Thebonniecollie

07/02/2024

🐾 Calling all dog lovers! 🐾

Are you looking for ways to keep your furry friend entertained and mentally stimulated? Look no further than DIY enrichment toys! 🎾🔨

Here are some paws-itively amazing benefits of DIY enrichment toys for dogs:

🐾Mental Stimulation: DIY toys challenge your dog's problem-solving skills, keeping their mind sharp and engaged. It's like a puzzle they can't wait to solve!

🐾Prevents Boredom: Dogs, just like humans, can get bored easily. DIY toys provide hours of entertainment, preventing destructive behaviors that often stem from boredom.

🐾Bonding Time: Making toys together strengthens the bond between you and your pup. It's a fun activity that you both can enjoy!

🐾Cost-Effective: DIY toys are often made from household items or inexpensive materials, saving you money while still providing quality entertainment for your dog.

🐾Customization: You can tailor DIY toys to your dog's preferences and abilities. Whether they love to chase, tug, or solve puzzles, there's a DIY toy for every dog!

🐾Eco-Friendly: Using recycled materials for DIY toys reduces waste and helps protect the environment. It's a win-win for your dog and the planet!

So, grab some old socks, cardboard boxes, or empty plastic bottles, and let your creativity run wild! Your pup will thank you for the endless fun and enrichment these DIY toys provide. 🐶💡

03/02/2024

01/02/2024

Ready to treat your furry friend to some puzzling fun? Head to your nearest pet store or browse online to discover a world of exciting puzzle toys waiting to be explored. Your dog will thank you for it – with endless love, loyalty, and maybe even a high-five! 🐾🎉

30/01/2024

Attention all dog lovers! Are you looking for exciting ways to keep your furry companions engaged and entertained? Look no further! Let’s dive into the wonderful world of dog enrichment, where creativity meets canine curiosity. Here are some pawsome ideas to enrich your dog's life:

🐾Puzzle Toys: Treat-dispensing puzzle toys are a hit among dogs of all ages and breeds. From simple treat balls to complex interactive puzzles, there's a variety of options to keep your dog mentally stimulated.

🐾Frozen Treats: Not only will dogs love the taste, but the icy texture also provides relief from the heat.

🐾Sensory Activities: Dogs experience the world through their senses, so why not indulge their senses with sensory activities? You can create sensory bins filled with different textures like sand, water, or leaves for your pup to explore.

🐾Training Games: Training sessions aren't just for teaching commands; they're also great for mental stimulation. Not only will these training games keep your dog mentally sharp, but they also strengthen the bond between you and your furry friend.

🐾Scavenger Hunts: This game engages dogs' natural scavenging instincts and turns mealtime into an exciting adventure.

🐾Socialization Outings: Exposing your dogs to different environments, sights, sounds, and smells helps prevent boredom and enriches their social experiences.

🐾Chew Toys and Bones: Chewing is a natural behaviour for dogs and provides mental stimulation and stress relief.

🐾DIY Homemade Toys: DIY toys can be as simple as a knotted rope or as complex as a homemade agility course.

Remember, the key to successful dog enrichment is to tailor activities to your dog's individual preferences, energy levels, and abilities. Whether you have a high-energy athlete or a laid-back couch potato, there's something for every dog to enjoy! So, get ready to unleash the fun and watch your furry friend thrive! 🐾✨

27/01/2024

🐾Training Tip 3🐾

17/01/2024

Make the training fun 😁

15/01/2024

🐾Preparation for the training session🐾

08/01/2024

Do you know if your dog is overweight?

The easiest way to check is:

🟡 place your fingers on your dog's ribs
🟡 the ribs should be covered with a thin layer of fat
🟡 if you can feel the edges of the ribs, your dog doesn't need to lose weight

Another way to check is to have a look at your dog.

What do you need to see:

🟡 noticeable waist
🟡tucked in belly

Having a dog with a proper weight increases the longevity and overall health of your furry friend.

05/01/2024

😋Treats in the Distracted areas😋

We were all in situations where our pet refused to take treats. If the place is full of too many distractions or the place is scary for our pet, there is a high chance that our furry friend will refuse to eat any treats.

