working that recall! đŞ #dogtraining #puppytraining #recalltraining #goldenretriever #goldenretrieverpuppy
let đ them đ sniff! đ the leash is loose and bonnie is calmly sniffing so i give her as much time as she wants to do so. i mark and reward when she stops sniffing the bush, not because i am trying to discourage the sniffing behavior (which is being reinforced by the environment anyway) but because i want her to know that checking back in with me will always be rewarded #puppytraining #dogtraining #positivereinforcement #reinforcementbasedtraining #goldenretriever #leashwalking #letthemsniff
1, 2, 3!
Letâs talk pattern games!! Patterns are predictable and safe! Dogs learn that they can control when the pattern starts and they know exactly what the outcome will be.
The 1, 2, 3 pattern comes from Leslie McDevittâs Control Unleashed (which I cannot recommend enough!) and it goes like this: First, teach the dog that âThree!â means a yummy treat will appear. Say âthree!â and feed, repeat several times, then âtwo, three!â and finally âone, two, three!â
As you can see in this video, King chooses to move closer to me when he hears the beginning of the pattern, because he knows what happens next and he wants to be nearby to get his treat!
This pattern is helpful for: loose leash walking, increasing focus, managing reactive dogs to move past triggers when increasing distance is not an option, and more!
Needless to say there has been a lot going on in the King Canine household this year!! We have been pretty quiet but there are some exciting announcements upcoming, so stay tuned!!
In the meantime, here is Maggie practicing stationing and relaxing on her bed while me and my very helpful assistant fold laundry. đ
#dogtraining #dogsandbabies #dogandbabysafety #positivereinforcementdogtraining #snackleader
Angel has made great progress!! She has learned to keep slack in the leash and that it pays (in chicken!) to check in with her mom. Way to go!
#looseleash #positivereinforcement #rewardyourdog
Yâall, I have a confession to make. I am far from perfect, and so are my dogs.
I spend my days coaching dog guardians on how to handle their dogs and I work a lot with reactivity. I have helped teams make AMAZING progress and I am proud of that!
King is pretty highly reactive to other dogs, and if you have worked with me then you probably know that. He is still teaching me, and I expect he will keep teaching me for the rest of his life.
But yesterday I caught this awesome moment âin the wildâ where we spotted an adorable Mini Schnauzer in the distance.
Like many of my clients with barky lunge-y dogs, I started to panic. I called his name even though I knew he wouldnât hear it. I cued a behavior (âFind it!â) that I knew he couldnât do.
I was preparing for the explosion, but it didnât come. What I saw in reviewing this video was the moment I took a breath, and intentionally slackened the lead, ignoring my impulse to tighten up and attempt to reel in my dog, an act that almost certainly would have tipped him over the edge.
Part of that action is accepting that the reaction may occur as I give up any perceived âcontrolâ and figuratively let go. On this particular occasion, King made a better choice.
Progress looks different for every dog and human team, but if youâre hoping to make some, visit my website today and find out how I can help.
#reactivedog #reactivedogtraining #barkylungey #longline #rewardbasedtraining #dogtraining #positivereinforcementtraining #celebratethesmallthings
This is what training looks like for us these days. Here I am conditioning King to be calm around the baby. King loves the tiny human and likes to investigate her, which she is not a great fan of, so I want to teach him to give us space during floor time.
This is the end of our session where he really began to relax. I began by marking and rewarding any hesitation in moving toward the blanket, any movement backwards, moving away from her after sniffing, sitting, laying down, et cetera. It is amazing how many good behaviors our dogs offer that may go unnoticed.
I did not cue or lure any behavior, however, I did toss treats away to keep him from creeping closer.
There are lots of ways to work on calm behavior using positive reinforcement. Many dogs will require more management in the beginning but King is used to similar exercises.
If you need help getting your pup to chill out, visit out website! Link in bio!
#positivereinforcementtraining #dogtraining #calmdog #dogsandbabies
A little snippet from my training session with Kiki the pitty đ
This is our 11th session of practice. We began with a life-sized fake dog, and worked up to practicing with a real dog. Kiki has come such a long way and it has been such a pleasure watching her progress thanks to the hard work of her guardians!
