ALWAYS Get What You Ask For.
Get What You Ask For.
If you ask for DOWN but your dog gives SIT instead, it is vital you get what you ask for.
Otherwise you are reinforcing that your dog gets to choose its response - and setting it up to fail.
ALWAYS Get What You Ask For.
Message us for a private 1:1 session at your home to help with your dog's Foundations training.
PART ONE - DOWN at distance
PART ONE - DOWN, at DISTANCE.
We practice DOWN, at distance, at random times during our walks.
This means that when we need M to DOWN, perhaps in an emergency situation, we have trained for it. And he is prepared and ready.
We are not Obedience competitors so I want M to DOWN, but you will note he almost always turns to face me. I don't need him to drop like a stone.
But if you ask for DOWN, and your dog does SIT instead, ALWAYS ensure you get what you ask for. Or you are reinforcing to your dog that he can blow you off, any time he likes.
Book a 1:1 session for a home visit to get the Foundations sorted so you and your dog are prepared for any situation.
PART 2 - DOWN at distance
PART 2 - DOWN at DISTANCE
This is the exact situation we practice for.
Cyclists are approaching and M is put into a DOWN, at distance from me, so the cyclists can pass, without worry, and M is SAFE.
We did this several times during our walk with different groups of cyclists, and every cyclist group called out "Thank You!"
This is the least we should do - keep our off lead dogs, under control. And SAFE.
This all starts with Hand Feeding, The Art of Attention, Lead Walking 101 and ensuring the Foundations are bedded in.
Get in touch for a 1:1 session with your dog. We come to you.
Teach Your Dog The Art of Doing Nothing
The Art of Doing Nothing.
Following on from The Fuss Challenge - only fuss your dog calmly for the behaviours you want repeated again and again - this post is about beginning to teach The Art of Doing Nothing.
Too often I am called to deal with dogs who have Reactivity issues. There are many causes for Reactivity and the solution has to be specific to the dog and the situation... but one leading cause is that the dog has not been taught to switch off.
Aka The Art of Doing Nothing.
A dog needs to be taught to switch off and relax. This is the first step in having a dog that will be relaxed anywhere - such as a cafe, pub, school gate, on the ferry, outside a store, in the car, waiting in the vet's room etc.
Below is a short video of M at Rush Worth Cafe, North Wharf, this week. He is lying peacefully beside our table, ignoring foot traffic, waitstaff delivering to our table, other dogs, children and prams. This is The Art of Doing Nothing in the Real World.
A lot of dogs, from a young age, are not left alone, in a space of their own, where they can learn to switch off.
For young puppies or new dogs, I always crate train. It replicates a dog 'den' and means they can relax fully, knowing they are completely safe here. It is NOT puppy prison, as I have seen some trainers refer to it.
It is a sanctuary.
It is VITAL that a puppy/dog is IGNORED when in the crate. If an owner, family member, visitor or child, constantly interacts with a puppy/dog in its crate, it will not learn to relax, sleep and/or switch off. This is the best way to create a reactive dog.
First Rule: when your dog is in his crate, LEAVE HIM ALONE.
Follow this page for the second installment of training The Art of Doing Nothing.
Dog-Stock Aversion Training
Can you trust your dog around stock?
Another lambing/calving season approaching..and more incidents likely of dogs running amongst stock, with devastating consequences.
Do you know your responsibilities, as a Dog Owner?
Here is some links to the Dog Control Act 1996 (DCA 1996).
And, no, ignorance of the law regarding dog ownership is not a defence to infringements or charges being laid.
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It is a dog owner's responsibility, under the DCA 1996, to ensure their dog must not be able to freely leave the owner's property.
https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1996/0013/latest/DLM375198.html
This is the first step. You must ensure your property is secure. If not the whole property, then a suitable section from which your dog 'cannot freely leave'.
