Off-the-leash obedience with Felino the Barbet
Off-the-leash obedience with Felino the Barbet
We went to our local hardware store to do some obedience with Felino. Off-the-leash obedience will be assessed at the Austrian official exams for assistance dogs, so it’s important that we work on this.
The video starts with Felino lying down next to me on the lead. With the command “sit”, Felino sits up and walks next to me. Felino then gets unleashed and is commanded to walk to heel again. Eventually I ask him to make contact with me by putting his paw on my leg. This behaviour can be used as “anxiety alert” and would help a future owner to focus on the dog and to calm down. The video ends with Felino heeling again and going in a down position on command, with me walking away from him. How do you think Felino did?
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Are whistles good for recall?
Are whistles good for recall? The short answer is yes! The sound of the whistle travels far and is very unique and consistent (whistles don't have bad days or lose their voice like we do!). It can easily be transferred to another handler, regardless of the handler's tone of voice or ability to shout loudly if the dog goes far away. Creating a strong pairing between food and whistle and slowly increasing the level of distraction normally leads to strong comebacks. One just needs to be careful not to misplace the whistle, so our advice is to have more than one – for example on your key ring or on the zip of your jacket!
Video shows Yoshi and Zuri, our training dogs from Independence Dogs Austria, free running together on a grassy field with a backdrop of mountains and trees. They quickly turn around when the whistle is blown, running back to Paco's hand to be rewarded.
#trainingahead #flatcoatedretriever #flatties #whistle #recall #independencedogsaustria #dogsofinstagram #guidedogs #blindenfürhund
What happens when you don't follow your guide dog?
A well trained guide dog should be able to compensate when its owner is not following adequately. In this video you can see how Light into Europe guide dog Chilli puts up with very poor following while he was in training with us in Austria. Despite making him work hard, Chilli still gets to the upkerb with a wagging tail.
Do you know what Off Kerb Obstacles are?
Do you know what Off Kerb Obstacles are?
An Off Kerb Obstacle (OKO) is when an obstacle blocks the pavement forcing a guide dog team to get off the pavement onto the road, and return back to the pavement to keep travelling in the original direction.
In this video you can see me with my Training Ahead hoodie, doing an OKO training session with black Labrador Charlie, a guide dog in training from Light into Europe. Walking along the pavement with the road on the left, we approach two different OKOs. In this session, I encourage Charlie to make the wrong decision by asking him to walk into the obstacle. Even after he has positively taken me to the side kerb, which is his way of telling me that we cannot continue on the pavement, I re-direct Charlie towards the obstacle, but he insists on returning to the side kerb. From the side kerb we step onto the road to quickly return to the pavement after passing the obstacle. The video shows the approach to the obstacles from different angles. Charlie’s tails is wagging throughout despite having to work really hard to keep me on the right track!
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Felino last 24th April 2021, aged 4 months old.
Felino gets braver by the day. Encouraged by food, we kept repeating this exercise on several occasions, to the point where he now goes on the dog walk all by himself without any prompt from me.
Video shows Felino going up an agility dog walk while I place dog food along it. Felino slowly but calmly goes up, along and down it eating the food he comes across.
#pacovillalvilla #gdmi #assistenzhundetrainer #guidedogmobilityinstructor #assistancedog #assistenzhund #barbet #puppybarbet #dogsofinstagram #fairtrained #instadogs #clickertraining #trainingahead #wasserhund #perrodeasistencia #entrenadorperrosdeasistencia
Putting our new apprentice through his paces
Our newest apprentice has been given his own treat bag and is over the moon with it. He loves doing obedience sessions with the dogs… well… almost as much as watching Paw Patrol!
Video shows 5-year-old Daniel standing in front of Golden Retriever Emmi, luring her into different positions and rewarding her from his treat bag. Daniel ends the session by saying “Finish” and Emmi walks away.
#pacovillalvilla #gdmi#assistenzhundetrainer #trainingahead #retriever #goldenretriever#perroguia #assistenzhund #apprentice #fairtrained
29 March 2021. Felino walking over low tables and bench.
In order to increase Felino's confidence on different surfaces, we encourage him to walk on low tables and benches that we have at our club HSTC in Wiener Neustadt. Enticed by food on the tables, he gets on by himself and walks over them at his own pace.
Video shows Felino walking over three different tables and a bench which are ordered from high to low. The tables are slightly separated from each other. Felino walks slowly and carefully from one table to another as he finds and eats pieces of kibble. He walks all the length of the bench, which is the lowest piece of equipment, then turns on the spot and walks back the whole length of the bench again.
#pacovillalvilla #gdmi #assistenzhundetrainer #guidedogmobilityinstructor #assistancedog #assistenzhund #barbet #puppybarbet #dogsofinstagram #fairtrained #instadogs #clickertraining #trainingahead #wasserhund #perrodeasistencia #entrenadorperrosdeasistencia
Felino the Barbet. Socialisation walk.
