Ever wondered what Hoopers looks like in action? Well wonder no more…
Here’s Rebekah, our accredited Hoopers instructor, and Heidi, one of our support trainers, working a course at Paws in the Park. Hoopers is an amazing dog sport that is suitable for dogs (and handlers) of all abilities, shapes and sizes. It’s great mental and physical exercise for your dog and helps them to improve impulse control, forward focus, distance control, drive, confidence and, perhaps most crucially, the ability to listen whilst excited and running at speed.
If you’d like to join the fun with your dog, why not join one of our Introduction to Hoopers classes. The next one starts in early October. Email [email protected] to get your Hoopers journey underway.
Not that I am competitive. Apparently just lost this race at Crufts. Lucky Mexx enjoyed herself and there were no prizes involved. 😀😀
Day out preparing for Crufts 2024. Training in a busy environment with different sights and sounds. At Waterloo with tannoy announcements followed by London Eye. 🎡
Cosmo is a 5.5 month old Australian Labradoodle and he has mainly come to do environmental work, furthering his experiences with the world and building confidence with sights and sounds. Good foundation training will help us be successful so we will spend time on his communication process and enjoyment of engagement. Building trust in our relationship and positive emotional responses to cues and games which will help us when out and about to diffuse stimuli that may be more of a challenge
Happy National Dog Day from all at Click-2-Heel! We hope you are all having a lovely bank holiday weekend with your furry friends!
We would love to see some pictures in the comments. 🐶🐾
#nationaldogday
Welcome Splash Di's latest residential dog with environmental issues that extend to everything that moves or doesn't move!
Di is busy building a relationship and communication process as well as reinforcing behaviours which will help him cope in different environments.
Here Di and Splash are working on toy play skills helping him with impulse and arousal control.
Swapping between two toys and using a toy as a reinforcer for fun behaviours will help give Splash some alternative activities to his passion of hunting.
PREPARING YOUR DOG FOR SUNDAY’S EMERGENCY SIREN
NOTE: THIS VIDEO CONTAINS THE SOUND OF A SIREN, PLEASE SILENCE THE VIDEO UNLESS YOU ARE READY TO START TRAINING.
Some of you may be aware that the Government is testing a new Emergency Alert System this weekend. On Sunday 23rd April at 3pm there will be a test of the new system, meaning all mobile phones (even if they are set to silent) will sound the alarm – a siren and vibration, lasting for up to 10 seconds. Importantly, the loud siren will sound, even if the mobile phone is set on silent.
If you have a dog that is sensitive to sounds, please remember to keep any phones well away from your dogs at this time to avoid any fear reactions. For those of you that have already done lots of previous work in conditioning a positive association with other sounds and with lots of history of using a Treat Party (which means a scattering of food on the floor for your dog to find and enjoy) then it will be a good idea to use the Treat Party to help your dog form positive associations with the siren sound. As the sound will run for at least 10 seconds, a generous Treat Party works well as your dog will be able to continue finding treats for the duration of the sound. You’ll see Di’s dogs practicing in this video. You might even want to get ahead and use the sound on this video (or the Government Demo video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvZM-oCReu8) to practice with your dogs beforehand. Remember to start with lower volume and build up over a couple of sessions. If in doubt, just keep your dog safely away from your phones at 3pm on Sunday.
