crew! 👻 🎃
Remember to keep your pets safe Tonite! I posted the other day some great tips to consider.
Speaking of mat work! When we train dogs in anything it’s important to break the behavior down into small parts. For something like mat work we have two distinct parts- go to the mat, stay on the mat.
It’s good to make sure you have both skills down pat- what good is a skill when it’s only half way?
Here are some clips of Gus working on going to the mat from a good distance away! While the focus isn’t on the “stay there until I tell you”- I still remain consistent and release him off with the release word!
Good work Gus!
Happy Friday! Enjoy some happy pups from my Thursday night rally classes. Everyone is gearing up for the local November trial.
It’s never a bad time to go back to basics and work on those foundation skills. In the land of dog sports foundation skills and behaviors are so important. Having good basics make the higher levels much easier! Last week I had my students pick one “skill” and make a list of where that leads you. Just how many exercises have “Front” in them? The answer is approximately 18! That’s 18 signs that would be no problem as long as your dog understood front! Or 18 signs that are a struggle because your dog doesn’t understand…
This transfers to real life even too… (not the front but the general idea!).
If your dog has a good understanding of stay for example- you can use that in all sorts of situations. Getting out of the car, leaving the yard, getting the leash on, when someone comes to the door, when you are struggling with groceries in your hand and trying to get into the house, when the dog has muddy feet…. The list goes on and on. But if you struggle with stay the dog will struggle with all of that!
Dog training always starts with one little step! And then the steps get bigger. So don’t skip steps!
I don’t normally post personal videos here but this video is a great opportunity to talk more about genetics, and instinct and how important it is to consider that when choosing your breed.
Too often people contact me asking to change a behavior that is instinctual to the dog. Which means that the behavior is so ingrained in the dogs genetic make up that it does it naturally. Which means that changing said behavior is not always possible and never easy.
The cute corgi running circles around the other dogs is mine. And she is a lot. She comes from a long line of Cardigan Corgis who actually do or used to work livestock. Cardigan Corgis were bred originally as all purpose farm dogs.
Their jobs included:
1. Alarm! Bark at intruders and things that don’t belong.
2. Kill Vermin! High prey drive around small moving things.
3. Keep livestock in order! Circle and push livestock (usually from behind as this breed is a driving breed). Bite and Bark if said livestock doesn’t cooperate.
So take cute Corgi and now it’s doing all these things in the house and in the city. And it’s a nuisance! Nipping kids, chasing cats, barking at all the things.…
You see what I’m getting at?
This is not to say that corgis don’t make lovely pets. I adore them and have a bunch. However there are some breed traits that make them not the easiest.
And the same goes for all the breeds of dogs and combinations of breeds of dogs. Do some googling, look up your breeds “Breed Club” (i.e Cardigan Corgi Club of Canada) and do some research- find out why the breed was created and really consider if those traits are ones that you can manage or live with for the next 15 years….
It’s a long time to live with sometimes naughty behavior, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. 😉
(I will add that Dot the corgi in question is now on a steady “diet” of boring walks with just me until some of that overarousal is a bit better under control… letting her practice that f
Haha. If you ever need a reason to smile- dogs are the best.
Little Bea putting the wild moves on Kona.
What a sweetheart.
We had a great time yesterday at Coyote Flats. Showing folks just how much fun you can have with your dog! Our dogs love to train and play- and we love it too!
To beat the heat we’ve been doing our rally classes outside the last few weeks.
Everyone is doing so great! Lots of distractions in public parks!
Some really good work this morning from the folks in the real life obedience class. This week wrapped up the class set- everyone made so much progress in a few short weeks!
Such a happy face deserves to be shared!
Maddie had a lesson on the weekend and was rocking her loose leash walking!
Remember with this summer heat to keep your dog hydrated, walk on the grass rather than hot pavement, and stick to early morning or evenings for long walks!
Reactivity work should always look pretty boring. Calm, focused, short glances to the trigger, always paying attention to your dogs body language and actions. Here Team Ellie is working hard on getting to the point of doing actual pass-bys rather than having to leave the path every time. Slowly but surely progress is being made!
Reactivity is one of those things that doesn’t ever really go away. A reactive dog can learn to be less explosive and a smaller threshold bubble- but they will always be a high alert sort of dog. It’s important to know that you are setting realistic goals for you and your dog! The goals for this gal is simply to be able to function when other dogs are around- definitely attainable in this case!
Running into the weekend like little Quinn on a recall!
