Take a day trip with Letty and I📚Letty is here for a refresher while her owner is out of town! She’s always been a sensitive soul and can get overwhelmed by the comings and goings of the world! Day trips to quiet spots like these are great opportunities to show her the world! Where is your favorite quiet place to practice with your dog? #dogtraining #dogtrainingbooks #dogtrainer #realworlddogtraining #dogtrainingisfun #reactivedogtraining #reactivedog #seattle #seattlelife #seattledogs #seattledog #dogsofpnw #bookstagram #book #bookstore
Did you know we can teach our dogs HOW to learn?
Today we’re learning to shape with Kilogram! Kilo’s had no formal training before and is establishing skills with us!
Training formal behaviors is productive but conceptual learning is my favorite way to start puppies! Understanding luring, capturing, and shaping are all important skills our dogs can use to make long term training easier later!
In these videos we’re shaping Kilogram to put her face in a muzzle voluntarily!
Shaping uses context cues and specific rewards of successful approximations to build new skills!
There are some big benefits when it’s done right! There’s no prompts to fade, it can help break down training impasses, build independence and confidence, and build stronger more reliable skills than other methods!
Though there are plenty of benefits it’s not always the most efficient method of training. It requires control over the environment, good marker timing, specific reward placement, and fair criteria adjustments! Make sure you have a trainer around to help you start this skill!
In this post you’ll see Kilo at the very start of this process! First learning that exploring the bowl gets rewarded, then learning that putting her face in the bowl gets her treats! From there we changed to a mug that more closely resembles the tighter fit a muzzle will have. After that was an easy choice we transitioned to offering her nose into a muzzle!
This behavior is far from finished (still waiting on the Kilo-sized muzzle to come in!) but is well on its way and she’s understanding the concept better each session!
Reach out today and nerd out on conceptual dog training today!
Brewery Skills with Chester the Chow Chow!
Chet came to us for a Board and Train after getting rescued from a tough situation! He had lots of big feelings about people and dogs in his space, a bite history, and zero desire to work for food! Chet was very under-socialized and after showing him the world is a safe space he came right out of that shell and started making much better choices.
We made huge progress on all of those fronts during his Board and Train and reconnected with his owners earlier this summer to expand on those now easy skills they’ve kept up with! Our new goal was to make acclimation and application of these new skills easier in busy places like breweries !
Those skills include -
- Polite ways to solicit attention from people!
- Settling around busy activity, like people and dogs in close proximity!
- Polite Greeting skills with new people that don’t involve jumping!
I’m so happy with how far Chester has come since I first met him and know him and his owners are so much happier they can enjoy outings like these together!
Sport Puppy Foundations with Yakira (Kiki)!
KiKi spent a couple of weeks with us to jumpstart her future dog sports career! Though our sport foundations training is customized to each puppy’s goals and needs, things like offering attention and happy traveling are always needed!
One of the sports Kiki’s owner plans on doing is French Ringsport, one of the very same sports demo dogs Caicos and Kosovo do! French Ringsport is complex, with varying aspects of obedience, jumping, and protection. Easily switching between toys, practicing offering attention around distractions, and multiple marker systems will all set KiKi up for long term success!
During her visit we worked on -
- Functional toy play skills like switching between toys for fast conflict-free rewards!
- Offering attention around distractions at home and in public!
- Building a multiple marker system to clearly communicate during our training!
- Body awareness games that help to encourage self preservation and practice proprioception!
- Happy crating and settling skills in new places like dog trials and training facilities!
- Enrichment and exposure opportunities to promote happy confident feelings towards novelty!
Multiple marker systems are where we get a little crazy! A marker is the cue to our dogs that we liked their last behavior and a reward is coming! A multiple marker system breaks that down even more by having multiple cues that clarify where the reward will be delivered, if they should keep going or are done, and even what kind of reward is coming! These will always be specific to our individual teams and should aim to clarify our communication!
Yakira is wicked smart, a bundle of enthusiasm, and absolutely something special! It’s already been so much fun watching her grow and I can’t wait to see what she accomplishes when she grows up!