BACK FEET TARGETS
Teaching your dog a back feet target might look like a bit of a gimmick, but it’s actually a behaviour that’s full of benefits. For a start, it will help with balance and core strength. What’s more, many dogs are generally driven by their front half and struggle with awareness of their back legs. Teaching a back paw target will help to overcome this, increasing back-half awareness and so helping with general co-ordination. And then there’s proprioception. In simple terms, that’s the constant feedback loop in your dog’s nervous system – a form of body awareness. Building better body awareness through a back feet target will help your dog to navigate day-to-day tasks and obstacles in a safer manner. One last thing…with continued training and increasing criteria, you can even build to a handstand up the wall, as demonstrated here by Di and Mimic. Surely Gymnastics Team GB will be calling up Mimic after that excellent performance…
Join us for a brand-new course and learn about the dog sport of Hoopers. Hoopers is a fun dog sport that is suitable for dogs of all sizes, all breeds, all ages (from 6 months) and of all fitness levels and abilities; which makes it a truly inclusive sport. Dogs navigate a course of hoops, barrels and tunnels with the same fun appeal as agility. But the courses are all at ground level (with no jumping) and are flowing and don't involve tight turns – making it lower impact and more accessible for everyone! The course will be held in Ryslip’s outdoor enclosed exercise field.
All exercises are low impact and the course is suitable for dogs (from 6 months) that have already completed some general training with Click-2-Heel.
- Develop your training skills and extend the range of fun activities you can do with your dog; you might just catch the Hoopers Bug!
- Learn about the equipment used in Hoopers and the skills you will need to navigate simple courses
- Build your dog’s skills around forward focus and understanding directional cues
- Help your dog learn to train and focus around other dogs
- A great way to bond with your dog and great for your dog’s coordination skills and fitness
DATE: Tuesday 18th April 2023 at 6.15pm for 5 consecutive weeks
The cost for the training course is £110 for 5 weeks. Joining instructions and payment methods will be sent prior to the course start date.
To book a space please contact us by email at [email protected].
Where do we begin to explain the joy of learning scentwork with your dog? It’s fun, it’s fascinating, it’s eye-opening, it’s beneficial for your dog, it’s accessible to all dogs and it’s easy to teach in the comfort of your own home. What’s not to love?
You only need to watch your dog out on a walk to know that scent is their primary world. But it’s only when you learn to challenge your dog with scent searches you set yourself, that you’ll really discover just what a superpower your dog possesses.
“There's nothing so amazing as being on the other end of the lead as your canine partner uses his superpower, it just never gets old.”
Fancy giving it a go?
Introduction to Scentwork is our online course, with step-by-step video tutorials to follow at your own pace. The course will show you how to introduce your dog to a target odour, teach them how to find it and ultimately tell you where it is. It’s equally suited to those who want to do little searches around the house as it is for anyone wanting to progress to sports scentwork. Find out more at our dedicated website
scentdogtraining.co.uk
SAFETY POSITION 8 – TOOL FOR DOG SPORTS
The Safety Position hasn’t finished giving yet. There’s one more benefit we need to share as the finale to this series. Dog sports are a popular pastime that have many benefits for dogs and owners alike. From building a stronger bond and providing mental stimulation, to making new friends and keeping fit, sports are good all round. With so much choice, there’s a dog sport to suit every dog and every owner. From hoopers and agility, scentwork and mantrailing, to gundog training and competitive obedience the choice is vast. And the Safety Position is useful for most of them.
In agility and hoopers, it creates an excellent basis of a set-up at the start of the course. By standing at the starting spot and positioning yourself at the correct angle for the first line within the course, you can call your dog into the Safety Position and have them at that perfect angle too. Plus, the Look and Go game trains your dog to look forward, ready to set off perfectly for the first obstacle. In competitive obedience, a core part of the challenge is to train a Send Away. A Send Away requires the dog to run in a straight line to a designated point when they are required to go into a down on a verbal cue. The Safety Position is a great method to ensure your dog is set up correctly and lined up for the exercise required. Di’s Obedience Champion Lupitoonz Eazi Peaze demonstrates this perfectly. This same combination of the Safety Position and the Look and Go game is also a great tool for setting up gun dogs for retrieves. If you fancy giving any of these sports a go, why not sign up to one of our Introductory Courses. Click-2-Heel runs regular courses on Introduction to Hoopers, Agility Foundations, Scentwork Foundations, Competitive Obedience and Introduction to Sports and Games (where you can have a go at lots of sports to find the one you love). Just email the office at [email protected] for more information and to book your p
