Enrichment Dog Training And Behaviour

17/09/2023

Rainy day in Wanaka means games day! YouTube 'Pattern Games' for dogs and teach your dog a new game!

08/05/2023

NEW! I am so excited to introduce Training Walks! It is the perfect way to fit in mental and physical exercise when life gets busy.

11/04/2023

Investing in a dog trainer is a great way to build your bond with your dog and make your life easier as a dog owner. Having a dog is like adding a new member to the family and sometimes we all need some guidance with new ideas to handle situations to achieve the results you want.

30/03/2023

Let's talk about dog enrichment. Dog enrichment seems a big boujee but it is one of those small changes that you can make to benefit both the bond you have with your dog as well as their behaviour. I seriously rate it!

Enrichment is about giving them something different, where they might need to challenge themselves. E.g. not giving them their dinner in their food bowl. Instead scatter it around the garden and let them sniff it out. Teaching them a new behaviour or allowing them to follow a scent. Enrichment can reduce anxiety and aggression a significant amount.

The next day it is raining and you go to take your dog for a walk, try taking them on a shorter walk and adding in an enrichment activity.

Enrichment activities have also been shown to help reduce cognitive degeneration. I believe that when you home a dog you have a new family member and if someone told me I could keep my dog youthful in their old age I would jump at the chance!

Comment any enrichment activities that you have or are going to try, I love to hear how creative people get.

29/03/2023

If you are having problems with your dog growling when you approach or refusing to drop a toy it is important to know the correct approach. These aare a few simple ways to support you in handling the situation. However resource guarding is something that I strongly encourage you to reach out to a professional trainer about.

13/03/2023

Taking a dog on a walk is great, you will love it and so will your dog. It's important to consider what breed your dog is to ensure you are tapping into their innate drive. Knowing what drives your dog can help so much with training and building a positive bond between you both.
For example beagles, are bred for scent work; try hiding their food around the garden and make them work to find their food, or hide from them on your walk and let them sniff you out!

What breed is your dog?

06/03/2023

Does your dog bark at guests at the door?

01/03/2023

Want your dogs to listen to you all the time?

Have bowls of treats around the house. This will stop your dog only doing as you ask when they see your treat pouch. By syrpprising your dog for good behaviour they learn that they can not predict when they will get positively reinforced; therefore encouraging more positive behaviour as they associate you with positive rewards. Note that if you dont have a treat at hand you can also reward your dog through play or attention.

01/03/2023

Why to choose force free training

free

28/02/2023

If you are considering getting a new puppy PLEASE look at rescue dogs first 💛 unfortunately they have a time limit and unless they get adopted these wee pups will be put down. For any rescue puppy or dog I offer 1 FREE training session and personalised plan.

27/02/2023

Top 3 commands and how to teach them:

#3 The final top command is 'drop'. This again is a life saving command to teach your dog from and early age. This can help stop them from chewing on cables or eating something that will result in a large vet bill.

To teach drop it- Whilst the dog is tugging on a toy, place a treat on the dogs nose, say 'yes' as the dog drops the toy.

Next- add your verbal cue, use the word 'drop' and straight away plcae the treat on the dogs nose to reward. NOTE- use verbal cue FIRST then move your hand to reward drop command.

Repeat this process multiple times so that the dog does not build a negative assocoiation that they no longer get to play with the toy.

22/02/2023

Place command can be helpful for so many occasions; busy household, guests coming over who dont want to be greeted by a jumping dog, a wet dog after a walk, theres heaps of reasons! Check out my last slide for #1 command.

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20/02/2023

Top 3 commands to teach your dog.

1.
Leave it- This can be made into some fun games and can save your dogs life. For me, this is the most important and worth spending a lot of time on.
A great game for this would be to start with a treat on the ground and say 'Leave it" you need to cover the treat on the ground at this point. Reward your dog with a higher reward treat when they back away from the treat on the ground. Repeat until the dog no longer needs your hand to cover the treat. You can extend this by making it more difficult by dropping the treat from standing. If you dog continues to go for the treat either cover with foot or return to the easier option.

16/02/2023

I am officially part of the Association of Professional Dog Trainers New Zealand. This is an amazing organisiation that is supporting Force Free only dog trainers all over New Zealand!

13/02/2023

Taking your puppy for a 'good manners' walk.

1- Start with a little game in the house or back garden like fetch or tug. Note- have their lead on!

2- Door manners is super important. Get your pup to sit at the door before releasing them to leave. How you start the walk sets you up for the whole walk.

3- Go through some basic training; sit, lay down, stay etc. This is a great way to stimulate their brain as well as bring down their high energy.

4- Reward focus on you, make sure you are interesting to your puppy. This will help recall ;)

5- Enjoy!

07/02/2023

VERY excited to announce that my website is now up and running and I am taking bookings for all your dog needs!

Positive dog training for puppies and adult dogs. Enrichment activities personalised to your dog and their innate needs. Programs designed to suit your lifestyle.

06/12/2022

Capturing calmness!

This is a key trick to ensure you have a social dog that can join you on your outings to the cafe or a friends BBQ. This works for all dogs and old dogs CAN learn new tricks.

Start by positively reinforcing your dog with treats and praise when they show signs of being relaxed- lay on their side, floppy ears, soft gaze are all clear signs of a calm dog.

Reinforce often when you are starting to train this technique, your dog will quickly realise that staying in their relaxed position gets them the goods!

30/11/2022

Remember your dogs joints are just like yours. Running on hard ground is great for dogs in moderation, be mindful of breeds that are naturally more prone to joint issues such as labradors. Take your dog swimming instead- its great exercise both mentally and physically.
It's also ideal for hot weather we have coming up.

10/10/2022

Free and easy DIY enrichment activities! 

Here are 3 D.I.Y enrichment activities you can make up to have fun with your dog at home. 

Muffin tin dog puzzle. 

Grab a muffin tin

Fill it up each with a mixture of food. 

Put tennis balls on top of the food.

Let your dog sniff and work out how to get the food. 

Food tube dog puzzle

Save your toilet paper rolls

Fill up a shoe box with them all standing up

Add your dog's food and high reward treats to the toilet paper rolls. 

Allow your dog to sniff and enjoy! 

Plant pot eaters

Divide up food and high reward treats into 6

Place in 6 different piles all around the garden

Cover them with upside down plant pots

Allow your dog to discover all of their food.