Putting Ryder’s new skills to the test out in public! This wild child is turning into a little gentleman and getting better everyday. For a 6 month old pup he has really made us proud! 🤩 👏 🥰🐕🐶🐾
Cypress has officially joined the off leash club but couldn’t figure out why these goats didn’t want to be his BFF’s and run free with him! 🤣 Can’t wait to let this boy run with the whole crew and have fun! 🤩 🥰🤪🐶🐾
Cooper has been rocking and rolling his first few days so it was time to introduce him to some new friends! He’s been working hard on his heeling and recall and now will have some real freedom to be a free dog and live the good life because of it. Atta boy Cooper! 🥰 👏 🐶🐕
Real life with Bo now!
Bo out and about with Max. We’re doing some shopping and he’s just a long for the trip.
Simple commands but very high expectations of him. Left it uncut and audio in there so you can hear how the system should be. On or off leash it shouldn’t matter! Marking behaviors (good and no) in the moment with instant feedback that he 100% understands. This is what allows you to bring your dog with you anywhere and eveywhere.
We played some fetch when we got back and relaxed in the shade just enjoying each other’s company after a busy day. Everything in the video doesn’t seem so much of a chore to your dog when they enjoy it and they know they get some freedom time as well at some point.
Putting all of Bo’s hard work together from his first week during his first public outing. He knocked it out of the park! He was so happy to tag along and I was happy to have him with me. Who doesn’t want to have their best furry friend be able to come with them? Good boy Bo!! 🤩🥳🤗
Bo the hound will know no bounds with his new found freedom! 👏 👏
Let’s dive into this a little so you can see and hear some reasoning on what we do and why we do it.
Bo, genetically speaking and on his own desires, likes to chase small prey and have his nose on the ground. Why would you try to train against that and not let him do what he genetically was bred to do? Easy answer…you don’t!
Our approach is pretty simple, teach a solid recall command that is continually reinforced (but not overused) and give the dog the freedom to do what they want.
Prior to the couple of clips in the video, we took a stroll down the lane with a flexi leash on. I let Bo mostly be free to explore and go where he wanted, and asked with a specific routine in mind to “come” back to me and sit in front and then wait to be released to go back out and be free. Bo’s family has large acreage he needs to be trusted on so teaching a recall to a sit in front is always a nice bonus.
Before I went and got my helper Mina, who Bo hasn’t even met yet, I did one more quick recall because the goats were screaming at us, which is where this video starts out. And now here comes some real life proofing…
Add in some very high distractions. In this case he hasn’t been free around the goats or any other dogs yet. There are also ducks swimming around in the pound that he is interested in.
From his first few days of training we have already layered a solid communication system with verbal markers that I would also like to call out:
- No - current behavior is wrong
- Good - keep doing that behavior
- Break - free dog go do whatever
- Obedience Command ques like Come/Sit etc.
You’ll see an instance when he runs past me from a recall and I give him the verbal “NO” to mark that he forgot I still need his sit in front of me. As soon as he comes and sits he gets his verbal “GOOD”. Again, just being consistent with the routine is more than half the battle for teaching
This crew was having a blast! Living the good life with their buddies. 😃 🐕 😎 🐕
How was your Labor Day? We started our day with an almost 7 mile (or 8 depending on who’s watch you look at) birthday walk, then spent the afternoon with everyone else on the farm, and finished it off with a little bite session with the big boy. 🥾🐾🐕 The dogs are loving this cooler weather! 🍁🍂😎
Tanger’s go home video! Tanger finished up his 3 week board and train with us and had his go home lesson last Sunday. At 6 months old Tanger now has the skills and confidence to join his owners out and about! Having both on and off leash skills he’s able to be off leash, join them for some shopping, and even go out to dinner! 🐶 We make sure to proof skills out in public so owners can enjoy all the hard work they put in while they were with us! With hard work comes play time and freedom all along the way! 🐶🥎🦴
The perfect summer swimming hole 😎💦
The pond is best when you share sticks with your friend! Everyone enjoying a hot day on the farm running around and cooling off in the pond. ☺️🐶🐾🐸🦆
Putting all the training together for real life! ☑️
Lola is a crazy lady so you can always count on her for the ultimate “place” proofing. 😝 😝
Bella needed some serious boundaries taught since she is A LOT of dog. High prey drive, dominant, and extremely confident make her a very well bred cane corso. This also led to her getting into trouble at home.
We helped guide her through so she can live a happy life back home!
Of course she can have all the freedom to run around, play ball, and wrestle with the other dogs. This makes completing the commands and having some impulse control worth it to her.
