I've been working on backing with Anja for a few months. That makes it sound like a long time but it's probably been three or four total training sessions over that time period.
We use stop to flush to get the dog to back. Whether you taught bird in the air as a "cue" to stop, or are using the bird in the air as -P (negative punishment, bird goes away to punish the failure to "whoa"), the point is that you can teach the dog to back by showing them that a stationary dog predicts a bird in the air through classical conditioning.
After one stop to flush rep, Anja hit a beautiful back in her first session. Then she started blinking the backing dog, meaning she tried to avoid that dog by acting like she didn't see the dog.
This is not an uncommon issue and there are a lot of ways you can work on it. I tried at first to do the most straightforward thing, which was to correct her for not stopping. This wasn't working well and in our training system, if you have all the tools and communication in place properly, and you are chunking your training appropriately, then you rarely need a lot of reps to get something headed in the right direction.
So what ended up working was to use "indirect pressure". This means you put force on one behavior to improve the performance of another behavior. It is a way to use compulsion to influence a behavior desirably, but without creating some of the issues that pressure can cause in the emotional state of the dog. We have to remember that operant and classical conditioning are always happening at the same time. And using indirect pressure is often a way to maintain momentum or good attitude in a behavior while still benefiting from the reliability that pressure offers. This happens, I think, in part because the pressure gets moved away from a behavior that you don't associated with the pressure through classical conditioning but that you do need to be impacted by the pressure via operant conditioning.
So I would use my whistle to make A
Anja hit every one of her backs today. She had a couple good ones when we first started and then started blinking the backs. Some indirect pressure on the steering got the point across without pressuring the stop in a way that was causing some problems.
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We had a vet appointment yesterday with these little monsters. It's not ideal to handle two puppies solo, but it is what it is. So I tied them off to the bench since tethering is familiar to them which freed up my hands and helped the appointment go quite smoothly.
Then, room service style rewarding for being still. Though I'd prefer to reward them in the stand position, you pick your battles.
When they were checking the pup's teeth and were met with significant protest I requested to handle them in a way that they are familiar. Done and done! Easy peasy.
Shoutout to our vet for allowing us to handle our dogs, and shoutout to Lionheart K9, Dog Training in Maryland
for teaching us those handling skills years ago!
Both pups had a healthy check up ✅
Keep up, little one! BUT DON'T GET RUN OVER!
Archer put on a clinic last night! 🦆 👀
We'll often go out to do duck searches when no one else is waiting to run their dog so we don't have to call ours back in early (even if I'm not asked to I feel like an a-hole when there's a line of folks!)
He was out there for 45 min, covered 1.5 miles, and never stopped. He was bamboozled by some smarty pants ducks a few times, diving etc, but he kept at it and came out on top. Hope > Struggle
After the retrieve he was bouncing around like he was ready for more. It's tiring just thinking about his stamina 😂
These videos are the sort of thing we're sharing on our Ko-Fi page as we document our development and training process for the dogs we keep from puppyhood through all of their tests, and to a started, then finished hunting dog.
We're posting videos weekly, more as the puppies grow and become more capable.
You can join our Ko-Fi membership and access a bunch of content not shared elsewhere, ask training questions, and be eligible for discounts and giveaways, for as little as $3/mo if this sort of thing interests you.
https://ko-fi.com/ironoakdogs
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In this video I discuss building mental toughness in dogs and use some of the puppy obstacle courses we set up as an example of how it works.
You'll see all the puppies from this litter do the work, but we focus on Purple Collar Female because she is the first to learn the lesson that giving up is not a viable option.
My mentor, Lionheart K9, Dog Training in Maryland, says "survival is not predicated on success, but on overcoming failure."
And since dogs are governed by survival instincts, we see all sorts of otherwise very good dogs get all screwed up when our training violates the laws of nature. In nature, if you are hungry and a rabbit runs under your nose, you are going to work hard to catch that rabbit. That rabbit never slows down to make it easier to catch, even if you are having a bad day, or just don't feel up to it right now. And if you believe that there is an endless supply of food available to you regardless of your behavior then why on earth would you put forth any effort?
This is why we like "existential feeding" in our training system. To be clear, our dogs are offered 100% of their food every day, but they must put in effort to "win" it. They don't have to do everything right. They just need to try and not give up.
In the case of the puppies, they are fed probably four times a day with kibble and still supplemented with milk from their mother frequently throughout the da
This wagon is quite versatile!
We’ve been holding weekly webinars to help puppy buyers set appropriate expectations and to be proactive about problem solving. This weekend 4/5 of the puppies were able to come back (last puppy lives quite far away) for an in person check in to start learning about training equipment, and early conditioning exercises.
We love helping first time dog owners and new hunters have a smooth and joyful experience with their companion gun dogs!
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#jagdhunde
#versatilehuntingdog #navhda #vddgna #klmgna #jgv #drahthaar #drahthaaraddiction #smallmunsterlandersofinstagram #smallmunsterlander #kleinermünsterländer #germanwirehairedpointer #retrievers #germanshorthairedpointer #pointingdogs #dogtraining #retrievertraining #nepopo
Benji is starting to work on obedience skills in his second session. First session we addressed barking and play biting that were getting out of hand, marker conditioning, and acclimation to the training collar and a back tie. This time we introduced opposing behaviors place and recall with both pressure and rewards, as well as cleaning up some lingering issues in the crate.
Next session we are going to introduce leash walking and stationary behaviors, and we’ll move place and recall to intermittent reinforcement and start to add distractions.
