Another fun video from River! 😍
There are some great trails behind her house, and her mom wants to be able to happily adventure back there without being pulled, so we got to work on it! 💪🏻🧡
One of our favorite clients, River the Brittany Spaniel, as she enjoys life and learns everything she needs to be an #AdventureDog (who goes everywhere - river, desert, and more!) - which means reliably coming when called, walking nicely on a leash (instead of darting off to play with all the blowing leaves and butterflies), not barking excitedly at people or dogs, and just overall good dogship 🥰
A little unplanned video I decided to throw together this morning.
In the middle of morning chores, I moved a can of Vienna Sausages (used as top tier rewards in certain training situations), and decided to work on training Chili to reliably come when called, because waiting for her to feel like it (or going and getting her), is not realistic or enjoyable long term, nor is it safe.
The background on Chili is that she is one of 3 Beagles we took on who were saved from the Envigo Research breeding facility, due to severe animal neglect and abuse. These sweet dogs (selected for Beagles being known to be sweet, tolerant dogs, as well as small size to be able to store as many as possible - over 4,000 were seized!) had never had any formal training or household pet expectancies, living their lives in crowded cages and kennels.
She is very sweet and eager to please, but has a lot more confidence building to do when it comes to learning about being a pet dog, as well as the playfully stubborn personality that can come with Beagles. One resulting challenge, is that she 95% doesn't listen to "Come", and the 5% she does is because she wanted to anyway, not necessarily that I feel she knows the expectancies of the command.
I decided to make and post this video, not only to shed some light on some tips for Recall (Come when called) training: use high value rewards - depending on dog, could be food, toys, or pets/massages; build confidence and positive association; start small and easy and with proper reinforcers to build many successful repetitions (here my "ease" factors are high value treats, and practicing short distances inside where she is more comfortable/likely to come - another tool to encourage good repetitions of commands is training onleash until your dog provides enough attention, understanding, and engagement to begin lessening leash use).
I also posted this because I wanted to talk about how easy it is to stop and take 5 minutes to practice something little a
Bodie from Wolf Creek Dog Rescue wishes everyone a Happy Thanksgiving (and of course all holidays to follow, because he is a very cheerful and merry fellow!)
As we move into holiday season, we'd like to bring those of you with STRANGER REACTIVE dogs both a TIP {and} a challenge this season:
Contain your dog safely and at as comfortable a distance from your guests and the main flow as possible (depending on your dog, this could be on leash, crated, or behind a dog gate, and could be 5, 10, 15 foot, or even out of view of people). Portion out an adequate and appropriate amount of treats that your dog sees as HIGH VALUE (in this case, meat like turkey😉, bacon, chicken, etc is generally a great choice), and arm your visitors with their own little portion. As visitors walk by or within tossing range of your dog, have them underhandedly and calmly toss your dog a piece of the meat (or cheese if your dog views it as top notch) with minimal engagement or other interaction from your guest(s).
WHY this helps in many situations: a majority of dogs react to strangers or visitors out of FEAR or UNCERTAINTY, which manifests as barking, growling, snipping, biting, lunging, etc. By arming your visitors and sending them by with nothing but good intentions to give A+ high value treats (calmly, quietly, non intrusively), we help our dog see a repeated pattern and answer of what this new scary thing is - a bringer of good things, not an intruder. The more people repeat this pattern while trying to keep stress on the dog minimal, the larger an understanding our dog gains that THIS person will probably feed me yummies, and THIS one, and THIS one, and anticipate this positive interaction with a stranger, rather than anticipating another uncomfortable, displaced encounter for both parties.
There's a lot more that goes into it though, especially as we fine tune and really work on overcoming the issue all together, which is where a firsthand trainer is more helpful than even the most
Archer has already had some introduction to Gentle Leader, so we went a little quick with putting it on and going...