What’s more floppy? His leash or his wrinkles? 🐾 Training alumni Rocky came to visit while his owners went out of town! When we first met he had a bite record and a determination to drag people down the street to attack cars! Nowadays it’s all fancy footwork and easy walking with this wrinkly guy! #bulldog #dogtraining #washington
Letty the Cattle Dog! ✨
Letty is doing so well with her reactivity work with dogs and people, we’re now preparing for her Canine Good Citizenship test!
Here she’s practicing the “Reaction to Dog” test item, which involves holding a sit near a dog while her owner and I shake hands!
Great work Letty!
Moose!
Moose is preparing to test for his Canine Good Citizenship next month! Here he is practicing ignoring distractions!
Did you know?
True North Dog Training offers Canine Good Citizen (CGC) Training and Tests!
The CGC is a ten-skill training program that’s open to all dogs that focuses on teaching the basics of good manners, instilling the values of responsible ownership, and strengthening the bond between you and your dog at home and out in the community!
The skills -
- Sitting Politely for Petting
- Walking on a Loose Leash
- Walking through a Crowd
- Coming when Called
- Sit, Down, and Stay
- And More!
Beyond bonding, the CGC does have some benefits! The CGC title is a prerequisite for many therapy dog certifications, as well as a great introduction to more advanced dog sports and activities!
Some homeowners’ insurance programs even offer discounts for CGC dogs, and an increasing number of apartments and condos see CGC awards as a major bonus for becoming a resident!
If you are interested in training for or testing for the CGC contact us today at TrueNorthDogTraining.com
Happy Training!
#akc #americankennelclub #cgc #caninegoodcitizen #training #dogtraining #dogtrainer #dogtrainers #seattledogs #seattledogtrainer #pnw #washington #washingtonstate #bothell #bellevue #seattle #labsofinstagram #labrador
Rocky the Bulldog!
Rocky’s finished his first week of his Board and Train with us! We’ve been working on Loose Leash Walking and Disengaging when we see dogs!
We spent our first few days playing engagement games and establishing a relationship, then he was ready to learn!
His stamina for training is also improving as he’s realizing how much fun we can have! Here he’s doing an awesome job practicing passing dogs and choosing to offer attention instead!
Way to go Rocky!
#bulldog #englishbulldog #bulldogsofinstagram #bulldogtraining #rewardbasedtraining #dogtraining #dogtrainingadvice #dogtrainers #seattle #washingtondogs #bothelldogtrainer #pnwpups
A Trigger Trifecta for Elphie today🐾
Miss Elphie had her monthly “Check-In” lesson today! Elphie and her owners have great training mechanics and are doing so well we transitioned to monthly lessons. Our goal for these lessons is to appropriately expand on the difficulty of Elphie’s reactivity work!
Today we encountered all three of Elphie’s biggest trigger at the same time, dogs, skateboarders, and strangers that appear with no warning. Not only did she not react, she was easily redirected and deciding offering attention is far more fun! Her owners are doing such a great job with their practice and Elphie has made such huge strides in her training, watching her confidence and comfort grow has been awesome!
Way to go Miss Elphie! ✨🌸
#seattle #dogtraining #dogtrainer #seattledogs #seattledog #bordercollie #bordercolliesofinstagram #rewardbasedtraining #greenlake #greenlakeseattle #wallingford #bellevue #bellevuewa #seattlewashington #shoreline #pnw #pnwdogs #pnwdogsofinstagram
Charlie rocking those “Leave It’s”! 👏🏼✨
When Charlie hit his adolescence he developed a really bad habit of stealing garbage off the ground on walks! His favorites include mulch, sticks, and rocks. He often will choose those over treats too!
When we first started working on this we used less enticing items. After establishing that groundwork we begin generalizing and look at this boy go! No more garbage-eating Charlie!
Way to go buddy!!✨👏🏼
#dogtraining #dogtrainer #dogtrainingtips #seattledogtraining #seattle #bellevue #bothell #kirkland #millcreek #positivereinforcementdogtraining #positivereinforcement #sciencebasedtraining #washingtonstate #washington #mixbreedsofinstagram #mixbreeddog #dogtrainerslife #dogtrainingvideo
Homer’s Loose Leash Walking!
