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Positive reinforcement based dog training to achieve your dreams with your canine team-mate
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06/11/2024

Today I have been thinking about the power of video.

I video myself a LOT when I am training - it is like having another set of eyes on what I am doing. And it is hugely instructive - I can see my own mechanics from a completely different perspective and can usually also work out why things are going wrong 😂

I only use an android phone and a cheap tripod.

Go on - give it a go 😊 Video anything where you'd like to see what's happening!

02/11/2024

As Rosie gets older and one day agility might not appropriate any more, we are enjoying revising our heelwork and trying out different speeds to keep the flow going.

If your dog was bred to do a job, take time to ensure they can always have a job, whatever it is :-)

02/10/2024

If it's raining today like it is at ours, I have to get creative about what I'd like to work on with our dogs.

I am very keen that this young lively girl really listens to my words as we do agility and she needs to react very quickly to the correct cue

I am playing around here with her release word which is Break. I started off keeping all the dummy words quite boring and she was quite good at it.

Then I increased the excitement of my speech and I think she did pretty well to hold back until she heard the right word

You don't need to play fancy games to train your doggie, and by the way it's a good idea to train them in just about every room in the house as well 😂

15/09/2024

Part of training an animal is understanding where management might also be needed, and also at least the basics of differential reinforcement. Here are two easy examples.

My young girl chases cars a bit. I have taught her that when a car comes she can chase a toy in my hand instead - just as much fun and totally incompatible with chasing the car.

The management bit? She is on a LEAD around cars!!

My two boys have a bit of a bark fest at each other every morning when I put them in their individual runs when I go to work. I don't know why as they live together very happily. So I give them incredibly long-lasting chews when they go out there - after 30 minutes of licking yummy frozen kongs, they could not care less about each other 😄 The reinforcement they get from licking/eating has replaced the reinforcement they got from barking at each other.

The management bit? They are in separate areas in case the barking leads to high tension.

11/09/2024

What a lovely happy and sensible piece of advice. Love it ❤️

10/09/2024

This beautiful girl of ours is coming up to 8 years old.

This week I am taking her for a full check up, structural, muscular, everything we can check while she is awake, at my favourite vet physio.

Why? Not because I think there’s something wrong but I want to keep her fit and healthy as she gets a wee bit older and so we can carry on our favourite activity together. I am expecting we will be given some ideas about keeping her strong and protecting her ligaments etc

Check ups are a much better idea than waiting for the inevitable aging process to show up in something going wrong, in my opinion 🤔

06/09/2024

Recently Victoria Stillwell, she of the ongoing running TV programme “It’s Me or the Dog” and a noted force free trainer in her own right, posted this. I could not agree more.

31/08/2024

Love this !!!! So simple and easy to understand 💜

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/KzeotFBU9NVbxu9w/?mibextid=xfxF2i

29/08/2024

if you want to train tricky things, tricks, agility, obedience, tracking, whatever, it needs to be broken down into little, little pieces for your doggy and built up gradually. It is not kind to throw the dog in at the deep end, they won’t learn. The downside is that this takes time.

For example, Lexi aged 2 and 10 months needs to learn how to do the seesaw. It is a pretty hard thing to learn in agility. We are not totally there yet but she has got this far with a lowered seesaw.

How long did all this take? If I’m honest, 12 months to train the weaves like this, and a few months to train the seesaw so far and it’s not finished yet.

Being a dog owner is a lifelong commitment to learning and enrichment. I choose to do dog sports but all dogs need something enriching in their lives.

Take the time with them and enjoy the journey ❤️

21/08/2024

I've been thinking about different dog breeds. Some breeds have a reputation as being more "trainable" than other breeds. For example, border collies and German shepherds might fit into this category with some people.

I don't agree. All dogs can build a relationship with their owner and enjoy being trained in a positive fashion. Sometimes it takes a different approach, for example terriers do process learning differently from herding dogs. But when we understand that, amazing things can happen.

This is our Staffordshire Bull terrier. This is not a breed normally associated with dog agility. By working out how he learns, we've been able to do things like this and have tons of fun doing it 💜

29/05/2024

I don't usually endorse products because there are so many on the market. However I am always struggling for treats especially with four dogs. Sometimes I make my own, sometimes I buy from the pick and mix and sometimes I use kibble.

I decided to try this today. It is from Animals Like Us and it's 50% freeze dried raw.

Omg they all love it. Barging past each other to get to me 😂

It's also cheaper than buying the pick and mix freeze dried treats.

Just an idea for you

21/05/2024

I love this!!!!!!!!!!

18/04/2024

That's some "ice creams" made for the dogs 💕

A bit of kibble, plain cottage cheese and sealed with xylitol-free peanut butter.

Freeze for a couple of hours, ages of peaceful licking in store for them

12/03/2024

So true - look at your dog and really think about this ❤️

01/03/2024

This!!! Totally this!

20/02/2024

It may be you discovered what you believe to be a short cut in your training but it’s important to be mindful that a perceived faster way to train can sometimes force your dog beyond his understanding or capabilities, creating a bigger problem than if you’d been patient in your training.
Some handlers think meaningful training doesn't begin until their dog is further forward yet, it’s the foundation work that can make all the difference.

There is a connection between how we start our young dogs and how we teach the most complex aspects.
The building blocks of our fundamentals make learning the more difficult facets of training easier, because the method is recognizable, intuitive and enjoyable.

You empower confidence and trust in your dog by setting him up to succeed.
If your dog has plateaued or is struggling, it may help to revisit the fundamentals, finding the balance between having a solid foundation and becoming complacent.
It’s important to both be certain you’ve prepared your dog for what you ask of him and also, to continue to increase your expectations of both him and you.

Setting your dog up for succeed doesn’t mean he should never encounter adversity;
it means that you’ve taught the foundation well enough that he can call upon it, and be resilient in the face of difficulty.
macraeway.com

20/02/2024

Such a good analysis. Worth thinking about if you have dogs that play together

07/02/2024

Such good advice!!!

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Videos

As Rosie gets older and one day agility might not appropriate any more, we are enjoying revising our heelwork and trying out different speeds to keep the flow going. If your dog was bred to do a job, take time to ensure they can always have a job, whatever it is :-)

If it's raining today like it is at ours, I have to get creative about what I'd like to work on with our dogs. I am very keen that this young lively girl really listens to my words as we do agility and she needs to react very quickly to the correct cue I am playing around here with her release word which is Break. I started off keeping all the dummy words quite boring and she was quite good at it. Then I increased the excitement of my speech and I think she did pretty well to hold back until she heard the right word You don't need to play fancy games to train your doggie, and by the way it's a good idea to train them in just about every room in the house as well 😂

I've been thinking about different dog breeds. Some breeds have a reputation as being more "trainable" than other breeds. For example, border collies and German shepherds might fit into this category with some people. I don't agree. All dogs can build a relationship with their owner and enjoy being trained in a positive fashion. Sometimes it takes a different approach, for example terriers do process learning differently from herding dogs. But when we understand that, amazing things can happen. This is our Staffordshire Bull terrier. This is not a breed normally associated with dog agility. By working out how he learns, we've been able to do things like this and have tons of fun doing it 💜

Teaching a dog takes patience and understanding. Teaching a dog to weave for agility takes both of these attributes - it is the hardest thing to teach for agility. This is Lexi. She is 20 months old and this was her best effort yet. I started with 2 poles then 4. She got stuck on 4 for a few weeks 😂 but finally was managed to add two more. We will practice different entry angles for a few more weeks then add another 6 poles some distance away. I estimate she will be weaving 12 poles fluently in about October or November Patience and understanding 💜