#dogtraining #positivereinforcement #forcefree #fearfree #engagedisengage
BODY HANDLING. This is a super important skill, and something that is all too frequently missed when we think of puppy socialization. It is something that I admit I did not spend enough energy on as I raised King from puppyhood. Ultimately, if our dogs are comfortable with being touched, handled, restrained, and enduring regular grooming and veterinary procedures, it will improve their quality of life. And they donât come pre-wired that way!
The exercise I am doing here is ideal for puppies, and dogs with no or minor body handling concerns. This is not a complete counterconditioning and desensitization program. Dogs with severe and/or long standing struggles with handling, grooming, and veterinary procedures benefit from cooperative care training, ask me to find out more!
I simply touch a body part and then offer a treat. I began the session with just touching his ears and gradually moved to lifting them up, toward the end of the session I started to touch the side of his muzzle which is more challenging for him than handling his ears. My goal will be to lift his lip in future sessions.
The real key in this type of work is to listen to your dog. If at any point they pull away, you have moved through the process too quickly. Of course this training is best done when your dog is feeling calm. I did not cue King to lie down here, he chose to on his own.
If your dog has body handling sensitivities, from moderate to severe, reach out today!
TAKE A BREATH! To say breathing is important is an understatement, but the function of putting it on cue is to do for our dogs exactly what a deep breath can do for us. Relax, take a step back, calm down. Focus on the breath and outside triggers can melt away, if only for a few seconds.
I am currently working my way through Leslie McDevittâs book Control Unleashed: Reactive to Relaxed. This is the first time King and I have practiced the âtake a breathâ exercise. I am taking a deep breath myself as I want that to serve as a cue for him down the line, then I hold a treat near his nose and I give him the treat when I see him inhale. It is easiest for me to just watch his nostrils. I am not using a marker here (though I do offer some verbal praise), I simply give him the food.
#controlunleashed #takeabreath #dogtraining #rewardbaseddogtraining #positivereinforcement
Hereâs Clemente learning Leslie McDevittâs Super Bowls pattern game. Clemente initiates the pattern by looking up at his mom, which causes her to move forward and place food on the next target. This pattern builds value in proximity and orientation toward his person and the target tells him where he is going next, which helps him to remain calm because he knows what to expect. This is an important lesson because Clemente is very easily over stimulated by the environment outside his home and yard. This is his first time playing this game. Great job Clemente and Rena!
(Clemente lives with an adorable and slightly dramatic Beagle who can be heard in the background. Donât worry, heâs just fine!)
#dogtraining #positivereinforcement #postiviereinforcementtraining #bassetbleudegascogne #clickertraining #forcefree
Look at Winnie go!!! This handsome boy is only 6 months old and already on his way to a great recall!! Does your dog come when you call them? If not, I can help! Shoot me a DM or an email to get started! #forcefree #dogtraining #positivereinforcement
This is an easy way to train calmness and stationing while you work from home, watch tv, or even eat dinner! And by using my dogsâ regular food I am not adding extra calories and can reinforce them as often as I need to. If your dog is new to relaxing on a bed, you may need to reward them more frequently to increase duration. Iâm not aiming for âobedienceâ here, if my dog gets up and approaches me, I toss food back to the bed. If they wander off to do something else, I let them and if they choose to return to the bed I reward the choice. #dogtrainingtips #forcefree #positivereinforcement #ditchthebowl #relaxonamat
Letâs talk flirt pole! If you have worked with me in any capacity then you have definitely heard me song its praises. It may be my favorite dog toy ever. 10 minutes of this and Kingy is out for an hour or two.
Here are some top tips:
â˘Keep the toy on or near the ground. We want to keep jumping up to a minimum as that can cause injury.
â˘Avoid creating sharp turns that may cause your dog to slip.
â˘The flirt pole is not meant for tugging. You can see me tug a little with King in the video but I am holding onto the toy rather than letting him pull to the end of the rope.
â˘If your dog does not have a cue to drop the toy, try trading for food, or if they like to tug, have a backup toy in your pocket that you can pull out to get them to switch from the flirt pole to that toy, then you can easily go back and forth (I will try to take a video of this technique soon).
â˘Asking for simple behaviors before releasing the toy can be great for keeping their arousal level low and using the play as reinforcement, however, if your dog is new to the game donât ask for too much.
If you have questions or need some troubleshooting, let me know in the comments!
#dogtraining #enrichment #flirtpole #playwithyourdog #positivereinforcement
