Finished trading in Fri, now to make space for the pool to come out 😬
It's a week of mixed emotions; my final week of trading as a hydrotherapist, but this frees me up for new adventures 💕
Default recall to my side... because I value my legs 😂
Where's everybody else waking this morning? It's chilly!
Happy Monday everyone - what are you all up to this week?
We've been learning about lost item recovery... Here Peak is searching for an old (and apparently brittle 😂) store card that I tossed in the grass about half an hour earlier. I use another card to give him the scent. Such a clever boy! Apparently Ripley is mostly hoping for treats for doing nothing 🙄
How do I stop my dog...
We've all seen plenty of posts asking questions that start that way. Well, sometimes the answer is 'you don't'. Let me explain.
Here's a couple of clips of Ripley from yesterday and today. Ripley is nine years old now. Rip by name, Rip by nature... He was a bed/toy destroyer as a young pup. Eventually I came to the realisation that the answer to 'how do I stop him destroying toys/blankets/beds' was 'I don't' 🤷♀️ It's a scratch that he just has to itch sometimes 🙈 So the only toys he has free access to are either indestructible or things that he's allowed to destroy.
* He destroys, but doesn't consume
* He has a VERY strong reinforcement history for trading things he's not meant to have
* He will bring me anything I ask him to
Those last two mean that he doesn't sneak off with contraband - he will always come and parade with things he's found, especially before he starts ripping into them.
He has blankies at home and work that are basically held together by threads now 😂 He just LOVES that tearing sound (which is why chews don't hit the spot 😉) Pawstrading Ltd kindly sent some plaited fleece toys with one of our orders, and they hold up surprisingly well to his attentions!
Peak is a Croc thief. He just likes to either parade with them, or take one to his bed 🤷♀️ He's nearly three now, and I've come to terms with him not growing out of the behaviour 🤦♀️
What things do your dog do that you just accept now?
Peak knows 'wave' pretty well, so now we're working on 'paw'. Most people will stick a hand out when they ask a dog for paw, and not really care which foot is lifted. I'm not most people 😂 I like to get behaviours on verbal cue only, and I like to teach lots of 'words' (tricks 😉) I then have lots of behaviours to ask for to see how well my dog is able to listen in particular situations - that can help me decide on what they may or may not be capable of in that moment. If they can't sit when asked, then I have to consider why and make decisions accordingly. And if they can't sit, I'm certainly not going to ask for anything harder!
This was our full session this morning (cutting out moving to and from the camera, as nobody needs to see that extreme close up of me 😁)
@denise_fenzi said on a podcast that once you take away the toys and the food, what you're left with is relationship. Laura Donaldson says that recall is about relationship, not training. Relationship, relationship, relationship is what I recommend new puppy owners focus on.
Some could say that Peak's holding all the cards here - he's got the toy, he's running free, he's having a great time! I don't have a second toy. I have some treats, but he's not particularly foodie and they're nothing exciting. He knows this. What we do have is a great relationship 💕 You can't see in the video, but a pigeon flushed from the grass (hence I blew the turn whistle). I gave him time to process that before recalling. He came straight back like the Very Good Boy he is. He gave up his toy (OK, he was conflicted about that, but he was able to do it), he got his toy back and got to carry on his merry way. Happy days 🥰
Ripley hung around in the vague hope that food may appear for him 😂
Getting to grips with our planks, now that we have some stillness 💕
Working on getting the bendy bus to bend as well in both directions...
#springerspaniel #dogtrainer #dogtraining #dog #doglife #dogsofinstagram #trainedwithtreats #trainedwithtoys #positivereinforcement #scentwork #scentworkfordogs #dogtrainingtips #totnes #southhamsdevon #instadog #dogsindevon #dogfitness #caninefitness #canineconditioning #fleekformfreckled #movementpuzzles #movingcanine
Apparently harnesses teach your dog to pull 🤔 Erm, no... Sure, they make it more comfortable and safer, but I actually struggled to get Ripley to pull when we first started running because he had many years practice of keeping a loose lead 🤦♀️🐕🐕🏃♀️
#canicross #arcticwolf #kisicanineaccessories #springerspaniel #fleekformfreckled #workingcocker #talentedmrrip #trainedwithtreats #trainedwithtoys
