E collar place with Ryder
Starting to layer in the e-collar with Ryder. *(I apologize for the loud buzzing sound in my videos recently. My son’s fish tank bubbler is on the fritz. I keep meaning to get him a new one.)
Prong collar place with Ryder
Here are some clips from working with Ryder on place command. Remember that this guy already knows a lot of obedience, so this is much less about the commands being taught and much more about the social dynamic between he and I forming. I want to slow everything down with him, so I’m not using any food here or any snappy rewards verbally or physically. I also want to correct tiny moments like his interest in what’s going on in the other room or any fixation on my cat. This all helps to build a dog who’s looking to me for direction and waiting for permission. By correcting for small instances of concern about things moving or people passing by or making noises in another room, I gain the influence needed to stop and then prevent reactive explosions (barking, growling, lunging). Most dogs with reactivity have problems with arousal, so being able interrupt that state of mind in lots of unrelated contexts is a huge key to success. He’s doing very well so far.
Door knocking distractions with Harper
Door knocking distractions for Harper and my crew.
Nails with Harper.
Nails with Harper.
Hudson Falls with Harper
Working with Harper in a slightly busier area today.
Longline recall with Harper
More work outdoors with Harper today. 🙂
First park day with Harper
Recalls at the park with Harper today!
Outdoor obedience with Harper
Now that Harper knows her obedience on e-collar indoors pretty well, today we started working a bit outdoors. She did very well, especially considering there was a cat nearby just off camera.
Place to place recall with Harper
I started working with Harper on some place to place e-collar recalls. 👏
E collar place with Harper
first session teaching Harper e-collar place command, down, and recall.
working Harper through her crate issues
Harper has a history of escaping the crate. She even escaped recently with a cone on after her spay surgery. When she arrived I saw two things right away, heavy refusal to go into the crate and panic to try to squeeze and run out as soon as the door was unlatched. Trying to guide her in with leash pressure only sent her into an even more extreme clawing to try to refuse going in. With dogs like this I find the e collar to be extremely helpful. I will apply a low but motivational level of continuous e collar pressure and use light leash guidance. As soon as they start moving forward I remove all the pressure. One strategy is feeding the long line through the back of the crate and using it like a pulley along with e collar pressure. In Harper’s case this approach worked like a charm. I also corrected her with a somewhat higher level for any attempts to escape and or push the door open to squeeze out. This helped to make it very clear that refusal and panic were off the table as options. Then I could start rewarding her success and making new rules for entering and exiting. The first clip is from our second or third session of working on the crate thresholds the day she arrived. The second clip is today, two days later. She’s doing great and is very calm and quiet in the crate. Nice job, Harper!
Prong collar place and down with Harper
First session of prong collar place command and down with Harper.
