If you want to build recall and engagement, there is no better game than Hide and Seek.
It gets the dog hunting you. When they find you give them loads of fuss and reward (Food, interaction, chasing you, play, etc).
You can play this in the house (Hide behind curtains or a door) but donโt make it too difficult and hide in a cupboard or in a locked room as they canโt open doors.
Play it in the woods and hide behind a tree, but again donโt make it too difficult!
Have fun with your dog. The more we make it enjoyable the more the dog will want to interact.
Cotswold Hound was setup to help people harness the best in their dogs, if you would like more advice on training strategies to improve your dog's behaviour, link in bio for free consultation
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Using food for training seems to raise a lot of concerns about dogโs getting overweight.
I have someone talk to me about this at least once a week and typically people donโt want to use as much food or use food which is going to be less motivating.
For me using food is important and there is a simple fix to avoid the dogs getting overweight.
Just feed them less at mealtimes depending on how much you fed them during training.
The best way to tell if your dog is a good weight or not is through look and feel.
The amount the packages suggest for puppies and older dogs is just a guideline and it doesnโt factor in exercise levels or the amount of calories they get through other sources.
Plus Iโve seen a lot of dogs over the years and even within the same breed they can all vary in skeletal size, which means the estimated amount of food will vary.
You should be able to feel the ribs without a thick layer of fat and you should be able to see a visible waistline. If this isnโt the case then reduce down the level of calories.
Iโd rather a well trained dog so reduce mealtimes and donโt scrimp on the training rewards until the dog is reliable. But remember using your kibble for training might not cut the mustard especially in distracting environments where you want to movtivate your dogs to build reliable and consistent behaviours.
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Cotswold Hound was setup to help people harness the best in their dogs, if you would like more advice on training strategies to improve your dog's behaviour, link in bio for free consultation
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The environment can be a BIG distraction!
When a dog gets too aroused, their ability to focus on anything else disappears, and food, toys or anything else wonโt work.
If your dog struggles in a certain place, then I would avoid these places until you can build good engagement and reactions with you.
Then, gradually make the environment more distracting while maintaining this behaviour.
For example, working with a dog like this who is aroused in woodland. I would develop a really rewarding game / interaction with the dog in a low distraction environment that plays to their natural needs/drivers.
I would start in the house, then move this to the garden, then to a low distraction environment like a carpark, then to a quiet park, then to a busier park, then to an overgrown field and then to a wooded area close to an urban area, then to a wooded area in a rural setting.
All the time, making sure the dog can continue engaging with the handler.
It takes time, but engagement and interaction is something you want to make sure your dog has if you want to build control and / or avoid them getting over-excited.
Cotswold Hound was set up to help people harness the best in their dogs. If you would like more advice on training strategies to improve your dog's behaviour, link in bio for free consultation
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To reduce reactivity there is a process we go through:
1๏ธโฃ We recognise the triggers. This could be certain environments, other dogs, people, smells, it could be a variety of things.
2๏ธโฃ We aim to reduce the reaction. This is a critical part, if the dog is constantly being exposed to the trigger they are going to struggle to do anything different. Giving them a holiday from stress is an important step.
3๏ธโฃ Are your dogโs basic needs being met? Which could include the right diet, levels of sleep, Is it medically fit? Etc.
4๏ธโฃ Help them learn to relax and be resilient. We review the right levels of exercise (in some case less than youโd think), is the dog getting the right levels of mental stimulation? Does the dog have calming activities? Does the dog have choice in its environment and does it feel successful in everyday interactions?
5๏ธโฃ Retrain key behaviours so that the dog develops the ability to do what is required in various situations. This could be training new behaviours, building engagement skills and increasing their ability to make good choices.
6๏ธโฃ Build up the ability to cope with triggers by reintroducing triggers gradually and at distance. Rushing this phase is what typically derails progress. Gradually doing this avoids the dogs slipping into old behaviours.
The process takes time and there no magic bullets to overcoming reactivity, especially when based on anxiety or there has been a number of years of rehearsal. If itโs been happening for a year, it wonโt change over night.
With the right approach and support reactivity can be reduced.
Cotswold Hound was setup to help people harness the best in their dogs, if you would like more advice on training strategies to improve your dog's behaviour, link in bio for free consultation
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Socialisation is not about socialising with dogs. Itโs about getting your dog used to the world.
It should be called exposure training โ teaching the dog to learn about the world in a positive way so the dog learns to be resilient and able to cope with new and novel situations.
This is about seeing cars, buses, skateboard, birds, horses, hearing sounds, smelling scents โ but it also isnโt a tick box exercise, itโs about how your dog reacts to ensure the right reaction โ e.g. calm.
When you are โsocialisingโ your dog it shouldnโt be about the dog getting over excited or overly anxious โ this reaction is information!
It helps us learn to adapt our training so the dog can succeed.
If every time they see something they over-react, then this will become their default reaction to something.