It also depends on the food. For example, you offer your dog a piece of turkey at the vet. The dog doesn't like turkey so much to eat it in a scary place like the vet clinic. But if you offer something more valuable to your dog (the most enjoyable treat), there is a chance that the dog will take it no matter what.

A dog that is driven by food and refuses to take it indicates that your pet is in distress. So, that is a signal for us to change our pet's environment!

27/12/2023

IMPORTANT

❗️❗️❗️Too many treats lead to obesity ❗️❗️❗️

11/07/2023

Bonnie Lass

30/04/2023

02/03/2023

26/01/2023

In one of the previous posts, which is "to whine or not to whine", you can find reasons why dogs use their vocals. However, I didn't mention how you can deal with your pet's frustration.

According to the expert in animal behaviour Patricia McConnell, helping dogs to cope with frustration starts with setting boundaries by adding a new cue to the daily routine which is going to be a clear end for any activities.

For instance, you played tug with a furry friend, and it is time for you to do something else. So there is a need to let your dog know about the intentions by saying "stop"/ "enough" or any other word that you don't use regularly. Then, as Patricia McConnell suggested, pat your pet a couple of times and start moving towards the dog.

The pet will back up. We need to do this to show the dog that the interaction is over. After a couple of steps, come back to your previous position. If your dog comes back to you, repeat the previous steps. No matter what you shouldn't encourage eye contact. Otherwise, the pet will continue searching for interaction and get more frustrated. After a couple of repetitions, it will be clear to the dog what the cue "stop" means.

17/01/2023

Once I witnessed an impressive dog choreography. Just imagine... a black-and-white border collie  enters the arena.... lies down... the music of a weakening heartbeat begins ...the dog pretends to be dead... the music is replaced by the melody from the film "Ghost"... the owner approaches the "dead" dog... cries... covers it with a white a sheet

AND
.. after a moment, the woman lifts the dog in her arms... the dog hangs in her arms!

The view was both stunning and terrifying.  The dog looked like it was dead.

Luckily, it was just a perfectly mastered duration 😎
Duration is a vital component of the training of any kind. It is not so easy to master but the result is worth trying.

How can we work on duration?

As we started talking about the cue "down" last week, I suppose we should continue working on it.

- Start the training in a quiet environment. Preferably the place should be familiar to your dog.

- Ask your dog to go down.

- Give your pet a treat for keeping a position. Play with a time. Make sure that the dog doesn't know when it is going to get a treat.

- Repeat at least 10 times and then you can change the location. Repeat the step above 🙃

TIP: start writing a journal where you can note everything that happened during the training session. Keeping the record helps to see your mistakes and make an improvement plan 😉

03/01/2023

Obedience is a sport that any dog can do! Moreover, your pet learns discipline, team work with you and other dogs. While working on BL's obedience, I noticed how her overall behaviour improved, for this reason, I decided to share with you all the fundamentals of this sport. Maybe you will get enthusiastic as much as I am or just get an idea of the requirements. OR you would like to participate in competitions or you will try to teach your dog obedience. Who knows? :)

National obedience programmes have several levels. FCI (Europe) consists of a beginners' class, class 1, class 2 and class 3.

Beginners' class

🐶 Ignoring other dogs
🐶 Lying in a group for 1 minute, handlers in sight
🐶 Heelwork
🐶 Stand or sit or down during march
🐶 Recall
🐶 Sending away into a square and lying down
🐶 Distance control
🐶 Flat retrieve
🐶 Send around a group of cones

Class 1

🐶 Sitting in a group for 1 minute, handlers in sight
🐶 Heelwork
🐶 Stand or sit or down during march
🐶 Recall
🐶 Sending away into a square and lying down
🐶 Distance control
🐶 Retrieve and jump over a hurdle
🐶 Send around a group of cones and return
🐶 General impression

Class 2

🐶 Lying in a group for 2 minutes, handlers out of sight
🐶 Heelwork
🐶 Stand or sit or down during march
🐶 Recall with stand
🐶 Sending away with directing, lying down and recall
🐶 Directed retrieve 
🐶 Distance control
🐶 Scent discrimination and retrieve
🐶 Send around a group of cones, stop and jump
🐶 General impression

