Pheasant sniffing
It looked like there was something interesting over that wall! 😂
I decided to delete the competition post a few days ago as it was just attracting too many scammers! It’s a shame as a small business I’d hoped that it may get me some shares and a few more followers which can really help visibility and ultimately help me to get more custom. Bloody scammers! 👊
Anyway, I made a note of those who entered and Matt has picked a name out of the hat today so I’ll be contacting the lucky winner this afternoon 🥳. Thanks to all who entered and shared ❤️
#dogtrainer #hebdenbridge
Newt
‘Comparison is the thief of joy’
I think this is something that people do constantly with their dogs. All dogs are individual and your dogs training journey will be shaped by their individual life experiences, genetics , breed traits, the environment they are in etc. Don’t compare your dog to others, just enjoy the training journey and work with what you have, make your own goals instead of looking to others to guide what you think your goals should be for your dog/s. Enjoy the journey and time spent with your best friend.
Have a great weekend everyone 🐾❤️🥳#dogtrainer #hebdenbridge #petgundog
Response to name
What happens when you say your dogs name?….Teaching your dog to have a positive response to their name is really important. Having a dog that offers you their attention when they hear their name is useful for various things.
🐾Getting them to look at you for further instruction or before asking for another cue. For example if your young dog was sniffing on the ground intensely you may want to call their name before using your recall cue. We ultimately want to proof the recall cue to all sorts of exciting things, but in the training process we want to set our dogs up for success too, and limit the amount of opportunities they have to ignore their recall. If you were to say their name and they ignored you, you might decide not to use your special recall cue. If you said their name and they looked up, you then have their attention and recall is more likely to be a success.
🐾In a multi dog household where you don’t want to recall all your dogs you can select which one you want.
🐾 It’s an extra safety mechanism and a way for you to communicate to your dog to look to you.
Common mistakes…
📣 People constantly repeating their dogs name to get their attention. This just becomes white noise to the dog and their name becomes something that they learn to ignore.
📣 Using their dogs name but only when they are being admonished for something e.g ‘Newt no’, ‘Newt get down’ etc etc. This just teaches your dog that their name is negative and they don’t really want to hear it as it is normally followed by a telling off or them being removed from doing something they actually find quite fun.
As with any training when you teach your dog response to their name you want to start in a low distraction environment and build up. It’s unlikely to work at first when your dog is fixated on a bunny, or something else really exciting.
As you can see from the video my three know their names, and are excited to hear me say them. It means something good
Getting behaviours on and off cue
When training behaviours I want to make sure that I proof my cues to all environments. I want my dogs to be able to perform them on verbal cue alone ( more often than not), and to be able to discriminate between cues ( so if I ask them to heel away from a retrieve I don’t want them to hear me say something and take that as their cue to run and get the retrieve). Also when training my dogs I don’t want them continually throwing behaviours at me as this can become very frustrating for the dog, it can also indicate that you haven’t gone through an important part of the process which is getting the behaviour on and off cue. Which essentially means they only offer the behaviour when cued to do so, and between cues you may see a default behaviour ( Badgers is a stand) and cue seeking behaviours ( looking at you) whilst they wait for further instructions.
Here’s Badger demonstrating some behaviours and a couple of his party tricks on the moors earlier in the week. I love how dramatic he is when I pretend to 🔫him 😂😂😂 ( which incidentally has both a verbal and visual cue still as it turns out I like to pretend to shoot my dog 🙊😂😂)
#dogtrainer #hebdenbridge #spaniel #springerspaniel
Training gundogs with treats
Welcome to Badger’s TED talk 🖤🦡🖤
This is to all the people who think ‘ treatin is cheatin’ ….. but also to the people who thought trying to scam my customers is ok!
#dogtrainer #petgundog #hebdenbridge
I like to use litter ( mostly plastic bottles) to test my lining up skills and Badger’s blind retrieve skills 😂. It’s good fun for Badger, I don’t have to sneakily plant a dummy, and we simultaneously help to keep the beautiful countryside tidy. Thankfully we live in a lovely spot, and there is very little litter lying about but when there is Badger becomes an eco warrior and my dummy vest gets filled with sh*te! 🙊😂
#pawsonplastic #dogtrainer #hebdenbridge #gundogtraining
‼️Now only one space left!‼️
‼️ 2 places left on the pet gundog foundation class in Hebden Bridge‼️
This class starts on the 9th September running for 6 consecutive weeks. See the pinned post on my page for more information and what to expect from the class.