For example, if seeing a dog every time they get overly excited and we donโt let them meet every dog, this could lead to frustration. But instead if every time a dog appears it is the trigger for something the dog enjoys this will get the dog calmer around dogs and less frustrated.
Also, we need to take into account the individual dog, if they are hyper social we need to work harder to allow an outlet for this but with calm well balanced dogs. If they are nervous we need to gradually give them access to help them build their confidence.
Just meeting lots of dogs can do a lot of damage to a dog in the long run.
Take your time and learn about body language and how this applies to your dog.
Cotswold Hound was setup to help people harness the best in their dogs, if you would like more advice on training strategies to improve your dog's behaviour, link in bio for free consultation
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Dogs are amazing at spotting patterns.
They start to predict what to expect and this can lead to some dogs learning to ignore what we do when on walks.
However, if we become less predictable then they have to pay more attention.
A simple way to do this is to not always walk the same route โ even if you walk round a park, occasionally change direction or walk across the centre etc. This will help them to learn to keep an eye on you.
Reward them when they catch up and they will be motivated to be with you.
Give it a try. Become predictably unpredictable!
Cotswold Hound was setup to help people harness the best in their dogs, if you would like more advice on training strategies to improve your dog's behaviour, link in bio for free consultation
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I get asked often how to get dogs reliably responding around distractions.
The first step is making sure the dog understands the cue, then itโs about practising this cue with distractions. Iโve found the first step for this is asking for a behaviour in different ways and in different situations โ but easy enough for the dog to succeed initially.
This enables the dog to build up itโs understanding of what is being asked and teaches the dog to generalise this cue and behaviour to different situations, including new and novel ones.
If your dog canโt do simple/fluent behaviours in slightly testing situations, then the more complex behaviours in slightly testing situations or the simple behaviours in more testing situations are less likely to succeed. We need to build them up to those difficult distractions.
Does your dog know itโs cues well enough to be able to have you present them in different ways or situations and see if they perform the requested behaviour? Give it a try.
Cotswold Hound was setup to help people harness the best in their dogs, if you would like more advice on training strategies to improve your dog's behaviour, link in bio for free consultation
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The one thing to do on your walks is get your dog interacting with you. It doesnโt have to be often or complex, but get them enjoying something interactive with you.
It could be calling their name and rewarding them, it could be asking for a few behaviours, it could be getting them the climb on something or playing a game with them.
The more they learn to interact with you in different places, the more they will easily interact with you.
Very few dogs will interact with you naturally, this is something we must teach them that this can be rewarding (and Iโm not just talking about food).
It takes time and effort but starts with the simple things when out and about.
In a nutshell, have fun and enjoy your dog.
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Cotswold Hound was setup to help people harness the best in their dogs, if you would like more advice on training strategies to improve your dog's behaviour, link in bio for free consultation
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If you want your dog to respond to you when distracted, you need to practice distracting them from distractions.
But start simple and pay well!!!
Think of it like a computer game โ
level 1 is distracting them from looking around at home,
level 2 might be sniffing something that they donโt find too interesting at home.
Level 10 might be sniffing in woodland,
Level 100 might be chasing wildlife or playing with their best dog friend.
We have to work through these levels in order to play the big boss at level 100.
Trying to play the big boss before we have gained the skills and experience will result in frustration and failure.
Build up to this so both you and your dog are successful.
Cotswold Hound was setup to help people harness the best in their dogs, if you would like more advice on training strategies to improve your dog's behaviour, link in bio for free consultation
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Dogs can easily be distracted.
When they are distracted, they can learn to do what they want and ignore us.
Choosing the right environment can significantly help.
A quiet place, which could be somewhere that is quiet in terms of the amount of scent, can really aid training.
Itโs not that we will always walk/work a dog in these spaces, but they become a stepping stone to get the dog behaving how we want before taking them to the places we want them to behave well.
When they are young, we want to rush them to do the things we want, but often this leads to the dog creating habits which unfortunately become long-term issues.
This 2.5 yr old Springer struggled with focus out of the house, just wanting to sniff and get to everything at 100mph. However, in the house, he was amazing and really driven to work and interact. Outside though heโd just ignore his handlers and want to pull and rush to get somewhere.
With him, weโve taken it back to basics, by building up motivation to engage with us before then swapping this to food motivation and then choosing less distracting areas to get him to engage and focus, with the big reward being able to run and do the things he really enjoys. Heโs doing so well.
His owner said โWhen I took him out last night I was super impressed. The engagement with me, and his slower pace sniffing the ground was brilliant. We made it over the road and onto the pavements etc. He's going down on command, stopping etc. Can't quite believe it. I think he's made significant progress in such a short space of time.โ
High 5!!!
Cotswold Hound was setup to help people harness the best in their dogs. If you would like more advice on training strategies to improve your dog's behaviour, link in bio for free consultation
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