Working on our weaves today 😄 we've started with luring the behaviour and everyone's smashing it (I wish I got Bailey's first try on record 😂..he literally smashed it 😆) Next week we will try fade out the treat and go just on hand lure 👏🏽
Bailey's Birthday party 2. and Alfie's first day at Rompin' Rovers 🎉 Alfie got on so well with the other dogs today and showed how much of a massive bundle of fun energy he is, which really fits in well with this group 😄 The party rings were dished out (Quinn got some nice butternut box treats instead as he's grain free - he was definitely not complaining 😆) and everyone had a ball! We took plenty of pool and shade breaks too as it was scorching 💦. What a great day 🥳
It was Bailey's 1st Birthday on Sunday! 🎉 His mum kindly gave us some doggy party rings to celebrate and I even brought along Buddy his friend to have a play with him for some of the session (Buddy's still a pup so was only allowed limited exercise). We are missing Mirren, Bailey's other best friend as she's recovering from an operation but I'll keep her a party ring to celebrate when she's back! Tomorrow is part 2. Bailey's Birthday as he will have different friends to celebrate with! Bring out the party rings! 🥳
Miska and Bailey were practicing their stays last week. I find the easiest way to teach this is to work on a sit and then add duration, distance and distraction individually and incrementally, working at the dogs pace.
When first teaching any behaviour, you should start in a low distraction environment such as your living room or garden. Once your dog is understanding the behaviour and executing it correctly and consistently, you can then practise it in different environments, with different distractions.
You build this up slowly, for example you would go from the living room>garden>empty park etc, again, only going to the next stage when your dog is consistently getting it correct. Long lines attached to your dogs harness are perfect for practicing this in outdoor environments.
In this video I started teaching Miska and Bailey separately, adding distance, distraction and duration. We then practised it together and you can see when I moved my hand to my head the threshold was reached as they were moving out of position. When you see the threshold reached, take the difficulty level back a notch and practice it there until consistent. In this case, practice moving the hand to the head at a closer distance and then gradually progress from there.
Yesterday Alfie met Bailey for the first time 😄 Would you believe Alfie is quarter poodle! 🐩 Alfie is joining Rompin' Rovers and after having a consult to assess compatibility and temperament we introduced him to Bailey to see if they would be a match ( I had a feeling they would be but we always do a trial to make sure first ). Alfie loves Bailey (who doesn't love Bailey 🥰) and they had a great time running around playing together. I can't wait for next week to see how much fun they have with Quinn and Miska. Alfie is already friends with Quinn and Kate is helping on Thursday introducing Miska to Alfie (again we think they will get on without any trouble but we always take things slow and make sure for safety).
Some beautiful dogs coming through the tunnel this week 😃 Wednesday's group were so enamoured with the pool we didn't get to the tunnels but we will have a go next week 😄
We managed to get out the equipment this week as the weather's looking up ☀️ Here is a mixture of the groups Wed - Fri 😄
This is a video of me and Bailey playing the drop game using 2x toys of the same value. We use the same value toys so Bailey won't favour and hold onto one over the other.
📝 A Note on Taking Items from the Mouth
By taking items from your dog's mouth, you are increasing the likelihood of resource guarding. This is a defensive behaviour (aggressive response can also be shown), where the dog protects valuable items like food or toys. This is an instinctual behaviour which would have ensured their survival and well-being in the wild - They are protecting valuable resources. Instead of taking things out of their mouths and increasing the likelihood of an incident, you can teach dogs to drop items on cue or trade for something more high value. Respecting their boundaries strengthens your bond whilst also avoiding conflicts. This is a good game to play to help teach that cue.
Having fun in the snow 🐾 ❄️
Look how fast they are! 🔥🐾
Bailey and I were working on the cue "drop". I have two balls that are the same high value to Bailey - you might have to use two of the same kind of ball for some dogs as they may find one ball more rewarding than the other. When he drops one successfully I reward him by throwing the other ball. As you can hear in the video it's very windy, this can be enough to throw your dogs focus off. Start off by practicing in a low distraction environment such as your garden and then build to practicing in different environments as your dog progresses. This is called ' proofing ' in dog training and is the best way to get fluency and reliability for your cues in all situations.
Super flying zoomies after a dig in the sandpit 😆 what a happy beagle 🥰
In this video Bailey and I are working on the 'hand touch' - teaching your dog to touch their nose to your hand on cue. This is a great exercise for redirecting your dog, positioning them in a specific place without physically touching them (e.g. getting your dog to stand on a scale). It is also great for building up a nervous dog's confidence as they learn that approaching and touching your hand is rewarding (always speak to a professional before working with your nervous dog as to not worsen the issue).