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Did you know it is an offense for your dog to run amongst stock? It does not have to be actively attacking stock for there to be a breach of the Act:
https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1996/0013/latest/DLM375419.html
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Is it just stock (ie pigs, chickens, cattle, sheep) that the DCA 1996 refers to?
No, it also covers dogs rushing at people, other animals (including horses) and vehicles.
https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1996/0013/latest/DLM375413.html
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If you have secure fencing for your dog, but are still concerned about it rushing at or among stock, other people, other dogs, other animals or vehicles, send me a message with the details and I will be in touch to arrange a 1:1 session with you.
Off lead Recall...an autumn walk
Beautiful autumn off lead walk with M. How gorgeous is that carpet of leaves?!
Fuss Your Dog Challenge
Fussing Your Dog Challenge.
How you fuss (stroke) your dog can have a significant impact on future behavioural issues.
Stroking (fussing) a dog is just that to a human - but to a dog, it is a whole conversation/interaction, from which the dog is learning.
If you fuss a puppy when it jumps up on you, family member, a guest or passerby, you are reinforcing that behaviour, jumping. The dog thinks 'JUMP = FUSS' which is an endorphin (pleasure) rush for your dog. So they repeat the behaviour/s again, always looking for that fuss and attention.
But when they grow bigger (or out of their cute puppy phase), we then growl /yell at them when they jump up, for the very behaviour they were previously being rewarded for.
So now they are confused and this confusion creates anxiety in your dog.
The ensuing behavioural issues are something that owners have to take responsibility for. The dog has been set up to fail through inconsistency.
I often see clients who fuss their dogs the wrong way round too - and by trying to rub the dog's face off! Reward only the behaviours you want.
How we fuss, what we fuss and the energy we put into it, will all be mirrored in our dog's behaviour.
If you fuss calmly, you are much more likely to keep the dog calm.
If you fuss excitedly, you are much more likely to create an excited (over stimulated) dog.
The Golden Rule is... Only fuss what you want to ENCOURAGE/ASK FOR and in the WAY in which you want the dog to respond.
Put even more simply, only fuss if it is a behaviour that you want the dog to repeat again, and again, and again.
Try this.
For a whole weekend, ONLY fuss your dog when it does something you ask it to. (Note: do not fuss behaviours that you have NOT asked for, even good ones, just those you have directed).
Call/recall it to you. Fuss calmly.
Ask your dog to SIT. Fuss calmly.
Put your dog in a DOWN. Fuss calmly.
Waiting at a threshold (door). Fuss calmly.
After clipping on its lead. Fuss calmly.
Make it a calm but good
Recall, with distractions
M is at a DOWN while I walk off to the nearest bin, to drop of his poo bag. You will note that he keeps his concentration on me - not on other dogs and people on the beach - then recall and straight to a SIT when he reaches me.
Good recall starts at home, with solid foundations and Art of Attention. Without those, Recall will always be a struggle.
Send me a message if this is an area you and your dog would like help with.
Recall Assessment with Fabulous Freddy. First time.
Freddy, first time forest walk to assess his recall ability with me.
Things to note.
I have Freddy on his longline because he is not ready to be off lead yet. Having a dog drag their longline slows down a dog without perfect recall but is quite advanced in the recall training steps. There are several key steps before letting your dog do this.
I wanted to assess where Freddy is at, using my stooge dog M for additional control.
The dogs are ALWAYS in my line of sight, although I have trained M to a distance out of sight SIT or WAIT.
I recall both dogs at random times and close distances, to reinforce that coming back to me is MORE FUN than anything else.
I 'mark' the behaviour (coming back towards me) with YES the moment the dog/s turn their heads towards me....keeping my voice in a higher pitch and excited. Who wants to return to someone who is growling or even yelling? I don't!
I wait for the SIT and eye contact (AoA) before rewarding. And then release them back to off lead again.
If you need to work on recall with your dog, send me a message, with details of your dog's breed, age, home situation and challenges you are having.