Here is Kiki working on going up and down the ārampā again but at a more difficult angle. She needed extra help but had a great work attitude throughout and succeeded.
I buy exercise equipment at thrift stores and use rubber spray if it doesnāt already have rubber on top. These make great props for physical exercises and trick training.
Kiki struggles a bit with getting up on things when approaching from a certain side so I problem solve to make it easier for her to succeed.
Most dogs are better working one side/way than the other just like people. In Kikiās case she has had a bit of a hitch for a few weeks so I have scheduled an appointment with a canine chiropractor.
You can use things from around the house to work on body control-awareness exercises as well as tricks. Kiki is benefiting from activities where she works her hind end.
Usually I am in the instructor role but it is fun to get to be the student at times. I had my puppy tested for herding ability and the teacher liked what she saw. It is wonderful to see a dog do what it is inherently good at and you can tell it meets a basic need in her. I always encourage clients to participate in activities that meet their dogsā special abilities and urges in a healthy and safe way.
Herding lessons are in Kikiās and my future.
I have been busy with my new puppy, Kiki. She likes the exercise of going to a mat and when I bought a fancy, new one she figured out right away that it was the same as with the rug we started with.
It is possible!
With the right dogs, training, and vigilance you can have great off leash adventures. I like to start the puppies young and have the experiences adults model good behavior.
Not as planned.
I took Kiki, another foster puppy, for a constructive exposure session and it didnāt go as planned at all. I hadnāt realized how crazy it would be where we were going with the floats coming off the river. So we circumvented the worst of it and then sat down in the shade at a distance and observed.
Part of the tentative plan was to visit a food truck afterwards. It turned out to be both very loud and very hot in that area and Kiki was about to get overwhelmed. Therefore I abandoned my original idea.
It is important to be flexible and reevaluate when trying to expose the dog to new things so it doesnāt traumatize instead of increasing confidence.
Enrichment feeding
Skip, one of my foster puppies, did well with the new slow feeder/licky mat.
Preventive work on food aggression.
To avoid that my foster puppies feel they need to resource guard their food bowl I donāt just grab it but trade for a treat to start with. Later in the process I make sure they arenāt surprised and then reinforce a non-aggressive response with praise and petting.
Mealtime is excellent for working on various behaviors. Here they get treats for waiting calmly in the feeding station until I let them out.
Sending to a place
Frank is super smart and willing. Within minutes he was picking up on the go-to-your-bed training. This will help his behavior when people come to the door.
Fun together
Shared satisfying experiences are important for developing good relationships. This goes for both owners and their dogs and among dogs.
