I like to give my dogs choice.
Think about it. We decide everything - what food they eat, when they eat it, where/when they go outside or for walks, where they sleep and what they sleep on, which toys they have, what they wear, who they say hello to... The list goes on.
So if I can give just a little bit of autonomy back, a little bit of choice, then I will. It's not always appropriate, but the more you do it, the more things you'll find to offer them choice. And the more confident and trusting they become. I don't know about you, but I want a good relationship with my dog - not a dictatorship.
So I let Mavis choose which harness to wear, which direction she'd like to walk (where appropriate), which spot she'd like to rest on (she has two beds, access to the sofa & a rocking chair, along with our bed), which flavour food she'd prefer, which toy she wants to play with.. And which treat she'd like after a walk, even if it's always the same one!
Mavis is... well... bored!
Apparently. Yes I've been working, doing boring work things. But we have also done some training outside, and we're about to go for a walk with friends. Apparently though, sometimes it's not enough ๐
She's normally quite patient and happy to chill out, but not today it seems!
๐ Holiday notice ๐
I will be away from Sun 30th June - Sun 7th July (inclusive).
I'll be unavailable for the week so will reply to any emails, messages, calls etc on my return. Apologies for any inconvenience ๐พ
Mavis LOVES her tuggy toys! They're one of her favourite things to play with and have made her recall cue so much stronger. But it's really important that she's able to release if/when I need her to!
We've been practicing dropping toys & items since she was 10wks old. It was a bit hit & miss in the beginning but she learned fast and is now a pro. But tuggy toys are her favourite (because Staffy!) so they can be harder to let go of.
She's been doing so super well with the verbal ("thank you") and visual (hand under toy) cues together that I decided it was time to test our training and make sure she could respond to both of them individually too. This was really fun for her, especially as we can't go out for our usual walks while she's in season. How great did she do?!
Happy bank holiday โ๏ธ We're spending time with friends and family this weekend - what have your pups got up to?
Puppy throwback... to the evening zoomies! Tail chasing in her favourite chair, ft shrill barking ๐ซ But wasn't she cute?!
Happy Sunday early morning walkies! โ๏ธ
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No... it's a Mavis & she's bringing you something exciting later on today! ๐ค
Teaching Mavis to use a button-operated treat dispenser ๐
I started this a while ago and she loved the game and that treats just magically appeared from this weird contraption! A little bit too much ๐ that she was over-excited with her legs crazily flying around and mouthing the button when it was on the floor..
So we slowed it down. I held the button at her head height and encouraged her to sniff it or touch it gently when she was calm. If she got excited, barked at it or tried to paw it, I just removed the button for a second until there was a millisecond of calm again, then represented.
I'm not against the idea of her using her paw, we'll build up to this - I just can't currently guarantee the safety of the button when it's being pawed at repeatedly ๐ and Mavis finds pawing/digging at things hugely over-exciting but this is a controlled exercise so I want her to be thinking clearly.
Gradually we got to the stage you can see in this video. I'm slowly moving the button further away and at different angles as she gets better at the game. She loves it and wants to play all the time, but for now it's strictly a supervised game while she's a terrible teen!
What's the point of the game? Aside from being a bit of fun, I'd like to have the option of a way to reward at a distance if needed for some training exercises in the future.
Following on from my frustrated post at the weekend, we had a really good day today ๐ Here's Mavis proving she can do all the things we've worked on after all!
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Loose-lead walking
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๏ธ Focus on me
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๏ธ Calmly watching everything
I'm especially proud of her "I just spotted a child and didn't get OTT excited" look ๐ฅฐ
(FYI there will probably never be a video of the moments when it goes wrong, simply because I don't have enough hands to hold a phone straight if I'm concentrating on helping her get it right while also managing her safely!)
We all have good days and not so great days. Take this as your sign to make the most of the good moments your dog has - encourage it, praise it, reward it, reinforce it. You'll start seeing more of the things you like and less of what you don't ๐พ
Mavis is a teenager - we're likely to have lots of iffy days! She's not going to get it right all the time, especially when her hormones are all over the place! I'm just going to keep on practicing with her and the rest will fall into place with time. If she has an 'off' day where she's not feeling it, we'll just take a break and try again another time.
