Teaching an off leash heel is a matter of allowing choice, reinforcement and a solid relationship. Naiche hasn't done a lot of practice with her heel off leash (which is taught on the right side because all of my other dogs are taught on the left, and it's starting to get a little uneven...) So we just did some work on the trail this weekend. This done consistently will result in a solid behavior from any dog. The secret is being consistent!
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#forcefreedogtraining #forcefreetrainer #irwindogtraining #offleashdogs #heelwork
I get contacted often about distractions. I get told often about distractions.
"My dog is distracted by squirrels in the park and won't listen."
"My dog gets off leash and is distracted by everything!"
"My dog can't listen when someone comes to the door!"
All of these things are labeled as distractions, things that pull our dog's focus from the task at hand, and trigger a behavior, often an undesirable one. But are they distractions?
This past weekend I spent 12 hours a day locked to my computer learning from some brilliant minds in the world of animal training and behavior. I was presented with a particular presentation that has triggered (no pun intended) a paradigm shift in how I think of distractions. Instead of distractions being something we have to 'fight against' it's beneficial to our training plan, and our approach in keeping them from becoming a problem to view them instead as a part of an Antecedent -- Behavior -- Consequence sequence. And in that, I am able to view the 'distraction' for what it is; an antecedent presented that cues a specific (mostly undesirable) behavior. In that lens I can very clearly see the path forward for the dogs and clients in my charge. No more distractions, only cues!
This morning while taking my four personal dogs on a hike through the desert we had a moment with a coyote. I heard the coyote calling before I knew where it was, the dogs pointed him out to me. I've seen coyotes out here before it's a great place to hunt for them. So I am not surprised he was there just startled he was so close this morning. He yipped and called and I recalled my dogs to me and leashed Branch. Branch is my most gregarious dog. He is most likely to shake hands, kiss babies and ask you to vote for him for president. So I took The Win at his recall and leashed him. The others I merely told them we weren't going to engage. They abandoned the coyote on his hill and followed me down the trail. None of these dogs have ever worn a shock collar. My female lab has been used in anti-predation patrols in her youth. My rez dog was born feral. Mangos has a sky high prey drive for any squeaky/yippy/running thing. Branch will introduce himself to anyone. All 4 recalled and followed along with out incident. Shock collars are never necessaey to teach dogs or protect dogs they only serve human laziness and inexperience.
#forcefreetraildogs #dogtraining #forcefreetraining #forcefreedogtraining #dogtrainer #travelingdogtrainer #dogadvice
"Dogs do speak, but only to those who listen." - orhan Pamuk. I was setting up to work on something else but Teddy (the cream colored poodle) insisted on playing fetch with his favorite toy first. So we did. Listening to dogs only requires that we pay attention.
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#forcefreedogtraining #dogtraining #forcefreetraildogs #dogadvice #dogtraining #
Five minutes. I literally spent five minutes shaping this behavior from 6 month old Cypress. Cypress was rescued from a hoarding/abandonment situation. We met yesterday afternoon. And in just a few minutes of work he was offering a heel behavior in a high stimulis environment (we were in a stadium prepping to meet touring crews.) Not once was any kind of aversive required. Leash skills don't need heavy handed tools to be taught.
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#forcefreedogtraining #dogtraining #rescuedog #lakelowellanimalrescue
Recall should not be about calling the dog away from something. It should be about calling the dog towards something. Towards you. Towards reinforcement. Towards engagement. When we train a dog to have a reliable off leash recall force free you're ensuring a strong reinforcement history and a desire for the dog to comply because they are seeking! #forcefreetraining
One of the best things we can do when our dogs ask for something ...is acknowledge it. #forcefreedogtraining #dogtrainer #dogtrainingtips
Learning is always fun around here. #forcefreedogtraining
The whistle recall is one of my favorites and I teach it to any dog who is going to be off leash in th be wilderness. #forcefreedogtraining
I wanted to talk about something I don’t see discussed enough in dog and animal training spaces, and that is the concept of failing.
A common thread with guardians and professionals that I see is this idea of fearing failure. They are stumped, or fearful of going forward in teaching something because they are afraid of messing up. In many people this can slow progress, or even paralyze it. And at worst it can actually prevent us from discovering something beautiful and amazing.
Any time I find myself uncertain if I can pull off what I am trying to do, I think about this Theodore Roosevelt quote. In it he discusses that those who fear failure will never reach their dreams because it is only people who dare to try, who are unafraid to fail, that actually achieve that actually move mountains.
Some of my greatest discoveries in training are a byproduct of simply trying to teach something new. And often times that involved failing to reach what I assumed was my desired goal. If I had a single life motto, something you could distill down for an epitaph it would be; “Let’s see what happens.”
Training an animal, any animal, is a practice of science and discovery. And much of both of those things are accidental, they are an unexpected side effect, or a surprising result. So when I am training I try to view everything I do from a lens of experimentation. I am merely a (sometimes mad) scientist trying things out to see what happens.
Most of you who have followed my page for a while have heard the story of the duck. What some might not know is that prior to working with Diablo, I had very little experience teaching ducks. And I had never worked with a Muscovy (who are a particularly peculiar type of duck.) But when I got the call asking if I could resolve the issue the knee jerk reaction from my Imposter Syndrome was “how the hell could I?” But the truth is I know a lot about animal behavior, not just dogs and horses or even cats (the three primary species
Flow exercises are those that use a mind + body approach to create a flow of movement that helps bring those Extra dogs down and provide a physical enrichment that also lowers arousal.
Is your dog one of those Ober the top energizer bunnies? Is he Extra? We can help.
#forcefreedogtraining
Foundations of a solid recall begins always with teaching a dog to orient to me when I say their name. #forcefreedogtraining