26 March 2021. 3-month-old Felino walking around the shops. Felino showed some awareness of atypical surfaces so we purposely targeted those areas (metal grids at shop entrances) to give him the chance to be rewarded at them or after them in order to decrease his concerns.
Video shows Felino walking around a shopping precinct on the lead, showing some hesitation when walking over a metal grid. He gets rewarded repeatedly on different parts of it. He then walks over a second smaller grid, getting rewarded once he passes it. We then proceed to walk into and out of another shop with a carpeted section inside by the front door. Felino walks over it without hesitation.
#pacovillalvilla #gdmi #assistenzhundetrainer #guidedogmobilityinstructor #assistancedog #assistenzhund #barbet #puppybarbet #dogsofinstagram #fairtrained #instadogs #clickertraining #trainingahead #wasserhund #perrodeasistencia #entrenadorperrosdeasistencia #neunkirchen #panoramapark
Golden Retriever Emergency Stop
A solid "down" command ("lay" for Emmi) can be used as an emergency stop to, for example, prevent a dog from running into danger.
In this short 9-second video, Emmi shows her response to "Lay!" while running off lead passing me at full speed. After hearing the command, she quickly stops and lays down facing me. Then she gets released with "Finish!" and she goes back to running free.
#pacovillalvilla #gdmi #assistenzhundetrainer #guidedog #assistancedog #assistenzhund #goldenretriever #fairtrained #swiftwit #clickertraining #trainingahead #retriever #perroguia #emergencystop
Having a little break with Felino, the Assistance Dog Puppy.
It isn't all about work! Felino enjoyed a little session of cuddles and playing with me outside the shops last week. An opportunity to relax for both of us and strengthen our bond. Video shows me crouched down, pushing Felino away from me, stroking and giving him cuddles. Felino keeps coming back to me, pushing into me, looking for contact and wagging his tail at medium/high height. Behind us a road with moving traffic.
#pacovillalvilla #gdmi #assistenzhundetrainer #guidedogmobilityinstructor #assistancedog #assistenzhund #barbet #puppybarbet #dogsofinstagram #fairtrained #instadogs #clickertraining #trainingahead #wasserhund #perrodeasistencia #entrenadorperrosdeasistencia #neunkirchen #panoramapark
Assistance Dog Barbet Puppy going into a lift
Exposing pups to new environments is a crucial part of their development. The character of the pup and support levels needs to be taking in consideration to avoid overwhelming. Felino went to our local, quiet train station to use the lift. This involved walking over different surfaces which Felino needed some help with.
Video is 57 seconds long and shows Felino wearing a red harness, on a lose red lead attached to the harness. On the backdrop you can see an empty car park behind him. The camera moves backwards into the lift with Felino in front of the frame. He shows some initial reluctance to walk over the second metal flooring but dog food on my hand and on the floor, plus allowing to take his time to go in, resulted in Felino walking freely into the lift looking for treats.
#pacovillalvilla #gdmi #assistenzhundetrainer #guidedogmobilityinstructor #assistancedog #assistenzhund #barbet #puppybarbet #dogsofinstagram #fairtrained #instadogs #clickertraining #trainingahead #wasserhund #perrodeasistencia #entrenadorperrosdeasistencia #Gloggnitz
Preparing Felino for future grooming sessions
Preparing Felino for future grooming sessions
(Sound on for audio commentary)
Felino is now more than 9 weeks and we are getting him used to being on the grooming table and being touched. We place some treats on the table to create a positive association with it. As the video shows, we run the back of a rake over his body while he is eating the treats. It's just a short session to get him used to it. While Felino is on the table, his tail is up and he appears relaxed and calm. Once he is put back on the floor, he sits looking up at the table, willing to go back for more.
#pacovillalvilla #gdmi #assistenzhundetrainer #guidedogmobilityinstructor #assistancedog #assistenzhund #barbet #puppybarbet #dogsofinstagram #fairtrained #instadogs #clickertraining #trainingahead #wasserhund #perrodeasistencia #entrenadorperrosdeasistencia #Payerbach
First outings with Felino, the Barbet.
After couple of days allowing Felino to settle down at home, we are slowly showing him our surroundings, mixing periods of sitting at a bench seeing the world go by, short lead walks and small training sessions, like the one you can watch on the video.
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Video description: We are by a road with continuos traffic passing. Felino is sitting, more or less facing me and looking around. He gets slowly lured from the front position, into a sit by my left side. He then gets verbally marked for sitting and consequently rewarded.
#pacovillalvilla #gdmi #assistenzhundetrainer #guidedogmobilityinstructor #assistancedog #assistenzhund #barbet #puppybarbet #dogsofinstagram #fairtrained #instadogs #clickertraining #trainingahead #wasserhund #perrodeasistencia #entrenadorperrosdeasistencia #payerbach
Bus travel.
Some guide dogs will frequently use public transport like buses when working with their users. It’s important they remain calm and relaxed, ideally sitting or lying by the handler’s feet or even under the seat.