But, a quick rundown on introducing a Gentle Leader in a manner that helps your dog understand and accept it in a positive way:
Open the loop (separate video coming on how the Gentle Leader sits and should be adjusted), and place a treat on the other side for your dog to eat after putting their nose in the loop.
As they get more comfortable, have a NUMBER of small treats or kibble in your hand, and feed them multiple treats to extend the time they keep their nose in the Leader (we add a "Break"! when done, so they wait for permission to remove their nose, rather than whenever they'd like).
As they keep their nose in longer, begin to set the loop on their nose.
As their comfort increases, work to buckling and unbuckling it briefly.
This may take one session, this may take a series of sessions over a week or so (tired, exercised dogs do better quicker) - progress moves at each dog's comfort level.
From there, we clip the leash under the chin, and begin to ask our dog to come to us as we back short distances away, treating when they come. Once dogs start walking, they may begin to try to paw, so creating constant motion with fluid communication keeps their brain more focused on us, than this new funny feeling.
Again, more later as we approach our post length limit! #dogtraining #obedience #obediencetraining #dog #dogs #southerncalifornia #germanshepherd #gsd #shepherd #puppy #puppies #husky #gentleleader
This happy little guy was struggling on walking nicely for mom, especially around kids and dogs.
Overall, he does well with walking with us, but he has a lot more room and stimulation (puppy friends about his age to play in multiple yards with!) at our boarding, which helps him to get energy out to be able to focus better. At home, walks are his main ability to get his energy out and stimulation needs fulfilled, which lands us in a snowball effect: wound up so hard/unenjoyable to walk, less walk/less shared enjoyment of walks, more energy built up to release on the next walk, on and on.
One major adjustment we made to help ensure his & mom's success, was fully introducing and getting him used to a GENTLE LEADER. When fitted and introduced properly (which we will be doing explanatory videos on soon!), this is a fabulous tool that greatly softens the lines of communication with our dog (no more leash yanks, and more like guiding a very small horse gently with subtle leash pressure and cues), enabling easier walking for owners - a great tool in situations with elder or very young family members/owners wanting to walk/train, moms who have hands full and a ton on their plate, and those with decreased strength or endurance for whatever reason.
With many dogs, a properly introduced and fit Gentle Leader also helps calm the overall dog down, reducing chaos and tension and increasing opportunity and focus for praise, pride, and treats during communication and training. I was told early on in my training introduction that the band at the back on the GL puts slight pressure on a pressure point on the back of the dog's head, creating a calming effect. I cannot speak to the validity of this, not being as versed to the pressure points and effects on dogs as I'd like to be (although I'd say I use more touch in my dog communication than many - such as strategic touch or massage to build trust or using a slight nudge to convey a need for a little more space, etc), but I have seen
Taryn here! Working on some shaping with Wink featuring Chibs 🥰 enjoy the impulsive, poorly framed, unedited video of Wink and Chibs learning together!
I’ve been seeing a lot of videos of other trainers using a station to teach a heel so I wanted to try it out and see how I felt about it!
This video is 7-10 minutes into a training session where Wink has not done this before.
I started shaping this Wink with using these steps
1-paw contacts the bowl
2- paw contacts top of bowl
3- weight on paw on top of bowl
4-two paws on bowl, one holding weight
5-both paws holding weight on top of bowl
The luring took a minute for me to finesse, but we ended the session with 3 consecutive trials meeting step 5 criteria!
I also want to point out that Chibs is REALLY good at a paw target, so while I’m not teaching him how to do this, he’s participating anyway and I want to reward his enthusiasm. Mostly though, I was rewarding him for sitting on the sidelines and giving Wink space! Maybe another day, I’ll make a video of how to work two dogs at once!
Tip Tuesday!!
It's going to be hot this week! I know my own dogs will be super bored so I've pulled out some free shaping ideas and we'll be using this to tire out my pups while we stay cool inside.
