Gundog Retrieve Challenge with The School of Canine Science and Jane Ardern. Day 4 - Sending Back
Ive been a little be behind in filming our sessions. This exercise involves having your dog facing you, and then sending them left or right to run away from you.
We start with food and then using a couple of different gun dog dummies. It's been a challenge to find a dummy small and light enough for Little Man to get his tiny mouth around, but I think we've cracked it!
Little Man did very well at this as he's always very focused on my hands, though he's not as steady in this position.
With the final try, he took the dummy and hid it in his toy box, though he did go get it and bring it to me when asked.
We're enjoying the challenge of teaching something new.
It's never too late to teach your dog something fun and new. How about other Gun Dog skills that are useful for pet dogs?
Check out www.takepuppysteps.co.uk for a new class starting in the new year.
Day 3 of The Gun Dog Retrieve Challenge with Jane Ardern and The School of Canine Science
This is the Seen Retrieve - where the dog knows where the dummy is. The dog should remain focused on the dummy, until released to get it.
As Retrieving is not something that Little Man naturally wants to do, we've switched to his favorite toy "Sprout". We've been practicing him picking it up and touching it to my hand. After some useful info from Jane regarding dogs who are not motivated by the Retrieve, I decided to use a platform for the Heel position (Little Man likes the platform) and encourage him to bring the toy back to that point. Little Man also gets very excited by the sight of Sprout, so we had some extra behaviours like Down, which normally work for him, but not on this occasion.
I was very pleased that several times in a row he brought the toy back to the platform with encouragement and managing the environment (ie blocking escape routes). The first few times he ran off with it!
Thinking through working through training challenges in a kind and thoughtful way is part of Puppy Foundation and Teens Foundations classes.
Places available for Puppy Class starting this Sunday - message for more information . Teens class currently full - message for more information.
Www.takepuppysteps.co.uk
Day 2 of Jane's Ardern's 7 day Gun Dog Retrieve Challenge.
Retrieving doesn't come naturally to Little Man like it did with Kaycee and Meena . We have plenty of other games to play, but I thought this would be a good challenge ahead of our Gun Dog Skills for Pet Dogs starting in January.
In these exercises, Little Man needs to focus forward on the marker before released to go get it, and then to stay steady while I point, and then follow the directions of my pointing hand towards the target.
This is hard for Little Man as I've put a lot of work into eye contact with me. He started to get it though. Throwing out the squeaky toy is too much for him, but he was able to stay steady when placing it out. He shows no interest in bringing it back, only in running off with it!
Forward focus is a skill I taught Kaycee and Meena for agility, and it's a skill we also use in Hoopers , which is similar to agility.
Activity classes are great for continued socialisation and learning to work together as a team, building the relationship with your dog.
We have a Foundation Hoopers class, and Pet Dog Gun Dog class starting in January - message for more information.
This week I'm participating in a 7 day Gun Dog Retrieve Challenge with The School of Canine Science and fab gun dog trainer Jane Ardern.
My Bearded Collie X Kaycee retreived very naturally, though I settled for depositing the ball within a six foot radius of me as I didn't know any different!
My collie, Meena, retrieved a tennis ball for me within 5 minutes of meeting her as an 11 week puppy and it's a game she enjoyed all her life. I taught her to Retrieve to Hand, and she once came 2nd in a fun Gun Dog Scurry!
She would retrieve most things for me, with was very useful.
Little Man? Well, let's say retrieving doesn't come naturally to Little Man. As a terrier, he'd much prefer tuggy and to "k*ll" the squeaker. Retrieving has never been a priority as there are plenty of other games we play together.
So when this challenge came up, I thought, well, let's give it a go!
Here is Little Man on Day 1 of the challenge , showing "steadiness" when setting out a retrieval item. I haven't done a lot of formal Wait/Stay with Little Man, so I'm very pleased with this final repetition, even through i had to reset in the middle.
Gun Dog skills are useful for all pet dog - from recalling to a whistle, to on-lead and off-lead heeling, a solid Stay, searching and retreiving. Why not have a go yourself in January with our Gun Dog Skills for Pet Dogs Foundation course.
