Enrichment
Getting your dog to use it’s nose to sniff things (food) out helps get them using their natural ability to sniff, if your dog loves to sniff on a walk and because of the weather (or injury) they can’t go for a walk this helps satisfy their want to sniff.
If your interested in learning how to do scent work with your dog I will have classes coming soon so keep an eye out & get in touch for more info.
Collar grab
Collar grab training is great to get dogs comfortable with being grabbed/taken by the collar, by making it a game in an emergency when you need to get hold of them quickly, because you never know what may happen, they are used to a person moving quickly towards their collar. It’s another great tool for teaching a dog recall, because your not taking the collar & not letting go your rewarding by letting them go to chase a treat as in this example or a ball which could be an alternative to treat throwing.
Any well fitted collar is good for this exercise I do love ones with small handles for the likes of Pigeon here as her hair is medium length & I don’t want to accidentally take hair in my hand with the collar, if your dog only wears a harness you can play this game to by just taking a hold of the harness instead of a collar.
Have fun & I’d love to see your videos trying it out.
Nose touch
This is a great game to play which is simple to teach & you don’t need any equipment.
The uses of nose touch are vast, from teaching recall to tricks.
If your dog seems to struggle with the concept please comment on this video and I’ll share a hack for troubleshooting.
Learn through play
Learning through play
📝 There have been studies done that show playing with a dog during & after a training session and on how it can help dogs learn not only faster but also retain the information better.
‘Situations that are emotional and arousing can have an effect on the memorability of events. The beneficial effect of dog–human play immediately after learning a new task has recently been shown to improve training performance in companion dogs (Labrador Retrievers) when required to solve the same task 24 h later.’
Study - Dog–Human Play, but Not Resting Post-Learning Improve Re-Training Performance up to One Year after Initial Task Acquisition in Labrador Retriever Dogs *July 2020
🎭 play with your dog increases their ability to work with you which can also help in behaviour issues in some dogs, it helps develop a bond and a want to interact with you.
🎥 this video shows me in a training session with my youngest working cocker Pigeon. I often hear people in the Gundog circle saying you should never play tug with your Gundog as they become hard mouthed and you can ruin them for Gundog work, this inspired me to make the video, here I show in a single unedited clip that we can go from a tug play session to a retrieve to hand, back to tug & back to retrieve to hand with the same toy just on different cues.
If you would like help in developing play with your dog, retrieve to hand or any behavioural issues you may have get in touch
✉️ 07800857268
📧 [email protected]
Or PM on this page
Auto check ins - what are they and why are they important?
When out for a walk an auto check in is a great tool to make sure your dog is aware of where you are all the time, it means they aren’t off self rewarding at every opportunity that they can get.
You also know where your dog is all the time but have the confidence that they will come find you regularly.
If you have a dog that auto checks in on a walk you know you have their engagement and attention should you need to recall them at any point.
In this video you can see that Monkey is off doing her own thing and without me having to say anything she comes back and gives me her focus. On this occasion she does a down infront and waits for reinforcement from me, other times if I am moving more she will come and bounce off me and then wait for her reward.
For help on how to get this behaviour please get in touch
☎️ 07800857268
📧 [email protected]
🐶🐶 How’s your dogs recall? 🐶🐶
Monkey is a very high prey drive working cocker, so I have worked really hard on her recall to make sure she can have off lead time. We went for a walk early this morning which is a hard walk for Monkey because the smells from all the wildlife from through the night is strong.
My dogs recall on walks is, 5 short sharp peeps on my whistle. My criteria is they should stop doing whatever they are doing and return to me as fast as possible.
If you need help with your dogs recall get in touch
☎️ 07800 857268
📧 [email protected]
Do you have something this year you want to teach your dog?
Anything from walking nicely on a lead, better recall to a trick you really would love your dog to be able to do?
I am currently teaching my puppy Pigeon to get me a tissue on a cue of me sneezing, I'm hoping to add her putting it in the bin as a finale too!
Having a goal set helps you to achieve it better, breaking it down into small steps is a great idea!
Your plan on how to get there can change but never change the goal.
Comment with what your goal is for this year and how you're going to get started.
Learning new things with your dog can really boost your relationship you have with them.
