โจ๏ธโจ๏ธ 121 Success Story โจ๏ธโจ๏ธ
Lottie is a gorgeous springer spaniel who loves life, and loves exploring!
However, she was loving it so much, she would switch off her listening ears and ignore recalls, especially where there was the option of running off after people, dogs, or rummaging through discarded food or rubbish left in the park! ๐ฒ (Please tidy up after yourselves humans!!)!
So we made some changes!
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๏ธ We taught Lottie some fun engagement games to bring her focus and attention back to her family.
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๏ธ We played some impulse control games, teaching Lottie calmness and patience.
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๏ธ We introduced a muzzle to restrict the opportunity for her to pick up and eat gross stuff whilst she was in training.
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๏ธ We taught a 'Stop' cue to ask Lottie to stop where she was instead of trotting off in her own little world when distracted
As you can see, Lottie's family really did their homework, and we were soon able to progress to the busy park where Lottie had previously struggled to maintain any focus!
And here she is, with wonderful attention on her family, ignoring other people and dogs, and beautiful responses to her family's cues!
โจ๏ธ Remember, putting the fun into your training will always make a positive difference! โจ๏ธ
#recalltraining #emergencystoptraining #puppytraining #dogtraining #Crawley #Horsham
๐ Congratulations to Maggie for graduating Puppy School! ๐๐
Here are some of her Puppy School Highlights!
Very well done to all of you! ๐๐
#puppyschooluk #puppytraining #puppyschoolgraduation #looseleadwalking #recalltraining
๐ Congratulations to Riley for graduating Puppy School! ๐๐
Here are some of his Puppy School Highlights!
Very well done to all of you! ๐๐
#puppyschooluk #puppytraining #puppyschoolgraduation #looseleadwalking #recalltraining
I can't believe it's been a whole week since the Puppy School conference! What an amazing weekend!
Here's a little summary of all the wonderful things we got up to!
#puppyschoolconference #puppyschoolconference2024
#puppyschooluk #deanwoodholidays #puppytraining #dogtraining #mantrailing #lostdogtracking #antipoachingdog #anastasiajobson #brandingphotography #selfcare #wildswim #flowarts
๐พ Having fun with some tricks at the #puppyschoolconference 2024! ๐พ
Next up, Mantrailing!!๐
๐พ I'm excited to be here in the beautiful Forest of Dean with the Floof, ready for an action packed weekend of learning and adventure at the Puppy School Conference 2024! ๐พ
๐ต๐ฆ๐ถ ๐ฆโโฌ And for once I am camping, and didn't sleep through the dawn chorus, which I absolutely love hearing. There's just something magical about being tucked up all cosy in a tent, listening to the world waking up! ๐ต๐ฆโโฌ๐ถ๐ฆ
#puppyschooluk #puppyschoolconference #campingwithdogs #dogtraining #puppytraining #dawnchorus
โจ๏ธ๐ Puppy Graduation - Part 2 ๐โจ๏ธ
As part of our Week 6 Puppy School class, we always ask families to show off a trick they have taught their puppy at home.
We have some amazing tricks to share, and the video is so long it has to be shared in two posts!
Here's the second part, with a lovely 'Paw' and 'Spin' from Kenzo, a 'Touch' and "Spin' from Plum, and a 'Paws Up' and 'Hide' from Rio!
Some brilliant tricks, very well done!
#puppyschooluk #tricktraining #puppytraining #dogtraining
โจ๏ธ๐ Puppy Graduation - Part 1 ๐โจ๏ธ
As part of our Week 6 Puppy School class, we always ask families to show off a trick they have taught their puppy at home.
We have some amazing tricks to share, and the video is so long it has to be shared in two posts!
Here's the first part, with a fabulous 'Leave It' from Jasmine, leaving a whole load of tempting toys, and also some very tempting food!
A brilliant life skill, very well done!
#puppyschooluk #tricktraining #puppytraining #dogtraining
๐พ Investigating Weird Stuff!! ๐พ
In case you haven't noticed, us humans are pretty weird...
The things we wear, ride around on play with, and create are all quite strange really... ๐ค
In this little video we have puppies investigating an elizabethan collar, a ball pit, rattley hula hoops and a long fabric tunnel. We also had a skeleton mask, a fake beard, hi-viz jacket, an umbrella, a big plastic table cloth and a few other random bits and bobs.
Its helpful to allow your puppy to explore different things they may encounter in life, in a calm, gentle and fun way.
Always watch for the unsure body language, such as that displayed by Jasmine when she first saw the hula hoop. Her ears were held slightly back, her tail low, there was a close of her mouth (was it a tiny lip lick?), and she stepped backwards away from the hoop and sat at a distance.