‼️Contact me ASAP to reserve a place as this class is filling fast‼️
#dogtrainer #hebdenbridge #petgundog
Who remembers the spaniel club rules?.. anyway here’s rule number 4! 🙊😂
#hebdenbridge #dogtrainer #spaniel #spanielclub
You may have noticed that I use balls quite a lot when training my dogs. I like to build motivation for balls initially through play, then I start to put rules and control around them quite quickly. Some ways I use balls as reinforcers when training…
🎾Permissive chasing ‘get it’ to reward behaviours I like ( this will not be repetitive or excessive). For instance if I recall my dogs away from a prey animal I will often reward with a chase reward.
🎾Rewarding distance behaviours such as the stop whistle. This will either be a reward thrown to their position ( a catch or small chase) or a ball thrown somewhere else and then they are released from the stop to search for the ball.
🎾Hunting and searching games.
🎾Teaching impulse control. Once my dogs find the ball motivating I can train various impulse control exercises- recall from chasing, stop whistle when chasing, auto sit to movement, steadiness, a distraction in heel work and the get it- don’t get it game etc ( and lots more I’m sure!)
Once I have built motivation I use them for training purposes only, whether that be as a reward or to train various behaviours as listed above. My dogs do not have free access to balls in the house ( or any other reinforcer I use in training). This helps to keep their value as it is something that only comes out when they are working and engaging with me.
‼️The problem with balls‼️
There are a few things to be aware of though if you want to use balls as reinforcers when training your dogs…..
🚨The way in which they move and turn when repetitively chasing a ball can cause injury. Especially since people generally will not warm their dog up before starting the game.
🚨 Repetitive ball chasing increases a dogs arousal state and produces Adrenalin. This can lead to a dog who remains in a state of higher arousal and struggles to switch off… something which people with working breeds can often struggle with anyway without adding ball chasing in
The incident with the stoat
Todays episode of wtf has Badger got in his gob!? 😱🤢😂
The downside to teaching your dog to deliver everything to hand! 🤢 #wish*taughtadropcue 😂
Disclaimer- no stoats were harmed in the making of this video, mr stoat was already dead.
#dogtrainer #hebdenbridge #spaniels #retrieve
A Wuthering hound
Practising sit stays in the British summer time be like… 💨🤦🏻♀️😂
Proofing sitting in gale force winds ✅🙊😂
#dogtrainer #hebdenbridge #gundog
Newt has that Friday feeling! 🥳 What are you up to this weekend with your dogs? #dogtrainer #hebdenbridge #petgundog #springerspaniel #spaniel
Heel work
Heel work can seem like a never ending task, more so for certain breeds that have genetics working against them ( ahem spaniels, HPR’s, pointers, setters I’m looking at you! 🙊😂). Often people will see it as a boring thing that has to be done, and this emotion can overspill to your dog. You’re not enthusiastic, so why should they be. Some things that I like to do when practising heel work, to make it more exciting and more rewarding for my dogs…
🐾Changing pace, changing direction, speeding up, slowing down and stopping.
🐾Using different rewards and different reward placement. I use food, sometimes I will use toys- sometimes thrown behind and released to chase, and sometimes heeling towards a toys and released forward (impulse control) etc.
🐾 Environmental rewards- released to sniff ( I have sniffing on cue). Released to hunt or swim etc.
🐾 Memory retrieves are great for rewarding heel work- heel away from the retrieve, if the heeling is good they get the retrieve as a reward.
🐾 Asking for tricks keeping your dog engaged with the added bonus of proofing your cues…spin or twist, leg weaves etc.
🐾 Making the heel position a really great place to be- asking your dog to heel before delivering high value chews, or their meal.
(This list is by no means exhaustive and different things will work for different dogs)
#dogtrainer #hebdenbridge #heelwork #petgundog #spaniel
Soggy spaniel
Happy soggy spaniel Sunday! 😂 Here’s my two in their natural habitat, Albie was stood next to me shaking his head at this pair of idiots 🙊😂.
Let’s see pics of your soggy spaniels ( or wet dogs in general) in the comments 📸⬇️
#springerspaniel #soggyspanielsunday #spaniel #dogtrainer #hebdenbridge
Eye contact
‘Attention is the mother of all behaviours’- Jane Killion
Eye contact is arguably one of the most important things you can teach your dog. It is a behaviour I haven’t attached a cue to, my dogs just offer it to me as they have learnt that it is a rewarding thing for them to do as I have highly rewarded it since they were puppies.
