Keeping my busy bodies engaged with a couple of retrieves each out on an otherwise free run. The controlled hunting satisfies their SEEKING drive and keeps their natural prey drive harnessed. This breed is bred to scent for game and flush it out of cover - then they are trained to stop at that point so desensitising them to live moving targets .. birds, squirrels, rabbits .. is a priority from day one. My dogs do not get to chase any wildlife .. but using differential reinforcement offers them an alternative behaviour so they get to chase a training dummy or ball when young to reward a response to my trained Sit whistle and their no-chase choice. Here they are being sent out to find a training dummy in long grass and fetch it back to me. They get to scent as much as they like on walks because they are trained to either Recall or Stop on cue … we work together so they get lots of freedom to do what they love in a controlled way that satisfies their breed disposition. No chasing of other animals is necessary.
Training … when the outcomes are kindly rewarding the behaviour is likely repeated. Training my dogs to want to be in my company is done through a constant stream of likely rewarding outcomes. When young this includes managing their off lead activities … they get to run around and use their busy Cocker noses if they continue to pay attention to my cues. The environment is a potent reinforcer so make sure you use it as a reward that comes from you and prevent self-rewarding behaviour until you get those good habits established. #positivereinforcementdogtraining #positive #rewards #rewardbasedtraining #workingcockerspaniels #puppies #dogs
Engaging with our pups is not just great for teaching them to pay attention to the good stuff we have for them, like darling Poppy learned so quickly here, but it also offers support while out and about while pup is getting used to working out how safe the world is for them - this way we teach them we are always present for them and available for reassurance if they need it 💜 (remembering Poppy 💖)
When training Loose Lead Walking … Remember! “Heel” is a place not a behaviour 💜
Teaching a simple cue to follow your change of direction when on lead can start to make anxious walks a whole lot less anxious. Keeping our dogs from over reacting to triggers means both human and dog get to remain calm … once that nervous system hits the threshold and reactions start they can take a while to subside and if a whole walk is made up of these incidents then walks are going to be something to dread not enjoy and a dog that can take a while to recalibrate the nervous system … having a management plan in place while we work on desensitisation/habituation to their triggers is a good starting point. This smart happy boy learned very quickly that following his new cue was rewarding…and it adds a level of engagement that uses energy to think instead of getting fired up with adrenaline and cortisol … avoiding that lead pressure is all important too as we all resist pressure … sleepy boy at the end of his calm training walk session 💜
This trainer loves training her dogs too … though not had much spare time recently due to studies .. Juno enjoyed a days training with me in Cumbria yesterday on a fab simulated picking up day with Tarncrag Gundogs (quick go google 😂) and Nick Ridley whose realistic scenarios included a sound system that replicated distant pheasant and partridge and shot from the guns up there - at the top of the bank - dummy launchers for bird marking and retrieval … lots to work on for me but she had some good success on things she hadn’t done before and group work is new to her this is just her 2nd training session and she settled nicely into sitting off lead through each ‘drive’ and waiting patiently … switching off is a skill to learn like anything else and not something I have done very much of day-to-day with Juno outside of our little gang on our walks but she settled into it nicely. Great learning opportunity on great ground with 2 very experienced, successful Gundog trainers and triallers … a lovely friendly relaxed day with a great group of likeminded people who work and love their dogs - not forgetting the mid morning tipple and nibbles and cake … good girl Juno proud of her and I enjoyed getting out for a day doing something my dogs and I enjoy too 🧡
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Monday adventures by the river bank 🤿
Introducing Bill to the concept of a memory retrieve … we had a couple of pre runs where I was standing close to the placed ball ready to block any run ins while his dad was luring him away from the retrieve … but he quickly learned not jumping on it as soon as it hit the floor meant he got a retrieve (because I was ready to block his access to it 😊) we don’t want to do too much steadiness he’s an enthusiastic 9 month old pup it’s easy to dull the drive or knock confidence when young and spaniels can be very sensitive so easy does it …. No free hunting here he’s loving having little jobs to do working with his dad!