Video shows Light into Europe guide dog in training Charlie giving a lesson of how to travel on a bus in a relaxed manner. He sits in front of Paco while resting his chin on his lap.
#pacovillalvilla #gdmi #assistenzhundetrainer #guidedogmobilityinstructor #guidedog #lightintoeuropecharity #guidedogsromania #assistancedog #blindenhund #assistenzhund #trainingahead #retriever #labrador #labradorretriever #blacklabrador #perroguía #perrodeasistencia #entrenadorperrosguia #formacionentrenadores
Emmi retrieves a coin.
This is a task already finished: FairTrained assistance dog in training Emmi picks up a coin I dropped on the floor. She then puts her two front paws on my lap, drops the coin into my hand, gets off the wheelchair and sits by my right side. A sequence of 4 different behaviours with no command given.
#pacovillalvilla #gdmi #assistenzhundetrainer #guidedogmobilityinstructor #guidedog #assistancedog #blindenhund #assistenzhund #goldenretriever #fairtrained #swiftwit #trainingahead #retriever #retrieving #
When one signal requires two different behaviours from two different dogs
Working with two dogs at the same time can be complicated, but fortunately these two dogs’ responses to the whistle signal for recall are compatible. Both of them need to return to the handler when the whistle is blown. Light into Europe guide dog in training Charlie (black Lab) needs to come in front and make contact with my right hand by my side. FairTrained assistance dog in training Emmi needs to come to my right hand side and sit automatically.
Video shows both dogs casually walking on a snowy hill and quickly turning towards Paco at the sound of the whistle. Emmi comes first and sits by his right side. Charlie comes immediately after and presents himself in front. Both get rewarded with the same hand. At Paco’s “finish” signal, both dogs are released and go back to play with each other.
#pacovillalvilla #gdmi #assistenzhundetrainer #guidedogmobilityinstructor #guidedog #assistancedog #blindenhund #assistenzhund #goldenretriever #fairtrained #swiftwit #clickertraining #trainingahead #retriever #retrieving #snowdogs #labrador #labradorretriever #swiftwit #FairTrained #freerunning #goldenretriever
Assessing dog's training and adaptability to new handler
Once our dogs have had some foundation training on harness, we like to observe how they work with a different handler. This allows us to assess our training and the dog’s adaptability, and to look for areas needing improvement. In this video, you can see Light into Europe guide dog in training Charlie being handled by our willing volunteer and friend Marco. Charlie appears very relaxed despite having known Marco for just a few moments.
Video shows Marco and Charlie walking on harness along a quiet, snowy pavement with the road on their left. When they come across a flat down kerb, Charlie automatically sits. Marco then proceeds to give Charlie a treat with his left hand, followed by a stroke on the head.
#pacovillalvilla #gdmi #assistenzhundetrainer #guidedogmobilityinstructor #guidedog #lightintoeuropecharity #guidedogsromania #assistancedog #blindenhund #assistenzhund #trainingahead #retriever #labrador #labradorretriever #blacklabrador #perroguía #perrodeasistencia #entrenadorperrosguia #formacionentrenadores
Dog going mad in the snow
Do you know what our dogs' favourite past time on a snowy Sunday morning is? Light into Europe Guide Dog in training Charlie demonstrates a complex exercise of "running like a puppy in the snow". Our dogs are truly masters in this.
Video shows black Labrador Charlie free running passing the camera at full speed, turning, stopping, running again and eating snow on a snowy hill.
#pacovillalvilla #gdmi #assistenzhundetrainer #guidedogmobilityinstructor #guidedog #lightintoeuropecharity #guidedogsromania #assistancedog #blindenhund #assistenzhund #clickertraining #trainingahead #retriever #snowdogs #snow #winter #labrador #labradorretriever #blacklabrador #runningdogs #perroguía #perrodeasistencia
Snoring guide dog in training
Dogs can understand up to 165 words. For guide dog in training Charlie, "insomnia" is not one of them...
**Sound on**
Video shows a close up of Light into Europe black labrador Charlie loudly snoring away with his eyes shut, resting his head on a plastic dog bed. When I call his name he opens his eyes with a startled look.
#pacovillalvilla #gdmi #guidedogmobilityinstructor #guidedog #assistancedog #blindenhund #assistenzhund #lightintoeurope #guidedogsromania #labrador #snoringdog #sleepingdog #trainingahead
Golden Coin Retriever
How to save money? Don’t lose it in the first place! Emmi knows well that when it comes to finances, every little helps.
Video shows Emmi casually walking off the lead by my side when I “accidentally” drop a coin on the floor. She looks at it a couple of times while walking with me until she decides to go back to pick it up, without being given a command. She brings it directly to my hand.
#pacovillalvilla #gdmi #assistenzhundetrainer #guidedogmobilityinstructor #guidedog #assistancedog #blindenhund #assistenzhund #goldenretriever #fairtrained #swiftwit #clickertraining #trainingahead #retriever #retrieving
