Murphee strengthening his impulse control by staying in a Down and waiting to be released to retrieve the ball!!! Murphee’s absolute favorite thing is to retrieve. This takes a lot of control for him to stay in command while I throw the ball. He has progressed nicely with this exercise!!! It’s a great way for him to learn to control his excitement for a great reward. Nice job buddy!
Working with Murphee off-leash! I wanted to see where his engagement is and how responsive to commands he would be. He did great with staying with me, checking in and coming when called! He needed a little help going into Down but responded great to verbal guidance. We will start with adding distractions and increasing excitement levels. Nice job Murph!
Despite the puddles and mud and occasional down pours we are still working! Elke is doing amazing with her off-leash recall with high distraction. Great job!
Shenanigans and recall training before the rain! Elke is doing a great job with her “come” command with high distractions.
Elke doing an amazing job working on her recall command off leash with Josie as a distraction. We stopped during our morning Walk to have a little off-leash session. She did an amazing job. Very responsive! Josie of course did great too! Josie gets grumbly vocal and her play style isn’t for every dog, Elke did well with her for the brief romp! Fabulous Job Elke!!
Elke has progressed to off-leash recall training! She is quite enjoying being completely off-leash. 😆 She is a very playful pup. You can see that she responds very well to her come when called command. She responds quickly and with enthusiasm even when playing. I have also been doing some Down commands as well. This is helping her strengthen her response following a command when a bit excited, strengthening her impulse control. I will be slowly building on her distraction and excitement levels responding to her recall command. She is progressing very nicely.
Miss Elke working on her recall and doing a great job!!! I have been ecollar conditioning her and have started transitioning her to off the longline. While off property she is still attached to the longline and with minimal distractions. On property we have begun doing a small amount of recall with no distractions off the longline. She is doing really well!!
Elke’s progress on her leash skills and Walk command. She is doing nicely learning the Walk command; being in a loose heel, being focused and engaged. She is still learning an automatic Sit when stopped but is also learning to follow leash pressure more and more every day. She has also done a fabulous job following the Down command while on a Walk and with some distractions! Nice job girl!
Teaching your dog how to walk on a leash makes your walks so much more enjoyable! Your dog knowing what’s expected when a leash is attached and how it helps guide them is paramount to their well being. Good leash walking skills with rules and boundaries, helps build your relationship with every walk you take. *I do not recommend putting handles on your arm like I am in this video. It can be potentially dangerous. I am for this video because it is my two personal dogs with years of established relationship and leash skills.
I’ve been doing a little refresher training with these two goofballs. Recall work has been a top priority. Winnie has been doing a fantastic job! Mowgli is doing well initially but he has trouble making it all the way to me. He usually comes when called with minimal help, but then tends to want to get side tracked. I am working on him coming when called but I am also enforcing him coming all the way to me and sitting within arms reach. He is doing well and responding well to guidance when given. They are also having tons of fun! They are both goofballs and have BIG personalities and are a lot of fun to work with. Especially Winnie who is extremely intelligent.
Off-Leash shenanigans with my girls! Even though my pups are older they still need their brains exercised and thrive from it. It’s also important to keep up with their commands! No matter the dogs age you have to keep using your training and sometimes even specifically work on a command that has weakened or being tested. But it’s also fun!
Winnie and Mowgli joined me at the beach early this morning for some fun!!!!! With training comes privileges and off-leash shenanigans!!!! They both did an excellent job checking in with me often, coming when called and continuing in the right direction when told “let’s go”! They needed a little help with leave-it with a few jellyfish on the beach, but it’s not often they encounter so many different things. That’s why training is great; gives you the communication and tools to handle situations that may arise. So much fun with these two!!!!
LOVE my new training bag and of course the shoulder holster bags! If you are looking for a training bag and one that is functional, durable and attractive; look at Wet Bisous. Pick out your own patterns and colors! Best out there and Sandra is fabulous to work with!!!