She had a little break, and the hoop was then placed on the ground instead, and Jasmine felt more comfortable to go and check it out. Her body is much less tense, her ears forward, tail held higher and with a bit of a wag, and she is happier to step over and around the hoop, rewarded with some tasty treats of course!
Well done Jasmine Rio, Kenzo and Plum!
๐พ Don't rush, take it slow and steady, take breaks as needed, and always watch what your puppy is communicating through their body language ๐พ
#puppyschooluk #puppyconfidence #puppyplaytime #puppyhabituation #puppysocialisation #Crawley #Horsham #dogtraining #pupytraining
๐พ Reward those check-ins! ๐พ
When out with your dog, make a point of rewarding when they look at you or come closer - a check-in.
You can reward with a treat, a toy, by prancing about like a lunatic with your dog, or simply by fussing and praising them. Whatever your dog enjoys and finds rewarding!
The more you do it, the more your dog will keep voluntarily checking in, the better your relationship will be, and the quicker the recalls and general responsiveness.
๐พ Above all, have fun with your dog! ๐พ
#checkin #dogtraining #puppytraining #PayAttention #rewardbaseddogtraining #puppyschooluk #Crawley #horsham #crawleydogs #horshamdogs
๐พ Some lovely loose lead walking practice from Plum, Rio, Jasmine and Kenzo! ๐พ
Loose lead walking is probably one of the hardest things for a young puppy to learn as they absolutely love zig-zagging here, there and everywhere catching all the interesting scents and exploring this wonderful world we live in, and generally at a considerably faster speed than the average human will walk.
In comparison, we are pretty boring walking in our straight lines, completely ignoring all those fantastic smells because our noses are absolute rubbish compared to our pup's so we are oblivious to a fascinating chunk of the environment around us.
Much like how birds and many other creatures, can see in ultraviolet so things which may appear plain black to us humans, are actually a proper rainbow of colours! Fascinating stuff! We humans miss out on so much of the world around us simply due to our biology. How we became the dominant species on this planet when we are so oblivious to so much of it amazes me!
Anyway...
We've been practicing lead walking skills, learning how to manage those moments when pups get distracted by exciting things and want to go and investigate. By rewarding well when pups choose to move away from a distraction and continue walking with us, that excellent choice will be made again and again, because we make it very worthwhile!
Once the skills have been learned, the frequency and type of reward can be tweaked according to the individual puppy's progress. It doesn't always have to be food rewards, it can also be the opportunity to go sniff a thing, or to be allowed off lead for a run around, or have a game with a favourite toy.
#puppyschooluk #puppytraining #looseleadwalking #leadwalking #dogtraining #Crawley #Horsham #horley
๐พ Here's a little video of a few of our puppies learning the positions sit, stand and lay down. ๐พ
At this point they now understand what the hand signals mean, and we are now introducing the voice cue, which can be like learning a whole new language! It won't take them long at all to progress to just the voice cue!
By rewarding when they get it right, puppies learn quickly what to do, and begin to make good choices.
Learning how to teach your puppy these positions is a very valuable life skill for the human end of the lead too. The same methods can be applied to all sorts of other training scenarios with good timing and placing of the rewards.
For example, how would I teach my puppy to go to their bed when the doorbell rings? I can use the same methods used for teaching those positions, starting with a food lure, then turning that into a body language/ hand signal and then adding the audible cue, always rewarding really well when puppy is on their bed.
๐พ Well done Jasmine, Rio and Kenzo! ๐พ
(Sorry Plum my phone cut off recording as it ran out of space! ๐)
#puppyschooluk #puppylifeskills #puppytraining #dogtraining #Crawley #Horsham #horley
๐ถ Puppy School Week 6 Tricks Challenge! ๐ถ
As part of the Puppy School course, a challenge is set for all the families to teach their puppy a trick to show off in the last class. This enables families to really think about the way they have been shown to teach their puppies new skills through the Puppy School course, and how they can use those techniques to teach their puppy something different.
Those training techniques really are an invaluable skill for us humans to learn and be able to apply to different situations.
Trick Training is something which we can do with our pups anywhere, and it can really get their brains working, and also massively help with building a strong relationship between you and your dog.