We can cover a lot of fundamentals and problem solving in just a few sessions. And every in person training program includes at least three months of group classes to continue developing skills in the face of compelling distractions in real world environments.
#dogtraining #baltimoredogtraining #dogsofinstagram #obedience #behaviormodification #baltimoredogworks #nepopo
This is my new friend Rani. She’s a rescue from BARCS and has been in her new home for about a month. Pretty environmentally neutral, great with the kids in the house, neutral to other dogs, sound temperament, high prey drive, loves food. She’s pretty well put together too: ripped, good angles, tight feet.
Played intensely but cooperatively, and took correction from a stranger in the first five minutes of the session.
A good pit bull is still my favorite dog on the planet. I offered to buy her on the spot. They weren’t going for it. We work with a lot of nice dogs. This one, I think this one is special.
I am in love!
#pitbull #pitbullsofinstagram #rescuedog #rescuedogsofinstagram #dogtraining #baltimoredogtraining #dogsofinstagram #obedience #nepopo
5 days old already!
Their whelping box world is starting to expand... We added a large plush toy and created a 'hill' for them to navigate.
Sneak 👀 peak! We’ve got a bit more video to shoot for the online theory course that will be sent out to seminar participants. This one was shot at our beautiful seminar venue!
We’re looking to have this content sent out the first week of June.
We’ve scheduled another seminar hosted by Woods Family Dog Training at @centralpennsportingclays for August 3-4 if you’d like to join us to learn any the language of modern dog training. Registration link can be found in the bio.
Many thanks to all of you for your support!
#nepopo #nepopo® #dogtraining #huntingdogtraining #obedience #behaviormodification #rescuedogsofinstagram #huntingdogsofinstagram #projectupland #gundogityourself #navhda #jghv #retrievertraining #pointingdog #versatilehuntingdog
This is Briggs again during one of the training sessions Gretchen’s been doing with each puppy. We use this exercise in adult dogs for a whole bunch of different things but for these babies we just want them to think. The idea is to teach them that if they keep their head in the container that food keeps coming. You’ll see Briggs go from not really understanding what’s going on to very intentionally putting his head in the container and keeping it there.
Lots of things going on here:
1. Briggs learns about being rewarded “in behavior” which is a good way to extend duration of a behavior.
2. This shows the transition, led by the dog, from direct to indirect reward. At first, the known presence of the reward produces the desired behavior (luring is another example of this). Then, the dog performs the behavior in hopes that the reward we’ll happen. If you can get to that, behavior produces reward, then you’re just bribing the dog and they’re not actually trained.
3. It is the first time he’s received rewards in position and out of position so he can start understanding the differences between the two.
4. Like the nail trimming video, major leaps in performance are rewarded with jackpots. In this case when we see the behavior go from spontaneous to operant, and from direct to indirect.
Our TRAINING CLUB is open to all past & current clients. You can attend unlimited drop in group classes that your dog/handler team qualify for each month. All classes take place in real world environments. We use the AKC Canine Good Citizen program as our training standard in these sessions. The higher levels of titles you earn, the more classes you and your dog can attend, and the better value you get out of your membership. Free testing takes place in training club classes.
#dogtraining #baltimoredogtraining #baltimoredogtrainer #obedience #caninegoodcitizen #caninegoodcitizenintraining #rescuedogsofinstagram #bmoredogs #behaviormodification #nepopo
Puppies get their nails trimmed regularly while here. Stewardship is a basic tenet of dog ownership and this is part of it. We make grooming activities, along with everything else, EASY for puppy owners by indoctrinating puppies into our training system right from the start.
Everything we do is pressure on ➡️ pressure off ➡️ reward. We make sure this ends up being a positive experience by keeping HOPE > STRUGGLE. The dog must perceive the reward as more valuable than the difficulty they must endure in the exercise.
Watch Briggs go from squirming to accepting to expecting (reward) during this one nail trim session. Notice that I JACKPOT (much longer reward) the first rep where there’s no resistance. Then two reps later you see him look right at the food dish after the nail is done being trimmed! Learning goes fast when they learn how to learn first!
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#jagdhunde
#versatilehuntingdog #navhda #vddgna #klmgna #jgv #drahthaar #drahthaaraddiction #smallmunsterlandersofinstagram #smallmunsterlander #kleinermünsterländer #germanwirehairedpointer #retrievers #germanshorthairedpointer #pointingdogs #dogtraining #retrievertraining #nepopo
Had a great time talking dogs with my new friend Nick from the @gundogityourself podcast. I’ll be sure to let you know when the episode comes out.
#verbandfürkleinemünsterländer #kleinemünsterländer #kleinemünsterlander #kleinermünsterländer #kleinermunsterlander #smallmunsterlander #smallmunsterlandersofinstagram
#jagdhunde
#versatilehuntingdog #navhda #vddgna #klmgna #jgv #drahthaar #drahthaaraddiction #smallmunsterlandersofinstagram #smallmunsterlander #kleinermünsterländer #germanwirehairedpointer #retrievers #germanshorthairedpointer #pointingdogs #dogtraining #retrievertraining #gundogityourself #nepopo
We have a pine cone thief!
Are you surprised that she picked it back up before coming to me? I'm thinking there may be a tad bit of genetics at play 😉
.
Instead of telling her to leave it, etc, I just called her to me...even better that she brought it IMO. Then she was rewarded for her recall, and therefore had to drop it to get her food. I presented the food a few feet from where she dropped the pine cone so I could pick it up without concern that she'd launch at it/me.
