The bond between a dog and handler is like no other ❤️
Meet Ollie, a Golden Retriever who just finished a 5-week Board and Train with me! Ollie’s mom is recently paralyzed, so he learned some additional skills to help make life at home a bit easier.
In the 5-weeks Ollie learned:
- Sit
- Down
- Loose leash walking
- Place
- Recall
- How to walk next to an electric wheelchair
- A trained retrieve to pick up dropped items
- Crate manners
- Improved dog neutrality
I’m so happy I could help this family, and I know Ollie can’t wait to see his people soon!
Oliver and I preparing for an Obedience trial in a few weeks! Grateful for each day with my boy ❤️
Banshee practicing a send out retrieve! He makes me so happy 😁
The “down on recall” is an exercise in the AKC Open Obedience test. Oliver is still working towards his Novice title, but once that is fulfilled we hope to go for our Open title as well!
Off Leash Recalls!
A good recall is the most important command to have! Today I was testing Banshee’s recall completely off leash. While he has worn a remote collar, he has never felt a stimuli from one. This is all from engagement and relationship building!
Banshee passed his first scent detection test, searching 10 boxes and finding one odor! We are officially halfway to graduation, after only 5 testing days in the past month.
Banshee showing off his tracking skills!
Ground disturbance tracking is when the dog has learned to follow the scent of crushed foliage. They are also taught to indicate by laying down at articles ( a piece of fabric, metal washer, wood disk, etc). Tracking has several real-world applications such as:
- Search & Rescue
- Felon apprehension tracking
- Blood trailing
- Competitive tracking
Banshee is currently be trained for competitive tracking, so slow and accurate is the name of the game. In the video he is shown indicating on an article completely independently!
Specific Odor Detection:
Banshee is currently learning the AKC odor work scent, Birch. In this session, I was waiting for him to indicate that he was on odor by laying down.
As you see in the video, after he got rewarded in box #2 and #4, he started skipping box #1. We gave him three chances to search that box and indicate for his reward, but he didn’t take it. Better luck next time, Banshee!
The Climb:
Climb, or place, is a great command to teach your dog. Once established, it is a great management tool to allow your pups to enjoy hanging out in a relaxed, organized manner!
Training Tip- Training sessions don't need to be 15 minutes long!
Look for training opportunities in small situations. Sundays are our easy day around here, but I still manage to sneak training sessions in throughout the day. Here, I am having Banshee practice some recalls during a potty break!
Remember, short and sweet sessions lead to lots of progress, with little stress!