Check out my Pawprints Trick Training classes on Tuesday evenings at Tilgate Community Centre https://www.pawprintsdogtraining.co.uk/pawprints-trick-training
๐ถโจ๏ธ Mira's families taught their pup a whole range of brilliant tricks! Well done to you all! ๐ โจ๏ธ๐ถ
#puppyschooluk #puppytraining #tricktraining #dogtricks #dogtraining #Crawley #Horsham #Warnham
๐พ121 Success Story! ๐พ
๐ฅ This lovely girl Mabel had developed a rather annoying habit of giving her own barky running commentary on the dramas unfolding on the TV whenever an animal appeared, even drowning out the best wildlife narrator in the world, the wonderful Sir David Attenborough! ๐ฆฌ๐ฆ๐ฆง๐ฆ
And let's face it, he has such a lovely calming voice to listen to, even whilst telling us all about the violence, blood and guts that is often the reality of the wild! I personally could listen to him for hours, and I love to learn all about the natural world! ๐ฅฐ
Unfortunately, Mabel's family couldn't hear what Sir David had to say about the encounter between the hyenas and buffalo, or any of the other fascinating creatures on his show 'Mammals', due to Mabel's less than informative, constant barking at the screen!They had to give up and turn Sir David off! ๐
So they called me in to help, and with a bit of work with some very carefully timed high value tasty rewards, Mabel's family were able to make a very good start on helping Mabel change her response to the animals appearing on TV. Because whenever she noticed there was an animal on tv, her family gave her something delicious! Mabel quickly worked out the pattern, and we progressed quickly through the next stages of training. ๐
This video is after just an hour, and instead of her earlier antics of lunging and barking, Mabel has now chosen to lay down with her back to the tv, and is beginning to relax whilst the cackling, shrieking hyenas behind her continue their deadly attack on the buffalo. Spoiler alert - I don't think the buffalo made it...
A fantastic start to breaking the habit, and I am very confident that Mabel will soon be able to totally ignore the tv without needing lots of high value rewards to do so! ๐
Hooray!! ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐๐ปโโ๏ธ๐ฅ
Here are some tricks from our latest Horsham Puppy School graduates!
As an extra challenge for Week 6, we invite everyone to teach their puppy a trick using reward based training methods. This encourages families to think a little more about how they can train their puppies to do other behaviours that can be fun, and helpful!
We have some wonderful impulse control examples with Elsbeth and Lottie, both being asked to wait patiently for a moment before being invited to take a treat. This is useful to encourage patience and calmness around exciting things.
Barney, Murphy and Lyla all learned 'paw', which as well as being a cute greeting, can also be helpful when it comes to cleaning paws, and clipping nails too.
Murphy has also learned a great 'spin' which can add an element of fun to any activity with his family!
Well done everyone! ๐
๐พ๐ถ๐พ๐ถ๐พ๐ถ๐พ๐ถ๐พ๐ถ๐พ๐ถ๐พ
#puppyschool #puppyschooluk #tricktraining #rewardbasedtraining #Crawley #Horsham
๐พ Here are some wonderfully terrible dog jokes for you...! ๐พ
๐ถ Why can't humans hear a dog whistle?
... Because dogs can't whistle!! ๐คฃ
๐ I can't take my dog to the park any more as the ducks keep chasing him...
... I guess that's what I get for buying a pure bread dog... ๐
๐ฉ What type of dog is best at magic?
.... A Labracadabrador ๐คฃ
๐บ When the dog finished getting all the sheep into the pen, he said to the farmer, "Right, that's all fifty sheep accounted for"
... The confused farmer replied,"But I've only got 46 sheep?!"
... "I know", replied the sheepdog, "I rounded them up!" ๐คฃ
๐ธ What do you get if you cross a dog with a frog?
.... A croaker spaniel ๐
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๐บ๐๐ฉ๐คฃ
I hope these have brought you a smile, or at least a mild groan of despair and an eye roll at just how bad they are!! ๐คฃ๐๐
#dogjokes #puppyschooluk #dogtraining #Horley #Crawley #Horsham
Yes, I know, I'm a tad late to wish you all a very happy new year!
It's been a very busy few weeks at Pawprints with lots of classes, 121 training sessions, dog walks, and of course spending a bit of time with my family!
With all the busyness of real life, I've fallen a bit behind again in the world of social media, sorry! I'll be sharing more of what we've been up to soon!
I hope you all had a great Christmas
and wish you a happy and rewarding 2024 with your gorgeous doggos!
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๐ And they say its the cats that like to help with wrapping up the Christmas presents!
It's Indi's favourite thing to do, as soon as there's any kind of paper on the floor, its all his! ๐คฃ
Indi really would make the best Christmas present, but only if he's being given to me!!! ๐๐๐
Some fun on our walks!!
What score would you give this lovely trio for their choreography efforts?!! ๐ ๐คฃ
