Walking and talking from the other morning - distraction vs redirection ๐
Upcoming courses and workshops ๐ฅณ
Long sorry ๐
Trigger stacking /๐ฏcandle analogy ๐ฏ
Trust the process ๐ช๐
Long wafflings about meeting needs and behavioural challenges (if you can last through them ๐)
Today Laylah did something she's never done before...
In the woods near us, instead of being on high alert for deer ๐ฆ โ ๏ธ ๐ she decided to dig for mice ๐
Now this is a behaviour she only does if she's not in chase mode. She didn't find one, we moved on before hand, also I'm sure they'd have made a good get away before now. But for her to choose this behaviour over deer searching (in an area we'd seen deer in an few days ago) is MASSIVE ๐ฒ๐ฅณ
During her afternoon walk, in another area I know the deer are there normally, she was on a long line to prevent the chase. And she was very much more alert, we mooched into the second field and stumbled across 5 deer ๐ฆ ๐ฒ she was able to not hit the end of line but stand there, watched then scamper off and come back in on her own! THEN we moved to the tol field and saw about 8 all running off, she had a closer view time and again just watched and came back in! ๐ฒ๐ฅณ
Now this doesn't mean 100% that if she was off the line she wouldn't chase, but her impulses were much measured. An interesting thought is that she had mantrailing yesterday, so she met a lot of tracking needs, could this have softened her impulses today? Maybe ๐ค
Either way, im very proud ๐
๐ชต Woody ๐ชต
Woody is a gorgeous, steady Bedlington whippet cross, he's attended my classes and now we're touching up on support through his adolescent. Last session it was recall and the session this week was lead walking skills.
Safe to say he's made some lovely progress ๐ฅณ
Recall and loose-lead walking are things can easily drop during adolescence. This turbulent time for your dogs' body and mind means they can struggle to engage and perform behaviours previously they had grasped.
Focusing on the basics, rewarding heavily, and maintaining the bond are great ways to help them succeed.
Want to support with your adolescent dog? ๐
One-to-one's slots available from the 6th Jan and I have Juniors courses running 10th and 11th of Jan
Head to http://www.eleanorrosedogtraining.co.uk for more information
PLAY DYNAMICS
๐Excuse my voice over in this ๐
This morning we got the fabulous Eric together for a play date with the lovely Lenny.
Both social adolescent males, and now Eric's training and support has got him to a point where he is able and ready to have more prolonged dog intercations.
I don't do these often because it involves having the right personality match (which is a big one), I don't want it to go wrong, and it can be chaotic.
These boys where amazing! Did we give them an hour of off lead play? ๐ค No.
We set them up for success. We got them out the cars one by on, had them on longlines for space to move and sniff, let them do the perimeter of the paddock following each others scent trails and doing engagement games with their guardians. Then when they were ready we decreased the distance, they came in for a hello, and we dropped the lines once we knew they were okay together.
We supported in pausing play so to avoid it getting to overly aroused and silly (this is where mistakes in communication between dogs can happen, and issues developed). As both are adolescent males, adrenaline levels and emotional regulation can need support.
We then let them come in for a short final play, and then supported in proximity and arousal reduction through sniffing amd foraging ๐
What a great pair ๐
Morning musings on assumptions a of a dog trainers dog ๐
Making good choices ๐ฅณ๐ฅณ
Let's hear what good choices your companions have been making recently ๐๐
Betty ๐
This absolute stunner smashed it this afternoon ๐๐ฅณ
Betty came to me for recall, loose-lead walking and car reactivity. All interesting behaviours, coupled with harness aversion coat swirls, and back Twinges. So we approached it all as a whole and interconnected as they seem linked.
We started off with some recall and lead walking games in a secure paddock. Then SLOWLY ๐ worked around triggers at home, building on engagement and small successes.
We then added in the all important Free Work to help her to regulate and reset, and support on her relationship with her equipment.
This evening we put it all together and braced the main road ๐ ๐ ๐ป ๐ an area that in thr past Betty would've been inconsolable around. She managed to walk towards it slowly, sniffing ๐ and holding engagement. She then even managed to watch the traffic ๐ cyclists๐ฒ and runners ๐โโ๏ธ go by. She chose space! Had ๐ crunches to decompress and we left before we asked too much.
Just amazing!! ๐
She's booked in for a physical assessment tp rule out physical discomfort as a factor, and we'll continue to build her support going forward. What a super star ๐
Needing support with your dog? Head to
www.eleanorrosedogtraining.co.uk for more information on services.
