Are you incorporating play into your training with your dog. If you aren't, why not? One of the quickest ways to build a bond with your dog is through play. One of the best ways I know to break up monotony in training is to play with the dog.
Unplanned socialization event with Roxie... we had planned to work on leash skills, but our timing put us on the street at the same time the garbage truck came. Turned out to be the perfect opportunity to cover a couple of bases. 1. to let Roxie experience the big noise and big movement without any big emotions. 2. to encourage engagement even during the noisy, potentially distracting event.
It was clear as the truck was coming up the street that she was curious, not concerned about the truck. we took advantage of her response and played some engagement games with the goal of maintaining relevance even in the middle of a big-ish event.
with an exercise like this it's important to keep the session brief in order to capture that excitement and minimize the possibility of her becoming concerned about the truck. Good solid sessions are important now. Duration and endurance will be important later.
Goofing around with lil D'Artagnan
Young Roxie’s first day at camp! The first order of business is to help her settle in and feel at home. We start off with a little walk in Roxy’s case and take advantage of the work her people have done to encourage engagement. She is going to be a fun dog to work with!
Early stages of recall work (come when called) with Strauss. Low distraction, long line and rewards are the first step in a reliable recall.