Class 3

🐶 Sitting in a group for 2 minutes, handlers out of sight
🐶 Lying in a group for 1 minute and recall
🐶 Heelwork
🐶 Stand, sit and down during march
🐶 Recall with stand/ sit / down
🐶 Send away with directing, down and recall
🐶 Directed retrieve 
🐶 Distance control
🐶 Scent discrimination and retrieve
🐶 Send around a group of cones, stop (sit/stand/ jump), retrieve and jump

13/12/2022

I used to think that you don't need to work hard to have a bond with your dog since they love us no matter what. That is what actually happend with my previous dogs. We just loved each other and enjoyed spending time together.

My world has changed when we got BL. This girl appeared to be a hard nut to crack. She was happy to interact with me for the first couple of minutes and after she lost all interest in me. She was running around and playing by her own. Since day one, BL liked to spend time alone. We were literally neighbours who did something together because there was no other way.

I felt miserable and desperate that my loving dog was aloof with me. My greatest wish was to have a bond with her.
It took blood, sweat and tears to make our relationship what it is today.

We worked a lot on her focus on me, attended various courses, learnt tricks, tried agility, sheep herding, frisbee, obedience, went on road trips together and many other things. I wanted to figure out what BL would love to do with me. At first, it was only agility... now she is thrilled to do anything!

The path wasn't straight but totally worth it!

How was it for you to build good relationships with your furry friends?

26/11/2022

21/11/2022

To whine, or not to whine - that is the question.

Some dogs (like mine 🤭) tend to whine more than others. There are many reasons for this behaviour. The dog could be an attention seeker, could be anxious, excited, have pain, etc.

My previous dog had a tendency to use his vocal chords during our greetings. Oh, I loved those moments: you come home from work, and there is a little black Teckle who is whining like a pup, jumping, trying to lick your face 😄

BL is made from a different cloth... there could be two scenarios when she is going to start crying...

#1 need of attention
Trying to get us in her web, BL can start whining, resting her chin on the lap and making puppy eyes so that it is going to be challenging to say NO.

#2 overexcitement
BL likes to work, but she doesn't like to wait. So all exercises like tricks, obedience or agility evoke a great desire in her to do them straight away, and if it is not the case, she can start whining. She does not have patience.

But let's get back to our question. I believe that this behaviour should be addressed since it makes a dog  and the owner nervous; it distracts them from the main goal of an exercise; you can be disqualified in the obedience competition, for example.

However, by making sounds, your dog is trying to tell you something. Listen to your dog, and together, you can solve the problem.

12/11/2022

The other day, I was a part of the duo dog training session with a girl from the same town. We decided to work with implementing distractions in obedience training. The idea was great, but the result was disappointing. Don't get me wrong, the dogs did amazing! However, the owners couldn't find the common ground 🤯
There are so many various techniques and approaches to dog training. Some people prefer luring to capture or shape. There is no right or wrong way. It all depends on you, the owner, your personality, and your dog! What works for one might be a complete disaster for another. For example, it is better not to raise your voice with sensitive dogs like border collies, but you can be more assertive with Staffords or Rottweilers. Based on the dog type, you can choose what training style suits a four-legged friend. As Susan Garrett likes to say, we need to listen to our dogs since they give us the best feedback on our actions!

11/11/2022

I used to wonder why we spent loads of time on some commands, and BL still couldn't do them. One of those tricks was crossing paws. We started learning it when she was four months, and it was unsuccessful for a long period of time. To change the situation, I tried target training, luring, and shaping, but nothing worked.

What is the reason?

I made two mistakes:
1. Showed food too early
2. Position myself in front of the dog (when BL prefers me to be next to her🤭)

Sometimes, it is difficult to notice what is the root of a problem. Gladly, you can record the training and look at it from another perspective 😉
If something doesn't work, it can be fixed!

