So nice to see the dogs getting back out and easing back into the harness after our summer break.
Bert having some fun this morning.
With the warm weather with us games like this are great for your dog, they can be played at home, in the garden, on walks (weather allowing) etc. A retrieve is not required as you can hide something your dog loves and go hunting together to find it and celebrate the find together….great for dogs with high prey drive or low in confidence as you are working with them. Keep it fun and simple, activate that seeking system and all those feel good emotions for your dog and you!
It is just a lovely game of hide and seek so keep it simple and fun.
The “Middle”
On this mornings walk with Bert we had a lot of chill out time and enjoyed just being in the moment. However we did do a little recall training, Bert has amazing recall, be it to the whistle, verbal or visual cue and that has come with time and effort.
Here we revisited an old fav of his which is “Middle”. This is a lovely behaviour and has lots of practical uses, recall, safety, reattaching the lead, sports,etc. The behaviour is where Bert is asked to do a middle and goes behind me and pops back between the legs into a sit/stand….why a sit or stand…well as long as he is in the middle position he can choose what is most comfortable. The video is a bit rubbish as did not quite get the angle of the phone right….but you should get the idea. Why did I not just refilm and make it look really slick…well real life is not really like that is it!
I should add that those with large dogs can still do the behaviour but teach the dog to come around you and stop at your side.
Just one of the things we teach in lifeskills and recall workshops.
Fun at the field last night with some of the scent squad.
Track and Trail SkellyWags Style!
Week 2 of our Track and Trail course.
All the dogs are doing an amazing job. We have a real mix of dogs attending class and we set it up so each dog has the space it needs and deserves.
I make no apology for the giddy happy voice when the dogs find me as I am having as much fun as the dogs.
Bailey the Nose
Track and Trail fun today at our meadow with Bailey the NOSE.
The Gerry
Had to share as was sent this by Gerry’s humans. Gerry is 4 and a half months old and in only 2 weeks of his scent journey is not only searching but locating the odour…way to go Gerry.
Bert
Recall fun
We have been quiet on here recently as we are just really busy and social media is always the thing that will do the least of! i was training a client yesterday and we played this recall game with them...so i decided to record Bert doing it. The idea is recall to me get rewarded and then get rewarded again at the bowl, teaching that recalling back is worthwhile. We start this game with the human and dog much closer together and on a longline if required and then build in distance, distractions, difficulty and duration etc. It is important to start with what the dog can cope with....after all we would not take a learner driver for their first lesson on a busy motorway....we would start in quiet roads and build up confidence and their skill set first!
As well as canicross at the weekend we had puppy class, scentwork for beginners, scentwork regulars, team challenges and 1-2-1’s as usual…we even had some sunshine. Apologises for those groups we did not take photos off….promise to do better this weekend.
With lighter evenings coming we will be running midweek evening sessions again, dates out next week.