Teaching Bill to pay attention outdoors … if we allow free hunting it can quickly become a problem for us and for our dogs … off lead we should always have them under stimulus control so building in some behaviours to keep them engaged and close can satisfy their natural drives and teach them good habits too! When we first started this outdoor session Bill was off on his own mission - his dad has been working on recall whistle so this lovely youngster has good recall but he was hunting too far and too fast with no reason to stay close so we are starting to develop a hunting pattern here so he gets to run and hunt (eventually) but we are aiming for no further than 10m ahead and around 5m either side to get things established. Yes we can use food treats to establish quartering … this is fab to see Bill so engaged not heading off spanielling on his own …. Small steps lead to big strides in our training plans! Keeping it do-able and rewarding will start to build good habits … we will be building a turn whistle cue and using recall whistle to bring him back if getting too far ahead … it can be hard work getting our teens through this stage but if we focus on each little step of learning and improvement to our walks by adding some fun training it’s a win-win and we get there in the end. This is a lovely partnership/relationship so that is always a great foundation to build any training on 💜 #workingcockerspaniel #positivereinforcementtrainer #rewardbasedtraining #petgundogs
Allowing our pups (and adult dogs!)appropriate outlets for chewing is so important …. This little bear really enjoying his natural air dried lamb muscle chew from the puppy starter chew pack I brought along …encouraging appropriate chewing early doors is a very, very good idea! Keep those little mouths busy as they work on strengthening those jaw muscles with low fat, no additives, natural long lasting edible chewables check out a selection here at @yogandboo.petstore
Puppy needs to chew do a good supply keeps him happy and gives you some relax time!
Lovely work from this partnership on our intro session … intro to motivation to stay close. Teenage risk taking can lead our youngsters astray so time to ‘shrink his world’ means encouraging fun engagement close to our legs so rewards from us keep the connection relevant while removing the option to self reward from the environment. Working Cockers bred to work means we can get the hunt/seek and chase parts of the predatory sequence to a greater or lesser degree and we often won’t get a real insight into how that will express itself until adolescence … it’s only fair we let our hunting dogs hunt but chasing is definitely not on the agenda so training self control around triggers to chase is a priority while allowing controlled hunting to meet their breed needs. Working Cockers are bred to hunt … not chase .. so training to harness that is a great way to keep the connection out in the environment they are bred to be excited by! Lovely first session and it’s great the all important foundations are in place to build on at this point in his normal development 💜#workingcockers #lovespaniels #dogtraining #gundogtrainer #positivereinforcementdogtraining #happydogsofinstagram
Recall Race 😄 great job recall with distractions for Puppy Plussers … huge well done to all. Practise patience and more practise to build good habits … especially to get through adolescence when preventing unwanted habits like disengagement and free hunting are a priority 💜 No shortcuts, keep heart and keep positive … it comes together with effort consistency and time Well Done Folks
Great work by the Puppy Plussers this morning … we worked on engage-disengage to help with outdoor distractions and had a look at thresholds … here is Bonnie acing her recall at starting distance from cones then closer to the distractions at the other side of the cone boundary and did great at totally ignoring the other pups and peeps in class and staying focussed on her mum and dad… Bertie aced his recall at the first distance but not quite there yet with reduced distance so …. we always work under threshold as we work on desensitisation to environmental distractions …. Cassie did great at her starter distance too … we are all working at a distance to help our pups have success. Training is a layering process and we go at our pups pace through their development phases …. pups were all off lead and did just great 💪 nice work folks 💜
Naughty Wren the renegade 😆 She likes to be different and do things her way.
Release Cues as Rewards work (like) a treat. I like my dogs to be free to hunt and explore they always have an eye on where I am and are never too far away but I like to test their ears occasionally to make sure they are working ok … such good dogs 💜 Recall whistle association is the first thing I teach my pups along with Sit whistle … we proof that outdoors early doors and keep it top of the agenda during adolescence so we get a reliable response once we are through puppy development stages 💜