Don't give up 🐶

18/10/2022

08/10/2022

As you probably noticed, I work with BL on impulse control quite often, the reason being that pups are not usually born with this skill. We need to teach our furry friends self-control. This ability helps to keep our pets safe! Furthermore, being advanced in impulse control allows dogs to say no to their temptations.

There are many ways to foster this ability. Let's have a look at some exercises:

1. Place a treat in your palm and  hold it near your dog. As soon as the pet tries to eat it, you need to close you palm. The dog will make some steps back, you need to open your palm. The desired behaviour is the pet waits for permission to grab the treat.

2. Teach your dog to wait at doorways by giving a command "Sit" (for example) and then release.

3. Teach your dog a cue "Leave it". It works great outside.

4. Sit and stay

5. Down and stay. Your pet needs to stay in a position you left it no matter what.

6. Place the treats on dog's paws, nose, etc, and don't let it eat them without a permission.

05/09/2022

Pets, like humans, need regular exercise to stay healthy and happy. On the one hand, we as owners do everything to make their life comfortable and effortless. For instance, we provide our pets with food, water, some physical activity, and even entertainment. And they are still unhappy. We notice some boredom, disruptive behaviour, behavioural issues, digging, running away, attention-seeking, excessive barking or crying from time to time. Do you recognise your pet? The reason for this lies in the insufficient amount of stimulation for our furry friends. Luckily for us, there is a cure! Many recent studies showed the advantages of enrichment, namely significant decrease in self-injurious behaviours (for example, some border collies suffer from it; they can chew their tails, paws and even fling on the walls), aggression, fear, etc. The most important is that our pets gain self-confidence through enrichment activities. It is beneficial, especially for the insecure animals. Furthermore, it improves animals’ learning capacity which means that they will learn faster!

Experts distinguish several types of enrichment, such as nutritional, sensory, physical, social and occupational. 

Follow and find out what enrichment activities you can do with your dog!

24/08/2022

While walking my dog, I kept wondering  why she was so cheerful and playful with some dogs and so hostile with others until I found the answer in my favourite book "The other end of the leash". Patricia McConnell paid a lot of attention to explaining the dogs' body language. So I started doing the same. I learnt when my dog is relaxed, worried, angry, happy, or in pain. I find this knowledge fundamental and useful because it can prevent misunderstandings between an owner/ handler and a dog, and even fights with other pets.

While greeting each other dogs exchange their social status or how they see themselves. For instance,  approaching another dog BL raises the base of her tail and tries to look higher. Her body is straightened and rigid. Her body language tells everyone that she has a higher social status. She wants to be the boss in this interaction. And as a result, she is keen on playing with dogs who are submissive, with ears back, laying on the ground or leaning towards her. If the other dog behaves the same as BL, it is a red flag straight away! I need to distract my dog or they will try to show who is the boss.

What is your dog's social status towards other dogs?
Let me know in the comments 👇🐾

18/08/2022

We all know that it is important to teach a dog basic commands, but what are they? Some professional dog trainers distinguish 5,6,7, 10, 15 and even 21 vital cues. For instance, according to the Cesar's way, there are 5 essential commands, such as sit, down, come, stay, and leave it. You can find 6 substantial cues in the puppr app (+*touh). Zak George focuses on commands like "look at me", "name", and a bit of "walking on the leash". As for me, I distinguish several cues in this category:

🐶 Settle or relax
🐶 Sit
🐶 Down
🐶 Place
🐶 Stay
🐶 Come
🐶 Leave it

Basic commands should be easy to teach and it is up to you what skills are necessary for your pet. For instance, some pet owners like to ask a dog to give a paw and they consider this trick as a basic one, which means every dog should be able to do it. Take my dog, for instance. BL is a nervous and anxious dog as the majority of border collies who need to know how to calm down. For this reason, I see a solid need of settling down, and this clue is a foundation for us.

I strongly believe that we should include a cue "look at the camera" in this category since we take more and more images of our furry friends.

Therefore, your preferences + dog's needs = basic commands

P.S: if something doesn't work how you imagined , hang in there. Don't give up on any sort of training because it needs time and eventually it will pay off. Trust me, I've been there!

Tell me what would you like to know about some specific basic commands in the comments 👇😉