Have fun with your dogs. Genuinely enjoy it. Let them be dogs sometimes. Celebrate it with them. They will appreciate it. Inspire them to be independent thinkers and proactive doers. Acknowledge their good choices, encourage good behavior, and when they do the right things be legitimately proud. The relationship you build with your dog today will play a crucial role in shaping the obedience they have in the future, as it instills confidence and respect for you as a leader. So make your relationship a positive one 😎
When we aren’t training we are working hard on our basketball skills 🏀 Eira says my aim sucks but I think she could be a better hoop 🧐😏 She is quite the character 😆
Focused heel
Just some flashy heel work with a personal dog. We train for competitive sports that require a focused heel. Obedience is judged closely so attention and motivation is important while maintaining a positive emotional state (dog should be happy to work with their owner).
Kion
“Umm excuse me. That was supposed to be MY treat. 😒 Jerk.” 😆
Max
⭐️⭐️ Video Update - Max ⭐️⭐️
Just some end of day obedience with the Max man. Practicing his non-verbal recalls (tone cue), recalls are followed by a sit since Max had a habit of blowing right by so we are managing it with an immediate following up command, some off leash heeling with auto sits, distance stays, and can’t forget the zoomies 😆
Max does not approve of this heat 🥵
Old Boy
⭐️⭐️ Video Update - Old Boy ⭐️⭐️
Old Boy had a big issue that prevented walks from being truly enjoyable (for both him and his owner). He is particularly reactive to other dogs but has made so much progress in the past couple weeks. He is more relaxed overall which is great to see.
We vary our walks with structured (heeling) and unstructured (loose leash walking) to allow him to fully take in his surroundings. If we always ask for strict obedience around triggers then obedience becomes a crutch and the dog may only make progress when in a strict heel, a sit, or a down. That is not what we want. We want to change the overall mindset around these triggers and to do that we need to allow for some level of freedom away from obedience positions. During these times he has the freedom to make his own decisions and he is choosing to focus on what he enjoys (exploring and gathering smells) rather than becoming overstimulated by the things going on in the background (dogs, noise, and chaos).
Max
⭐️⭐️ Video Update - Max ⭐️⭐️
At about 8-9 months old, Max is in the prime of his adolescence. Like any teen, he is trying to figure things out 😆. Keep in mind that sometimes things you think of as simple/easy are a challenge to your dog. Make sure your expectations are realistic in terms to what your dog is ready to handle. In other words celebrate the small victories and enjoy the journey but don’t rush the process.
Max is still very much a giant puppy but we work through challenges together and sometimes we just let him be a puppy because that’s important too. He has a strong natural prey drive (loves to chase anything that moves), so we work a lot on his ability to control those impulses. Safety is paramount and impulsive action can be very dangerous. We work on waiting at doorways, manners when entering and exiting vehicle/crates, down stays with distractions, and just building on his heel position. He’s come a long way and is a super smart guy so with practice and patience as he matures he will really shine as an adult.
Old Boy
The greatest weapon against stress and anxiety is our ability to choose one thought over another.
Old Boy
⭐️⭐️ Video Update - Old Boy ⭐️⭐️
Old Boy has made quite a bit of progress this week. His triggers include sights, sounds, and smells so we have to pay closely attention to our surroundings while also being aware of his body language. He has responded incredibly well to communication via the leash and e-collar and is now more in tune to verbal input as well.
Old Boy is easily overstimulated by his environment so I need to have a calm and relaxed approach. It may be helpful to think of a dog’s state of mind as something that we, as owners, need to counter balance. Imagine a scale of 1-10 with the ultimate goal being to achieve a balance of 5. If your dog is at a level 8 (overstimulated/aroused) then you need to meet that with a level 2 (calm/relaxed) in order to balance it out. If your dog is at a level 3 and is becoming bored or uninterested, then you need to be more interesting and exciting by bringing yourself up to level 7. However, if your dog is at a level 8 and you become frustrated, impatient, or annoyed then you are likely now also an 8 causing the situation to become worse. Balance is the key 🔑
Old Boy
⭐️⭐️ Video Update - Old Boy ⭐️⭐️
We are adding directional change to maintain his focus and discourage pulling while acknowledging good behavior with praise. This will eventually be shaped into a heel position but here we are simply working on encouraging relaxed loose leash walking and building a more calm and focused mindset.
A typical walk with Old Boy looks much different with him pulling heavily at the end of the leash while baying non stop so this is big progress 👏🏼