Penny had her most challenging training trip this morning. We had an errand in Mt. Pleasant and went to a park and worked on her recall and then walked a bit around the neighborhood and past a playground. She did an excellent job with her recall with all the squirrels and seeing a few people in the distance. She was very excited so we threw in a few Down-stays, varying in duration. During our structured Walk she was very excited but still was able to stay in position and stop and Sit when stopped. However she was very distracted looking around and searching for something fun to chase. Enough of her focus was on the command and me to follow command and my body movement. But she still has growth in this area! It will come in time and with more exposure. I am incredibly proud with how well she did overall! She has come a long way that she can be off-leash in this type of environment and capable of following commands!!!!
Impulse control work with Penny! Birds are a big distraction for Penny and we have been working on her controlling her impulses as well as breaking her fixation on them. Here she is in a Down-Stay and we are pretty much surrounded by geese eating grass. There was also a few people who walked passed us with dogs. She does extremely well as you can see on this video looking at me when she sees a dog. Anytime she breaks looking at the birds/dogs and focuses on me, she receives a treat. This is helping her learn to not fixate on the birds or other distractions. She is progressing very well! But impulse control, especially with a high trigger, will need constant work. You want to think of impulse control as a muscle, if you don’t keep it strong it becomes weak. Resulting in no control of excitement or even actions when triggered. Keep those impulses strong!!! Fantastic job Penny! ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Place command is a very useful command and tool for dogs. Penny has difficulty being calm, most especially when activities and exciting things are happening. She has done well learning the Place command and being calm. Gradually I have been adding distractions and daily human activities to this command. This work on her impulse control and capabilities of being g calm and thinking more clearly. Her over excitement when she first arrived had her anxious and sometimes frantic with the smallest excitement or environmental stimulation. With her learning better enforced calm on a routinely basis, this will allow her, when ready, to slowly have more and more privileges and choices. Guidance when needed with the communication and training we’ve been learning and helping her monitor her excitement level. When her excitement gets too high we can slow her down and calm her with some of the commands she has been learning; like Place!
Here she is on Place while I am occupied cleaning and the new arrivals of Cauli and Baxter wandering around. They are pros at knowing the rules and ropes of the house and have more privileges then my trainees. 😜 I am very proud of Penny remaining calm. She did need some help not being vocal (she is learning not to demand bark, whine and grumbly sigh)
Recall work with high distraction! Both pups like to play rambunctiously, being able to call them to come and/or calm them down with a Down-Stay is a must!!! Nice work pups!
Penny is off the longline and working on her recall and engagement with me while walking. She has greatly improved her engagement with me, rather than hyper focusing on anything else in the environment. She is doing well checking in with me while off leash and responding quickly when called. We have been working a lot separately on approaching me more calmly and mannerly when called and not running into, jumping or bouncing off me! While being off leash I am occasionally having her go into a short Down-Stay to help her excitement level remain lower and to help her engagement. She is doing incredibly well!!!
Penny’s progress in the Walk command is going well! I am focusing greatly on her staying in position as well as her engagement. Here you can see her automatic sit when stopped, I am adding change of pace, Down command and her name to look at me during our structured Walk. This helps with her engagement and learning to not hyper focus so much on finding things in the environment to hyper focus on. She is doing very well.
Recall work with Sherman! He is a very playful pup and I have been using this for some of our recall work. He likes treats but isn’t overly excited about them. It has taken a lot of work to motivate and encourage him to come when called on his own when curious about a stick or scent. I have been working a lot with him on recall in low to no distracting environments and higher distraction areas. When he comes when called he receives pets, which he loves and I’ve also been using treats to play with him. This has him engaging with me but also staying with me rather then coming when called but immediately going on to something else. But when it comes down to him learning and practicing the command, I use the long longline as a guide as well. This is teaching him when he is called to respond quickly and if he doesn’t respond, that he will be reeled in to me. He is doing well and picking up on the process very well!!!! He’s also enjoying it!