I have rewarded this behaviour in various ways-food rewards, verbal praise, attention and play. I also teach my dogs the concept that offering eye contact can give them access to something they want i.e; being released when their lead is removed ( premacking the behaviour too). If my dogs are unable to offer eye contact in a particular environment it gives me important information about their emotional state.
Why it is useful….
🐾It is often a ‘cue seeking’ behaviour. Dogs may look at their handler when they are waiting for further direction/ waiting for a cue/command.
🐾When a dog is offering eye contact/ attention they are much more likely to be able to listen to cues given by their handler.
🐾We can teach dogs to offer eye contact/ attention around increasing distractions. Helping dogs to learn to filter out these distractions and enable you to work together around distractions.
🐾Rewarding check ins/ eye contact on walks can result in an increase in the behaviour, ultimately leading to a more controlled walk. If your dog is regularly checking in, they are less likely to go as far, and more likely to listen to cues given by the handler.
🐾 It also releases oxytocin ( the love drug). So not only is it a useful thing to encourage it also makes everyone feel good too 🥰.
#dogtrainer #hebdenbridge #petgundog
Adolescence
David Attenborough accurately describing adolescent dogs 🙊😂
Obviously I’m being flippant… but adolescence can be a really tough time for dogs and owners alike. Adolescence is a transitional phase between puppyhood and them becoming an adult. It starts around 6 months and finishes around 18 months- 2 years of age, but there is some variance between breeds and individuals. Much like human teenagers during the adolescent period, they are figuring their sh*t out 🙊😂. The adolescent period is also the time that dogs are most likely to be rehomed. Unfortunately it’s also the time where a dog is less likely to cope well in a rescue.
During this phase dogs are going through physical, mental changes, and sexual maturity and with all that comes a hormone surge which impacts their brain.
These hormones can influence their social responses, so you may see your dog suddenly seeming more fearful of something, or they may have an approach behaviour that they previously didn’t have ( often seen in adolescent males when the surge in testosterone can increase their desire to approach other dogs).
Much like human teenagers, you may see an increase in risk taking behaviours and impulsivity. They may be testing things they have learnt and wanting to explore further afield. This is the period where you will typically hear people say that their dog has started to ‘go deaf’ when out on walks.
You may also see breed typical traits really coming to the forefront in this period.
Top tips for handling adolescence…
🐾 Keep things simple. Sometimes rather than teaching them lots of new things you may just need to manage the behaviours you already have.
🐾 Lower your criteria and expectations. Work with the level they are currently at instead of working with the previously super attentive responsive puppy that was.
🐾 Work on their impulsivity through game play ( impulse control games).
🐾Meet their needs through appropriate outlets for their breed tr
Let’s talk slip leads….
I quite often see posts from ‘force free’ trainers admonishing the use of slip leads entirely. Stating that there really isn’t a time or place for them. So let me tell you where I stand with the use of them and my reasonings behind that.
Slip leads are used when working dogs in the field. It is deemed unsafe to use collars and harnesses which are more likely to get snagged on bushes and cause injury or entrapment. As such I train my dogs to walk on slip leads as they will be wearing them during training and also when working.
I however I do not use lead corrections when training my dogs to walk on a slip lead and in fact before I use a slip lead at all, they will already have an understanding of the heel position. I train my dogs to walk in the heel position off lead or whilst wearing a flat collar and lead, or a harness. The position is the same regardless of equipment. I reinforce this position by marking and rewarding with treats, access to play or access to environmental rewards rather than by correcting them when they go wrong/ applying pressure to their neck ( positive punishment).
When I first introduce my dogs to a slip lead I use a slip lead with a limiter on it ( like shown in this video). This is essentially a flat collar and lead as it doesn’t continue to tighten beyond a certain point. Newt is an adolescent and can be really good at something one minute, then a distraction comes along and she may struggle and pull into the lead. I will not use a slip lead without a limiter on until she is older and less impulsive.
In our classes some customers will use slip leads on dogs who do not pull into them and choke themselves. Others will have their dogs on a flat collar or harness. We train heel work as described above and do not advise to ‘correct’ dogs using the lead.
I thought this was an important post, as sometimes people make assumptions about the use of slip leads which can sometimes be inaccurate.
#slip
