Meet Lucy! Little Lucy is a young doodle with no major issues and here to work on some obedience. We start with the boring stuff of introducing our leash communication (pressure and release) for her food.
Super short video of Bluey ..My phone stopped recording due to storage. You can also see his guest appearance in the background on place in the Malani video.
I was working on his leash walking I'm this session, using lots of direction changes and stops to keep him focused.
Insecure nervous guys like him need to feel confident in the handler to succeed and know they don't have to control the situation themselves... and it all starts on leash
Malani is a young dog who is busy in the brain and has a lot of gas in the tank. She does the typical insecure stuff with the frantic barking at people and dogs. These strong breeds need a purpose and a job to do or they will make their own.
She has some training on commands but was never taught how to follow the leash.
First I am introducing leash guidance for her food so we can start using the leash for communication instead of just restraint which is all she knows from being on a harness.
She doesn't know how to take food from my hand yet and is blasting it with open mouth and shooting it all over the floor. She is a sweet dog and very smart!
Meet Bluey
He is an adolescent boy, fearful of strangers, reacts with eye contact, he has some separation anxiety and an overall entitled attitude. But man is he cute!
First I introduce the directional leash pressure for his food which will then turn into all of his future obedience commands. I have a bad chest cold and dropped the ball yesterday with filming his first session. His first session was a fight, he resisted any leash pressure. All pups should learn how to move with the leash at a very young age to avoid issues as they mature.
After our session I took him out for a loose leash walk to see the neighbors and get some exposure to the "scary " things
Tana's first dremel session.
I keep my mouth shut and my body language calm. I only use the food reward after she allows the handling. I do short intervals at first to get her used to the process. She gives some resistance a few times and all I do is stay steady with my grip, no words and don't release her until she stops. Most of the time people are too quick to give in to the dog and it teaches them that fighting trumps cooperation. Handling should be started with baby puppies.
Practicing long line recalls with Tana. She is extremely prey driven and loves to smell and it is important she knows how to return to the handler when called.
It is always best to practice your recall in real works situations ( once they have an understanding) with a leash and a way to reinforce the command.
Bodie finished his program and went home with some new skills to practice!
I will miss this big boy!
Tana is moving right along, she will be introduced to the ecollar in the next day or two. She is lightening fast and super smart and anticipates EVERYTHING! Here I am pushing her listening skills by heeling her super close to the place mat and holding her accountable.At
the beginning of her training she would blast out of every command to do what she "thinks" was the next thing you were going to ask to get her food. Shes a firecracker
Adding distractions for Bodie. I am bouncing him from place to place using the come command and a few other commands mixed in to work him around the evil mop, broom and vacuum.
This may look silly but these objects were terrifying to him at the beginning.
Tana is a busy little lady with a lot of gas in the tank. First we start introducing directional leash pressure with reward which will later turn into her commands. No commands are used now , just the leash and praise. She has had a ton of practice pulling into a plastic prong, so her neck is a bit desensitized.
Working with Bodie on leash walking. I use lots of turns and direction changes to keep him focused. Apologies for the bad camera angle!
Meet Bodie!
This young doodle is pretty insecure and needs a lot of guidance. He is learning to move with the leash pressure. He will not take food rewards (normal for dogs who are nervous/fearful) so I am using praise. You can see him put up resistance on the "scary" place board.
It is a place board, an object, not a flaming pit to hell.
Notice how I don't give in , give steady leash guidance and only praise him after he worked through the stress. Also notice as we move on he begins even jumping on it before I lead him there..."look what I can do" =confidence boost.
IF I would have praised him and used a baby voice when he was scared and put on the brakes.....what do you think that would have done? He would have been stuck in his fear. That is the common mistake with well meaning dog owners.
Cricket has been working hard this week as we add more distractions and new environments to his training. He loves other dogs and would get over excited at the sight of them, this is a challenge! Peach the pitbull made a great distraction😍!
Oliver earned his play time! He has been working super hard this last week and has shown he can listen in different environments and distractions and I cut him loose with training alumni Miss Zoey🐾 if dog's all of their fulfillment from other dogs then they don't value the human. It is best to put the human/dog relationship as a priority.
Early morning practice with Cricket. I am adding more challenges for him and while Mr. Vitello is an obnoxious ass😊 he did rather well! Cricket loves running with Vitello and this was hard for him.
It was my mistake for adding Vitello. He isn't ready for this kind of thing, he doesn't have the experience the other 2 dogs have. How do I fix this? Back on the leash my friend and guidance guidance guidance.
Being silly with Oliver as we practice his commands off leash. He is off of food rewards and just praise and personal play for right actions. This week we continue to head out in public with him and add more distractions. This bug guy is fun to work with!
Cricket is moving right along! I am introducing him to the ecollar using the come and heel commands that he has learned. I use the "break" command to release him away from me to go see his buddy Vitello. The leash is to guide him if he needs help and I use food rewards and personally play to help him learn. Cricket is a guy who can get in his own head and can get overwhelmed when learning new things, he did great here!
Continuing to work with Cricket on leash guidance. He still wants to dig his heels in a bit when he feels the leash at times. Having him jump up on objects is a good confidence booster for this guy. He is improving each day, we still have a long way to go!