Www.takepuppysteps.co.uk
Day 1 of Gun Dog Retreive Challenge with The School of Canine Science and Jane Ardern. Session 2. Steadiness placing out a toy.
Toys are much harder than sticks! But we got there in the end.
Suddenly, the pink toy that Little Man has shown no interest in at all is the most exciting thing in the world, even above Sprout !
He tries so hard even though he really wants it. He always makes me laugh when I work on something with him.
Steadiness is an important skill for Gun Dogs - they need to be able to wait despite gun shots, lots of movement, sounds, flushed birds, and falling birds.
Our pet dogs are in a different environment. We may want them to wait despite passing people, dogs, cyclists, joggers - all just as challenging.
We need to break things down into small steps, starting easy and gradually making it more challenging, giving lots of support where needed and reinforcement when they get it right.
If you're looking for kind, thoughtful, reward-based training classes or one to one training - send me a message:
#puppytraining #thoughtfuldogtraining #puppylifeskills #takepuppysteps #puppysteps #gundogskillsforpetdogs
***Walking on Lead without Pulling***
When you have 4 legs and naturally move faster than your 2 legged companion, learning to walk on a lead without pulling can be tough! Throw in exciting smells, people and other dogs - is it any wonder our dogs find this so difficult??
Here's Denzil. He normally pulled so hard, his people had trouble staying upright! They took a week or so off from their usual walks to work on some fun foundation engagement games.
In their second session, we worked on giving in to lead pressure and disengagement from interesting things, including other dogs.
Here's what they said:
"We thought he'd miss the walks, but he's been more tired after the games sessions "
"His recall is now almost instant (in the field)!"
"We've never seen him walk like this"
"We went out this morning and there's already an improvement on yesterday"
If you'd like to improve in this skill, ask about one to one tailored sessions and training plan
Small class sessions on Sundays during October, available to book individually if it's difficult to commit to a block of classes.
Get started on the right paw in Puppy Steps puppy class, starting on Sundays November and Teen Steps for older puppies , also starting in November.
Full 6 six week blocks include online sessions to get started right away
Book at www.takepuppysteps.co.uk or send a message for more details
#lifeskills #puppysteps #thoughtfuldogtraining #puppytraining #adolescentpuppytraining
** PUPPY RECALL **
Getting up the confidence to let your puppy off-lead for the first time can be really hard!
There’s so much to consider.
* do they understand their recall cue?
* really understand it?
* is the environment safe?
* in what environments do they understand their recall cue?
We cover all of this in Puppy Paws (as well as all of our Life Skills classes)
* We start at the beginning.
* We teach them a recall cue.
* We teach them what it means.
* We play games to make their recall cue fun!
* We practice in easy places.
* We practice in more challenging places.
We make progress…
A super solid rocket recall doesn’t come overnight, but when we teach our dog the cue, and what it means, practice it in lots of situations, prevent them making errors wherever possible (and if they do then we think about why! Hint: it’s usually our fault) and reward all their great work and effort, you will start to lay the foundations that will set you up a reliable recall for life.
Puppy class moving to Sundays from October, available to book now
Got an older puppy?? Foundations for Puppies over 6 months also starting Sundays in October, available to book now
#puppytraining #puppysteps #adolescentpuppytraining
#thoughtfuldogtraining
**DOG WALKING**
I provide limited, personalised dog walking service in Falmouth and Penryn area.
I don't walk big groups of dogs like most dog walkers. My clients are usually dogs where group walks don't work for them for whatever reason.
Even so, I try to give them as much opportunity to be dogs as possible, with lovely nature walks and plenty of exploring and sniffing, as well as a little training where asked for.
I also try to be as flexible as possible so when friends Poppy and Pixie came to stay with Bab and Megan, I was able to do extra walks and include usual walk-mate Ruby, all in one group! Phew!
Here are a few of the dogs I shared my week with ....
If you need a tailored dog-walking solution - solo walks, training walks, a pop-in for toilet - send me a message.