At first Bailey is just sniffing the treat that is lodged in-between my fingers of the hand that is presented to him. As soon as his nose touches my hand I mark and reward. After a couple of reps I remove the treat from my fingers as if I don't remove it promptly, Bailey will learn to only offer the behaviour when the treat is present. I then reward from different hands and change the hand that I would like him to target. This is changing the picture for him and helping him learn the behaviour more thoroughly.
In the last clip I use a touch for Oren's recall (another benefit of this exercise). His owner Kate has proofed this behaviour and can use it at large distances and exciting (for the dog) distractions such as deer.
All the doubles 🐕🐕
2x Rough Collies
2x Labradors
2x Beagles (getting cosies from Kate 🥰)
+ Plus
1x Angel Border Collie Pancake 😇🥞
In this video I'm teaching Bailey to go into a "Down". This one took us a bit longer to work on as you can see. I started by trying to lure Bailey's body into a down from a sit using a treat (this works for some dogs, others it might not) After lots of attempts I realised he wasn't quite understanding what I was asking him to do so I changed the technique from luring to shaping. Shaping is when you break down a completed behaviour and mark and reward as you move forward, incrementalally towards the completed end behaviour. This is a great way to train, especially if your dog isn't sure about the end behaviour at all. Bailey started to understand what I was asking for a lot quicker this way and I used the clicker to mark his progressions (video about clicker/markers put up last week).
The Clicker
The clicker is a type of 'marker' which teaches your dog that when they hear the click sound, they have done the correct behaviour and a reward is coming. This helps makes training easier and can speed up training by half as it is clearer than verbal markers such as yes, good etc. (Especially in a multi-person household as everyone needs to use the same clear word with a similar tone).
What is a marker?
A marker is a sound (in this case the clicker) that the dog associates with a reward - and Bailey's case this is treats.
In the video I first condition the clicker - make the association of the click predicts a treat is coming. I then show you how to use the clicker for a sit.
Bailey's bum hits the floor > mark (click) > treat
The clickers timing is important so as soon as the behaviour occurs you want to click immediately so your dog can learn what he is getting rewarded for.
I was moving around in the video and even sat down so it changes the picture for Bailey and strengthens the association as the context isn't the same.
Bailey noticing the camera at the end 👀😆
⭐Foundations of Muzzle Training ⭐
Will the XL Bully legislation coming into place I thought I'd show a great exercise to do at home with your dog before introducing the muzzle. This simple exercise using a yoghurt pot is great for getting your dog comfortable with loose restriction around their snout before introducing the muzzle. Before we started this exercise I introduced the yoghurt pot and made a positive association. I then encouraged Bailey to engage with it by putting a treat inside and letting him take it. This gets him comfortable with the pot being around his nose as he chooses to insert his nose and mouth into the pot to get the treat. After repetitions of this I didn't place the treat inside the pot but Bailey automatically stuck his muzzle in the pot as he was predicting food being in there. As soon as his muzzle entered I used a reward marker and gave him a treat. Quickly Bailey learned that the behaviour I wanted him to do was to put his muzzle into the pot. This was a short training exercise so I wasn't looking for him to keep his muzzle in for a long time just yet. I was just looking to introduce him to the pot and get him comfortable with putting his snout in it. I sped up a couple of minutes at the end of the session to show how quickly he picked his up. I would then repeat my steps and introduce the muzzle. Here's a more in depth video from the Institute of Modern Dog Trainers about how to condition a muzzle.
https://youtu.be/mgnrMtarAi8?si=_BeuxYoVV5ES4IH2
What a great Christmas Party for our Rompin' Rovers to end the year on a high! 🎄 We were very sad to be missing Benji and Chuck but I'm sure they'll have great fun during the Christmas holidays with their families -give them extra love from me and Kate 💞 Thank you all so much for letting your dogs be part of our Bounce N Bound family this year ❤️ We are so lucky to have all of your dogs with us and I can't wait to start the new year with our new training workshops (info coming soon 😉).
Have a great Christmas and New Year everyone ❤️
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The energy this lot has on a Friday is electric! 😆 Clova, Miska and Eartha all like a good game of tug of war whereas Luna would rather some treats and to nick the red tomato ball from under the other dogs noses 😂🍅What great fun they are! 🏀
I've been using a lot of enrichment toys and puzzles with Bailey this weekend 🧩
Enrichment allows your dog to exhibit their natural behaviours as they can lick, sniff, dig and chew. 👅 👃 This builds up dogs confidence whilst reducing anxiety and boredom. It can also be used as a redirector if your pup is doing a less desirable behaviour, for example chewing your slippers.
It's a great way to build a bond with your dog and can encourage calmer behaviour, helping your pup to feel a sense of control over their environment.
