We have worked really hard the last two weeks on building confidence and working on SĂĄĂĄshâs obedience. He goes home this weekend and he has come so far! He has struggled with a lot of anxiety and insecurity but we have made so much progress! Here is a clip from yesterdays training session and look at his confidence grow. We have tail wags, eye contact, and a relaxed tail. While this it isnât where the end goal is, it is fantastic progress. Every dog learns at its own pace and itâs important to tailor your training to fit every individual dog.
Letâs talk about healthy stress.
SĂĄĂĄsh came to me to help with his obedience, reactivity and anxiety issues. Cases like this can be a bit tricky cause no matter how you address it, the dog will show stress during your training sessions- especially at the beginning.
So how do you know if itâs healthy stress or too much? Pay attention to their body language and make sure they arenât shutting down. If they are displaying stressful signs but still responding to commands and able to learn during the session then you are in that area of âhealthyâ stress.
How do we work past this? Well, the best way to help stress in dogs, is work through it. As the dog performs what youâve asked and taught him more and more, he will become more familiar and comfortable with it. This can take a couple sessions or even sometimes months. Every dog is different and every dogs triggers or causes of anxiety are different.
While we hate to see our dogs uncomfortable, stressed or anxious when training- sometimes itâs necessary. And often times itâs unavoidable. Itâs just important to recognize when the stress and anxiety is beginning to overload the dog.
This pup is throwing a handful of stress signals during our training session BUT he knows what Iâm asking and it performing the commands I am asking. So we worked a bit with his heeling then put him in a place command to wind down before having a play session after training. Even if the dog doesnât seem to respond to it- it is important to at least try to end each training session on a positive note.
Today in class we worked on ignoring other dogs and walking with other dogs together. We used my boy Drippy to be a very big distraction- but look how good they did! Good job guys đ¶
Here is one of our clients @service.mutts.adventures working on their engagement and heel! During our last class we focused on heeling, the correct form of the handler for heeling, engagement and dog neutrality. This is a perfect example on how to keep yourself fun and engaging when working with your pup. Good job guys! đŸ
Does your dog have issues with barking at people or dogs? Are you unable to regain your dogs focus around high distraction environments?
These are all common issues with dogs, so donât despair! There are several methods utilized at Space Cadet Dog Training to help train your dog to focus, walk politely in a leash and socialize them to new or distracting environments.
Here is a clip of one of our demo dogs displaying focus with its handler, evaluating surroundings in a calm manner, and heeling politely on a leash. We can help you achieve that with your dogs as well!
If youâd like help with your dogs focus or behavior, please contact us today for a free consultation!
2022 we are back in business! I had to take a small hiatus during some health complications but starting at the beginning of next year, Iâll be opening up my services again. We already have our first client of the year and Iâll hopefully be filming a clip of our training session this week. Happy holidays, happy new year, and train-donât complain đ #dogtraining #dogtrainer