Free shaping is when you present your dog with a new thing (in my case, a book) and decide what you want them to do with it (touch it with their paws). You reward tiny steps from looking at or sniffing the object to the final goal. You'll need a solid marker word/clicker for this too! I use "yes" for my schnauzer Chibs and a clicker for Wink.
In the first clip, you can see Chibs stepping in to show Wink what to do (actually just to get treats but it's cute if I tell myself he's teaching Wink). Chibs is a free shaping pro. We've done free shaping for many skills and he picked up that I wanted him to touch the book with his paw after three rewards (off camera). This is the first time I've done free shaping with Wink and you can see he's struggling a little bit. The more you do this the faster the dogs get at picking up your patterns. For Wink I'm starting with any interaction with the book and I will change my reward criteria as he starts to pick up the patterns.
In the last clip you can see Wink is getting it and STOKED about it. I do want to add that I think towards the end he thought my hand was the target and not the book. Tomorrow we will try to fade out my pointing prompt.
I condensed it down, but in total I spent about 25 minutes working on this.
Adoptable Shepherd twins, Ember and Rose, hang out for puppy play time after one of our group classes on Sundays!
Hit up www.facebook.com/WolfCreekDogRescue for information on adopting one or both!
#dogtraining #obedience #obediencetraining #dog #dogs #southerncalifornia #germanshepherd #gsd #shepherd #puppy #puppies #cute
Yesterday's session working on her mild suspicion of new people in new places.
We had an older gentleman stop to watch, and to whistle to Attila to get her attention. Generally, this would be an unwanted engagement for a poor dog owner with a pup who was unsure and barked like Attila did, and we ask that others be considerate of those in training with their dog, or with a dog struggling to process their environment.
Fortunately, as trainers, this was a welcome distraction, and gave us an opportunity to show Attila that she can move herself away from anything uncomfortable to a safer distance to process and feel safe, and that smelling or looking at the scary thing to learn more about it without barking or having anxiety comes with SUPER HIGH VALUE REWARDS, and massage like pets and praise to reinforce confidence.
When working reactivity or uncertainty, our first focus is to catch the dog as soon as they acknowledge the scary thing and are deciding how to react, and show them a picture of "New thing = high value treats and really happy reassuring handler", as well as, "You can move yourself away to safety, and that is a good choice too". We don't ask too much obedience yet, as they're still struggling to process the scary thing. Once their brain is able to slow their "auto fire" reaction like barking, and question what a different action may be, THEN we can set to work establishing structure and routine with obedience commands to provide them compassionate guidance and the order they are looking for. We jokingly call ourselves Doggy Therapists, as our training focuses more heavily than many on finding out WHY the dog acts the way they do, and making our desired action THEIR desired action, and working with them to make it a healthy routine. 💜💎
#dogtraining #obedience #obediencetraining #dog #dogs #southerncalifornia #germanshepherd #gsd #shepherd #puppy #puppies #confidence #kindness
Kane Puppy Nose Play!
This adorable little guy has shown a fondness for using his nose (which can get pups in trouble sometimes!), so on our last fun training session we brought one of our puzzle toys and introduced the concept! :)
Mental stimulation is an important part of a dog's needs -- what do YOU do to give your dog mental stimulation?
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Shepherd vs Malinois
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Do you think this is accurate?
Akira - Ball Motivation!
A perfect representation of the fun we aim to bring to training! 💜💜💜
We had a BLAST with Akira the #australianshepherd today! Walking into the session I knew impulse control would be a factor of whatever we'd be working on with this whole-hearted little girl! Her awesome owner asked to address her getting so carried away barking at her ball as she "herds" it, due to the neighbor's complaints. This gave a great chance to practice the fun training and environment we love to build with dogs and owners using play and toys as both rewards and to find tune obedience!
IMPULSE CONTROL with Akira
Just working with one of our favorite pups to train with!!
Does your dog bound ahead of you on walks? Do they dash the front door or perimeter boundaries? Are they more "go" than you can match?