Homer’s showing off his Loose Leash Walking skills! 🐾
For being a blind puppy with no training just a couple of weeks ago to this awesome boy who loves to learn is so amazing!
Way to go Homer!!👍🏼
Lulu the Miniature American Shepherd! ✨
Lulu and her four other canine housemates are all working towards their AKC Trick Titles! A couple of them are already working on some advanced tricks like “Jump into Arms” and “Hold”!
Lulu is starting “Bow” here! For Bow I like to lure between their front legs towards the ground! The second we see elbows starting to bend we reward! When rewarding Bow it’s important to move your treat away from your dog instead of feeding in position. That way they don’t end up laying down instead!
Trick Titles are awesome goals for us to work towards with our dogs! They give us a check list of tricks to use for training inspiration, providing social enrichment for us and our dogs, and just having fun! Training is notoriously stressful, I believe everyone would benefit by having something else to work on when our usual training just feels like too much and we need a break!
We are also an AKC Trick Dog Evaluator, which means we can do testing for anyone! ✨
#trickdog #trickdogs #trickdogsofinstagram #minatureamericanshepherd #mas #aussiesofinstagram #miniaussie #miniaussiesofinstagram #miniaussiepuppy #dogtraining #dogtrainer #trickdogtraining #sciencebasedtraining #rewardsbasedtraining #seattle #washington #washingtonstate #bothell #bothellwa #bellevue #kirkland #millcreek #shoreline #pnw #pnwlife #pnwadventures
Miss Elphie working on her Recall!
Miss Elphie working on her Recall!
Recall games are a great way to exercise our dogs and practice training at the same time!
Elphie is playing two different games here! One where I send her away from me and recall her back, and in the other I move away from her and recall her from a new spot! You can tell she loves these games and even gets the zoomies when we play together!
These games are quick to set up, easy to manage, and can also take the place of a walk! When both the owners and the dog are having fun, training becomes more effective and more likely to get practiced!
Our training should never feel like a chore. If we’re struggling to designate time to our training, break it down into smaller pieces! Five minutes of training is better than none, and if we do that three times that’s fifteen minutes of practice! That’s how much I recommend we practice everyday anyways!
If our dog is struggling and it leads to us being frustrated, perhaps our criteria is too high! We should consult with our trainer to adjust our training plan, or see if there’s a piece we’re missing. Setting up appropriately difficult scenarios can be hard to manage, contact a trainer today for help!
Now go play with your dog! 🐾
#seattle #seattledogs #seattledogtraining #washingtondogs #pnw #pnwdogs #pnwdogsofinstagram #dogtraining #dogtrainer #recalltraining #positivereinforcementtraining #positivereinforcementdogtraining #sciencebasedtraining #bordercollie #dogsofinstagram #dogtraining
Focused Walking with Hanz 🐾
Focused Walking with Hanz the Dachshund! 🐾
Here we’re working on our focused walking with Hanz! Focused walking is a great skill to have in our repertoire in situations where we need to navigate more distracting places!
Casual walking is our usual walking around a neighborhood, where as long as the leash is loose and we’re not tripping over our dogs, we’re happy!
Focused walking is a different skill! Focused walking is something I will use when passing distractions, or entering and exiting dog friendly places! Focused walking is “turn your attention to me and stay right next to me while we navigate this place”!
For Hanz his casual walking is great around the neighborhood, but now that his reactivity practice is going well he is venturing into tougher environments!
Here we’re working with a line up of distractions, everything from dog toys to stinky treat bags! Practicing our new focused walking skill around some very tempting distractions!
Having these new skills is going to help Hanz and his owner venture to these new places successfully and comfortably!
Great Work Hanz! 💙🦴
#dachshund #dachshundsofinstagram #dachshundoftheday #dachshundtraining #reactivedog #reactivetrainingsystems #reactivedogsunite #dogtraining #dogtrainer #dogtrainingadvice #positivereinforcement #positivereinforcementtraining #sciencebasedtraining #rewardbasedtraining #seattle #seattlewashington #millcreek #snohomish #bellevue #shoreline #redmond #pnw #pnwpups