🐾💕 PUPPY STEPS CLASS 💕🐾
Rolling classes meant that we said "well done and bye for now to Mabel and Emmie who graduated Puppy Class on Sunday, and see you next week to starting/ continuing puppies Ivy, Flossie and KayKo
In their last class, we did a brief session on meeting people politely, they did loads of recall using a Hand Touch, and their people worked out how to make going over baby jumps really fun and then they put it all together and had a go at recalling over obstacles and basically had lots of fun! Which is what all training should be!
Did they all make it through the final challenge? What was the aim of the game? Recall? Did they all succeed? YES!! 🥰
They may have graduated from Puppy Steps but training our puppies isn’t ‘just a 6 week course’, this is just the start!
Our Puppy Graduates have got some great foundation skills to build on now, and their people have the knowledge and know how, to support their puppies through to adolescence. I’m so excited for their futures and seeing what adventures life has in store for them 🥰
Well done Mabel and Emmie.
Puppy class Tuesday 6pm, spaces available for new class this Tuesday.
www.takepuppysteps.co.uk
And in Helston area www.loveyourpaws.org.uk
**COME WHEN CALLED!**
Here is Bonnie- a typical friendly adolescent Staffordshire terrier, who is also bouncy and a bit mouthy when
happy and excited.
On our recent one to one, we covered our initial 4 stages to training a recall, using a whistle, and then advanced it to coming away from food, people and toys, as well as using a tuggy toy as a reward.
Here's what Bonnie's owner said:
"Thank you so much for todayI found the session today very helpful! Really appreciate today and I felt like it gave me confidence and I learnt a lot."
If you have a puppy under 5 mths, we cover recall in puppy sessions. Puppies over 5 mths can join Teens/Foundations. One-to-one sessions available if classes don't work for you.
Send me a message, or book at www.takepuppysteps.co.uk
**Tuggy!**
I love playing tuggy with Little Man. As a terrier, playing tuggy speaks to his genetics as Yorkshire Terriers were bred to catch and kill rats. He loves to chase, grab and rag his toys, and a squeaker really catches his attention.
I love Tug-e-Nuff toys and Little Man does, too.
Here are 4 games you can play with your dogs -
https://www.tug-e-nuff.co.uk/blogs/news/four-games-you-and-your-dog-can-play-with-a-tuggy?ref=PUPSTEPS
What was your dog's breed original bred for? What games do you play to help meet their needs?
#dogtraining #puppytraining #takepuppysteps
** A TRAINING CLASS WITH NO…. TRAINING? **
Hmm… yes! That does happen in our classes sometimes
Ivy, Obi and Mabel explored our confidence building stations.
But, no training most definitely does not mean no learning! There was LOADS of learning.
In our Puppy Steps puppy class this week, the handlers all had the same ‘rules’…
All really easy ones…
* Reinforce all behaviours you like
* Give your dog time to think, watch & process; don’t hurry them into doing anything
* Don’t shorten your lead!!
The dogs navigated various obstacles, and although we didn’t TRAIN the dogs, they all…
* Were walking with their handlers better by the end of their class
* Were calm in the presence of other dogs who were being busy doing things
* Learnt that they’re ‘allowed’ to watch what’s going on around them
* Tried new pieces of equipment, which (when done well) helps to build trust, resilience and confidence
* Were able to focus on their handlers and ignore other dogs
* Made great choices when saying ‘hi’ on lead to their classmates
And although we didn’t TRAIN the dogs the handlers learned …
* That given some time their dogs can and do make great choices
* By watching their dog’s body language they feel better able to support them
* How brave their dogs can be and how willing they are to try new things when supported
* They don’t need to be ‘the most exciting thing’ in the environment for their dog to focus on them
* That there is no need to make the lead really, really short for their dog to walk nicely with them
* That if their dog chooses NOT to do something - that it’s ok.
* That although food rewards can be a valuable way of reinforcing great behaviors we don't need to use loads of food all of the time
* That although our dogs have 4 legs and therefore physically walk fast than us, they move through the environment differently and so if we slow down, so do they!!
I think I’m more than happy with all of that learning fr