Our private and group classes all give you the fun and knowledge filled tools to address these issues and more!
Even better, we offer a free consultation for our trainers and potential client-dog teams to get to know each other and help decide what the best training plans and schedules are for each client and each need 💜💜💜
Here at Diamond Dogs, our two main focuses in training are client education and building a fun training bond with our dogs where they WANT to listen!!
Notice Bodie's attention and engagement increase when I got more upbeat, more fun, more attentive?
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Message us or text/call (951) 293-0293 for your free consultation! 💜
Did you know that dogs see certain pictures while training?
For example, most Sit or Down commands are asked with owner being within a 2 foot proximity to their dog, so this is the picture our dog sees and the picture they then hold onto to recreate.
What does that mean?!
It means... that when you ask your dog at a distance of 3 feet, 5 feet, etc, to "Sit/Down", they are most likely going to COME TO YOU first to close the distance and create the picture they've been taught: treat range proximity.
Here, Rodeo works on our more advanced concept of breaking that and practicing fluid longer distance position changes (Sit/Down), with the distraction of one of his favorite people now walking circles around him while taking video 🤣
Using different tools and methods to help our dogs breakthrough to this whole new understanding, we can teach our dogs to quickly and cleanly stop, sit, lay down, etc, across a football field even, on a dime!!
One of the crucial places this is beneficial is encounters with dangerous animals like offleash aggressive dogs, or a surprise Rattlesnake we stumbled on, where of course I would prefer my dog did NOT just come running to me happily... if I can effectively move and/or stop my dog at any distance, I know I am that much more prepared to handle and communicate with my canine companions in what could be dangerous, unplanned situations!
Just some light, fun training with Mako, a Malinois pup adopted from Wolf Creek Dog Rescue.
Generally, we always recommend doing any beginner level training with your pup leashed, as this helps create focus, boundaries, and the ability to help your dog complete the desired task as CLEANLY as possible, but as I was walking around, Mako was giving a LOT of focus, so we just played around. He did VERY well for an early training session!!!
Few things worth noting in this video - you will see when Mako jumps or I think he is going to jump, I sit him. If your dog jumps for strangers, treats, excitement, the BEST thing to do is [PREDICT THE BEHAVIOR], and to give your dog a sit command (direction) before they choose their own action, like the easy default "jump!" In this video, I was often REACTIVE, telling him to sit AFTER the jump, but for a cleaner, well trained dog, be PROACTIVE, predict the behavior, and help guide your dog to choose a more preferable behavior before they practice the non-desirable behavior.
Sit is also a great "Brake!" command, especially when we begin preparing dogs for OFFLEASH training, where we obviously can't tighten or tug a leash as they get ahead of us.
More work with Mako, and his walk will be beautiful. He is already giving me the basis here for teaching a Heel Walk (much more attention on me, keeping exact pace with mine, etc), whereas all I'm actually focusing on is a "Let's Go"/casual walk, where we just ask that the dog stay on one side, in *reasonable* proximity (instead of glued to us), and doesn't pull on the leash or impede the flow of the easy, enjoyable walk.
Please feel free to ask us any questions, or book your FREE consultation today to work on leash skills, social etiquette, offleash training, aggression management, or anything else your pup needs!! 💜💜💜
Working on leave treats, food, and toys on the ground alone and walking without focusing on other dogs!
#dogtraining #obedience #obediencetraining #dog #dogs #southerncalifornia
Bodie works public recall basics
Does your dog struggle with recall?
Try this!
Reese - unleashed walking & sit
Adoptable Reese works on his puppy obedience! This little 4 month old Malinois from Wolf Creek Dog Rescue is off to a great start!
We offer a variety of training and training methods with a positive reinforcement base to achieve a happy, attentive companion!
Check out our holiday discounts on group class ($150 instead of $200 for 8 weeks!) or private sessions ($35/session, usually 🌟💰💯‼️🌟 per session!)
