Leave them alone the first day.
Like seriously.
Absolutely ZERO need to be asking them to do training things the same day their world is turned upside down.
The day they are taken from their family.
The first day of relief being out of soul-crushing shelter.
It’s gross.
And they need a friend.
Not a dog trainer.
🐶: Rhea the malinois, @rescuebelgianshepherdscanada alumni
Alfie’s owners said squirrels were his kryptonite.
He would pull and lunge to chase them and would get obsessed over the trees they’d run up into.
As a saluki mix, this comes as no surprise.
Sighthounds have prey drive to the point that many people won’t trust them off leash.
I certainly wouldn’t have with the dog that was first dropped off.
He wouldn’t come when called in the house.
Or show any sign of acknowledging you when you said his name.
Add a high stake distraction into the equation and he’d be off on a joy run if you let him off leash.
But we’re a bit past that point now.
And Alfie is seeing that squirrels aren’t such a big deal anyway.
Alfie
Alfie with the crew.
Blitz went home yesterday…
I miss her already.
Her owners have worked hard across numerous sessions…
… including early, long, hot and rainy hours …
… so Blitz could be ready for this.
That is true love for a dog right there.
She is a very fortunate girl.
And her owners are very fortunate to have the smart, talented, loyal dog that they have.
We will be staying in close touch to continue some of the fun (bitey) things that were started.
Dogs going home is always the hardest and best part.
Blitz
Sport foundational stuff because why not.
She loves to play and work that 🧠.
A little taste of competition free-heeling…
..with no screaming or leaking..!
Blitz
Blitz and her owners doing great work this morning.
She is no cupcake when it comes to other dogs…
… so we have been working closely together and in various areas to make sure that when she gets handed off, things will stick.
It doesn’t matter if she is perfect with me..
..the goal is results for her owners.
From one of the first times (and trying to get her to bark lol)…
…to today.
About 6 weeks apart.
4.5 years old and hadn’t done this type of work before.
When it’s there, it’s there 🧬
Blitz has found her jam and helping her develop this skill has been such a blast.
💥 tagging the people who have helped me learn how to have this fun with dogs.
Three dogs
Four minutes of our walk this morning.
A small glimpse into how Blitz has been doing with my dogs.
No micro-management necessary.
Just everyone understanding how these outings go and how we interact appropriately with each other.
In Blitz case, she mostly chooses to mind her business.
On the rare occasion she wants a buddy to chase, Punch is always a willing participant.
I live for mornings like this.
And being able to help dogs get to the point where they can enjoy them too.
Doodle duo
The doodle duo enjoying the amazing weather today at Finnobi Forest with their family.
It’s been two months since the pups went home from their b&t and their owners have kept things looking sharp!
They are living the doggy dream!
So proud of this team!
Using play and toys in training is one thing…
…teaching games is quite another.
Dogs come preprogrammed to want to play…
…getting playful behaviour from them is not hard at all…
..but very often it is up to us to show them how that can translate to something fun they can do WITH us.
For example, most German shepherds are more than happy to carry a favourite ball around..
…to chase a toy that gets thrown…
…or tug…
…but trying to turn that into fetch or asking them to drop their prized possession …it can stop things dead in its tracks.
And in some cases, cause a lot of conflict and frustration.
Blitz’s owners worked out a system with two balls that worked well for fetch.
Blitz would still hesitate to bring the ball all the way back sometimes, however.
These are two clues pointing to the reason why there have been some little quirks to how they can play with her.
I saw it, cleaned it up and here is the result.
Things get so much better with dogs like this when they know how to play games.
You see them really start to feel good about what they can do.
And then they genuinely want to do it with you.
Not because of the toy or treat you are offering in return.
Blitz is soaking up all the new skills we’ve been covering.
Very excited to keep sharing her progress.
Recall
Blitz had her first recall session today. This was before we started.
Offleash freedom incoming
Newest board and train Blitz is in the house!
Blitz is a 4 1/2 year old GSD who is a strong girl with strong feelings about dogs and other animals.
As a young pup, she had several bad experiences with dogs at the dog park and then shortly after got sick and was unable to socialize with them for a while. Afterwards, she started to show reactive barking and lunging that made being around dogs a challenge.
I’ll be working on helping her with her reactivity and reintroducing her to dogs.. as well as all the other fun recall and obedience stuff.
Can’t wait to get going with her! She is already 🔥 when it comes to playing and a very smart cookie.
Social vs. Trained 🧬
Social vs. Trained 🧬
This might ruffle some feathers…
And I’ve gotten in trouble from local dog people and trainers before…
But in my “unpopular opinion”…
Dog training should be for the dog.
And here’s what I mean…
I brought Punch to a big food truck fair down the road today.
We walked around, she rolled in the grass on top of a forgotten french fry… and took in the sights and sounds.
If you’ve been following my content for a while…
…you will know that I don’t bring Punch to events like this often.
Or basically - at all.
No patios.
No farmers markets.
No coffee shops.
No events.
But here we were.
And she wasn’t just tolerating the environment…
…she was comfortable in it.
Make no mistake…
…this has very little to do with the TRAINING I’ve put into her.
Partly training - yes.
But this was mostly the result of having a genetically stable dog that is social.
One that was ENJOYING this kind of setting.
And curious about what was going on.
This is very, VERY different from a dog that has been trained to keep its head down and nose to itself.
Sit or lay down on command.
Don’t lean out to sniff people or things around you.
Do not react to anything around.
Robotic obedience.
Many dogs do not thrive in these sorts of environments.
They find it too stimulating.
And it takes a lot of suppression and micromanagement to control them and insist on “good manners.”
But some how…
…the ideal dog had become the dog that can “go anywhere.”
The “bring everywhere” dog.
I believe this is training effort that is going in the wrong place.
Dogs don’t want to follow around robotically.
They don’t want to follow us everywhere at the expense of their freedom and autonomy.
The majority are movers and explorers.
They have activities and things they enjoy and need to feel whole.
They don’t want to be motionless and emotionless in Home Depot or a pet store.
There are times and places to ask for
Staffy noises > everything else
Staffy noises > everything else
Two and a half months after her board and train, Canela is back while her owners are away.
Still has that rocket fast 🚀 recall and is not making a peep at cars or dogs.
We will see what we can do to get her daughter up to speed.
Two dog chase and catch.
Little man opening up and learning all sorts of cool play things…
First offleash walk with the doodle duo and Punch ☀️
Talking about what I want to see before bringing dogs out together like this…
…as well as how these walks go.
All three dogs are dog-social and have been around many dogs…
…but that didn’t mean I was going to put them all together on day one.
Some trainers let their dogs correct new dogs to “teach” them the rules of how they should interact with other dogs.
This causes FIGHTS.
That is nothing I want part of with my dogs or for my clients dogs.
So we had to cover a few things first before getting here.
And it didn’t take long.
Let the adventures begin!
Rockstar recalls starting with Mr. Chai.
This is lesson 1