(She's wearing an 'I Need Space' vest to ensure that people/dogs don't interrupt us while we're training)
We all hope our dogs will never go missing, but what happens if they do?
I'm supporting @CornwallSearchDogs this week (along with 14 other local pet professionals) by counting my steps to raise money for a new search dog's training. We are so close to our target! Any support you can give is hugely appreciated! Thank you!!
www.justgiving.com/page/1000stepsforsniffs
Happy #NationalPuppyDay! Here's a throwback to Mavis's first week with us, back when she was a tiny little dumpling ๐ฅน Penny was (is) so patient with her.
Show me your puppy pics! ๐
Easy peasy canine enrichment ๐พ
1. Watch the world - Literally, just take them out to see, hear & smell things. You don't even have to walk anywhere, just stand still or sit on a bench.
2. Lead manners - Training for this one never truly stops, we're generalising this behaviour so she knows it applies everywhere. I'm using a mixture of the Stop-Start, 300 Peck, and Drunk Walking methods - plus lots of rewards!
3. Slow down - Why do we always have to rush everywhere? Take your time, let them absorb ALL the information.
4. Let them sniff - Dogs can smell 100,000 times better than us! Need I say any more?!
๐ What's going on here? How many calming signals can you see? ๐
๐ SOUND ON
Being able to read canine communication and figure out what's happening can help to prevent escalation.
Dog body language can be really subtle - 'calming signals' are used by dogs to calm themselves and others around them to help diffuse situations and avoid conflict. Look out for...
๐ถ Lip-licking or nose-licking
๐ถ Whale eye (seeing the whites of their eyes)
๐ถ Yawning
๐ถ Looking away
๐ถ Head or body turned away
๐ถ Moving away
๐ถ Shaking off
Other less subtle signals include growling, barking, snarling, lunging, snapping & biting!
Here, Toddy has stolen Mavis's toys & an antler - and she wants them back. Toddy finds them equally as valuable and won't give them up. Although Mavis takes the hint that she shouldn't push it further, they seem to have come to a stale-mate. At this point I stepped in, called Mavis away and swapped the toys/chew from Toddy in exchange for a tasty treat (she got one too). I'll give them back to Mav later when Toddy isn't around.
Better late than never...
๐ Happy Valentines Day! ๐
Lots of love, Mavis ๐
Sunnier days! ๐โ๏ธ
A little beach trip Mavis & I took this weekend. Despite being very excited to start with (and needing some gentle reminders of her lead manners), she did great once she settled down and loved doing lots of digging & splashing!!
Mav even managed a couple of polite greetings with other dogs ๐ Anyone who knows her knows she can find that difficult at times as she (again) gets really excited. We worked on a bit of sitting & watching while staying calm if people/dogs walked by. This was a down-time kind of walk, but the training never fully stops!
Just a happy puppy paddling ๐พ
It's miserable outside today, so here's a clip from last week when I cleaned my van. The dogs all know that means one thing... BISCUIT CRUMBS!
Scattered them over the grass and they had hours (yes hours) of entertainment searching and sniffing them all out ๐ Easy peasy canine enrichment!
๐๐ Training Classes ๐๐
Join me for the first Foundation group of 2024, starting 31st January!
Teach your dog the basics of dog training:
๐พ 6-week course
๐พ small classes (max 6 pups)
๐พ Whitstone Parish Hall
๐พ dogs aged up to 1yr welcome
See my website for more information & to sign up! www.newtricksdogtraining.co.uk/training-classes
What's your new year's resolution? ๐ค
Mine is to improve Mavis' engagement with me - partly through using play! I've let her recall slide a little over Christmas so we've got some work to do. She loves her tuggy toys but we've also started exploring other types too.
Kick-start the new year AND your dog's recall, focus, confidence etc. Get 20% off when you buy any 2 Tug-e-Nuff toys!
https://tug-e-nuff.com/offer?ref=newtricksdogtraining
It is #NationalTrainYourDogMonth after all...
We don't mind the windy weather! ๐จ๐ฆ
We'll be back to work from Weds 3rd Jan & reply to all emails/messages/calls etc asap after this date. Thanks for your patience and ongoing support! ๐พ
