Now this is a problem most of you won't have (!) - Gracie never pulls on lead and gets really 'sticky' and sometimes won't move at all at the beginning of a walk. We've put a lot of work into this, playing games to build her confidence as well as her 'dimmer switch' helping her to move between stillness and movement. So here she is strutting her stuff and very nearly pulling on the lead - I'm delighted!!!!#lurcher #dogwalking #sighthoundlove #Keynsham
I couldn't resist another frisbee on the beach video!!#lurcher #frisbeedog #offlead
Rosie will do anything for her frisbee - getting the repetition of the 'Ready, Steady, Go!' is what makes it really useful for recall!
Wrapping a post sighthound style!!!😆
Here's Kim demonstrating how to get engagement and calmness with her cockerpoo before she starts her walk - they are both doing so well as he can be very aware of everything going on in the environment, so this is perfect! Well done Kim!!
I love leg weaves, with Gracie I use it to get her moving when she's gone still on me - for other breeds of dogs like spaniels and cockerpoos it's a great game for building joy as they whip round your legs super fast, so can be used as a reward for recall.😊#Keynsham #sighthoundlove #ProDogTrainer #gamesbaseddogtraining #offlead
My friend and colleague Kim, who runs Game to Train Dog Training in Portishead has challenged me to show how I use games I teach in my classes when I'm out and about with my dogs - here's our first attempt at Middle. Show me how you are getting on playing - it doesn't have to be perfect as you can see 😆#ProDogTrainer #sighthoundlove #lurcher #Keynsham
I love this game, in fact if I only have the opportunity to teach an owner one game, this is the game I'd choose. Usually I'd only play it with one dog at a time, but in this instance it worked.
Owners who come to my class often ask how I use the games in 'real life' and this is one example, we walk a bit, play a game and then walk a bit more. In this instance I'm standing still, but I could just as easily be continuing in the direction of my walk while playing - I just mix it up as it feels right to me at the time.
As with anything, the more you practice the more natural it becomes for you and your dog.
Today was a day when we just wanted to let Gracie have a good old charge around. - so that's what happened.......
In this week's classes I was talking about toy play being a really useful tool for a good recall. Rosie has always loved her frisbee, whereas with Gracie toy play is something we've had to build - it's getting there!
OK, so now I'm teaching a sighthound to track 😆 Am I crazy? Of course not, she's never going to be as good at it as a spaniel, but it's brilliant for any dog to use all their senses AND if I can keep her nose on the ground it means she's not scanning the horizon for deer AND it will build her confidence - go Gracie🥰
Watching dogs and owners build confidence and learn new skills is so rewarding. When this young lady first came to class she needed to be behind visual barriers and prior to that we'd done 1-2-1s at her home to build her confidence to a stage where a class environment was even something me and her owners thought she was ready to try - Now look at her go, learning new tricks in a space where other dogs are doing other activities. I'm so proud of how they are coming along as a team.
Absolute Dogs trained. Providing games based 1:1 and dog training classes. Based in Keynsham near Bri
