The Creative Canine

Rocco learning how to roll over 🥰 It was messy, chaotic and so much fun 😍 If you've got a floppy puppy, this trick is a breeze. . . #tricktraining #gsdofinstagram #germanshepherdsofinstagram #sablegermanshepherd #dogsofthe207 #mainelydogs #caninenenrichment

Rocco is working on his recall and disengagement from another dog. We have only done 3 very intentional sessions with this and he's nailing it! The long line and timing of recall helps to set him up for success. Before we started this work, he was not disengaging from Eider. Humans didn't exist. Rocco gets so much reinforcement from other dogs and the environment at large, so it's going to take a lot of consistent work over time. ✨ 💙🐶 . . . #gsdofinstagram #caninenenrichment #dogsofthe207 #mainelydogs #gsd #germanshepherdsofinstagram #germanshepherd #sablegermanshepherd #blackgermanshepherd #recalltraining #trainingdayiseveryday #maketrainingfun

Hank said a little rain never bothered him! . .

Percy and Rosie are both working on muzzle training! Percy is at the stage of getting him to want to put his snoot in his muzzle and Rosie is building duration with it on her snoot! Both of these sweet pups experience some reactivity and aggression out in the world. Both of their humans are working hard to help them feel more comfortable while out n about in conjunction with muzzle training them for everyone's safety! These combined skills will help Percy and Rosie have the most enriched dog days 🥰💙 . . #muzzle #muzzletraining #muzzleddogsaregooddogs #muzzleupproject #muzzleup #caninenenrichment #dogdays #mainelydogs #dogsofthe207 #corgi #corgiofinstagram #gsd #gsdofinstagram #herdingdog

Adventure outings aren't just a free for all for us. I build in training while positively reinforcing desired behavior. We start with gaining a level of engagement and calmness when we get to the trails and then we move to some simple enrichment exercises that really get the pups connected to me. After we've established that, they are given agency to do what they want during their romp (as long as it's safe). I heavily reinforce auto check-ins and recall. 🐕 I am very particular about who gets to be off-leash. Dogs must have a solid, reliable recall. They must be able to recall from distractions and play. This is for everyone's safety. We have the most fun when everyone is safe and operating from a place of productive arousal. 💙 . .

Evening enrichment with Eider to top off the day 🥰 We're hitting a few different skills here while playing fetch. He's engaging with me, thinking about the tricks I'm asking him to do, getting physical exercise in and using his nose to find the ball in the tall grass. ✅, ✅ and ✅. I love working these dogs in a multitude of ways within the same activity as long as they enjoy it. It makes meeting their needs easier on the days I am running low on energy. . .

Winnie is such a fun little dog to work with! She's so eager to learn and is quick to do so! She's been learning tricks, building confidence, working super well around distractions (her pal Eider) and much more. Little gal is well on her way to doing big things 🥰 . .

Hank has been working on "around" in his Tricks Enrichment Package and it has really developed over the last two weeks! He really loves to learn new things. Teaching him tricks is a great way to meet his enrichment needs making a happy and more relaxed dog for the day. Plus, look at how much fun he's having! ✨

Wonder what the Tricks Enrichment Package looks like? A little like this 🥰 Hank and Rosie's freestyle foundation is coming together nicely!!!

Lotti is really improving on controlling her impulses through exercises of taking turns with Eider. We've been working her way up the arousal ladder starting with treats and moving to play. Sweet Lotti has come such a long way from when I first started working with her over a year ago. She couldn't be within 20ft of another dog without absolutely losing her head out of excitement and frustration. A lot like Eider when I first got him at 6 months of age. . .

Hank, Lotti and Eider working with some patterns to come when they each hear their name. . .