Happy Monday!
It's been a little while since we talked about training goals and where Leroy is on his journey - We're still working! Leroy has come so far in his progress with working in new places, building connection and awareness, working through distractions, and even working off leash, like he is in this video.
Since being limited by our ability to give appropriate food rewards (allergies), one of the biggest goals that I strive for in training with Leroy is creating an environment of play. He doesn't do his sits and downs for the food anymore, though he is happy to take and work for kibble practically anywhere we go, he does it because of the joy of play. We do our best to have a BLAST during all of our training sessions so that when I need to ask for those skills in real life scenarios, it's no big deal.
I love watching our old training videos from even just a year ago and seeing us accomplishing goals I didn't know if we would get to in his lifetime! You've got to love those dogs that teach you more than you teach them. : )
It has been such a joy to work with you and your dogs this month! Feel free to share what your training goals are for May - introducing anything new and exciting? Continuing to expand behaviors you've already started?
And, as always, feel free to reach out if you need help. We are here to help you build a better life with your dog!
Benny working drive into new target people.
Jake-Jordan working distance and moments of no visibility during run-aways.
Elmer working engagement and drive into source.
Ellie works on Engagement and Play
Look at this lady go! Ellie came in for her Enrichment Hours session ready to rumble! She worked hard on her manners around other dogs so we took a quick break to play. Sometimes we forget how integral play is for our dogs! It is a huge factor in relationship building and thus can make a world of difference when we work behavior modification or teach new skills.
A little bit of group Impulse Control work to start the morning off right with our boarders! Great work Zion, Toast, and Snoopy!
Robbie works in public
Look at Robbie go! This guy has been working so hard on his manners in public and man is it paying off! He still struggles when we work around distractions but we are continuing to make progress in every session.
Robbie building value to the odor
Need a new way to work with your dog during these cold winter days? I have seen Nosework do some pretty amazing things for all sorts of dogs but my absolute favorite part of training pet dog detection is the relationship between the trainer/handler and the dog. The handler learns SO much about their dog and gains a respect for how they interact with the world. In return, the dog learns how to share that world with their handler and connect on a whole new level!
If you're interested in learning more about Nosework, check out Midwest K9 Scent Sports - they have some FANTASTIC classes, workshops, and trials!
Check out Robbie building some motivation for the odor, he's such a cool guy!
Ellie works on Reactivity
Enrichment Hours highlight for the week - This is miss Ellie working on her reactivity and fence running/fighting right in our backyard.
Our neighbor dogs can bring some pretty wild energy to the boundaries of the yard and we love to use those moments for training, especially for Ellie! This girl absolutely rocked her session last week! We're so excited for the progress this girl is making!
Robbie working on Manners in Public
One more Enrichment Hours highlight from this week - Robbie working on his manners out in public.
Robbie struggles with over arousal in many environments, stores not being the least of these. For him, we work on settling in new places, practicing impulse control EVERYWHERE, and are now generalizing that feeling to more and more situations. With a few simple changes in his training, Robbie is making worlds of progress. We're so excited for this guy!
A little Enrichment Hours spotlight this week - this is Comet working on his agility directionals.
For Comet, the world is an unpredictable place - but having an activity to bond over means a lot to him. Toys are Comet's detour to the heart so we utilize those in our training sessions quite a bit. And in the meantime, we practice building skills so he can learn how to learn. Then we will slowly back it up to more basic skills that can get him out in public and enjoying the world on our adventures.
Growth Goal for this fall... MET!
Leroy has struggled to play with toys since we first got him three years ago. He didn't want to touch anything unless it had food stuffed inside or could be destroyed in five minutes or less. This summer I really honed in on getting him playing productively, something I could use for training, like tug! Even just a couple of months ago it was painful trying to get him to play but now he tugs like a dream! And I can use it as a reward in training, right up there with kibble (he loves his kibble)! Do you have a dog that struggles with toys? If so, there is hope. I promise! : )
IMPULSE CONTROL!
It's such a huge concept for so many and yet we rarely practice implementing it, which can lead to big problems. Robbie is one that thrives on practicing settling and finding joy and high rewards in patience.
Here is a quick video from our session today working place work under distractions. Good work, Robbie!
Leroy took a break from training for titles while we were in North Carolina and we just recently got back into it and I'm in awe!
Right now we are working on "Go Hide" for his Advanced Trick Title. He's just supposed to go under the table and wait to be released, but I wanted to see how far I could take it. During our session today he went from almost no understanding of the trick at all to problem solving an advanced version of it in just ten reps! It really is a cool testament to what regular training can do, his ability to learn new skills has gone through the roof!
In this video you can see him testing other things, notably, he starts to search for odor. But when I cued him a second time, you can see the gears turning and all of a sudden he lights up with this great new idea he has.
Leroy and I have had fun playing on the equipment at Highland! He absolutely loves the giant dog walk and it's so cool to see how much confidence he has gained in just a few sessions of this equipment a month!
It's Day 1 of our roadtrip to North Carolina! Leroy and I are playing car games to pass the time!
It was Monday Fun-day for Leroy and I! We went out to Ledges State Park to hike and train. This was right at the end of an engagement/distraction session and I thought it would be fun to show an example of using alternative reinforcements in training. You can see how Lee got a little distracted right after I threw a new distraction at him and even though I could have kept pushing the session, I decided to give him one more cue and release to what he REALLY wanted, which was not the kibble I was working with.
It's good to know your dog and their outrageous reinforcers.
Zoe, Oliver, and Rose rocked some group impulse control games tonight!
Leroy did a great job at Home Depot yesterday! We're just working on lowering rate of Reinforcement and getting a little bit tighter of a heel when passing people. Super proud of his responsiveness!
