A common question I get asked by students is “How do I stop my dog from releasing the dumbbell or scent discrimination article as soon I reach for it or touch it”.
It’s also common to see people reach and grab REALLY FAST when “taking” a dumbbell or article because they know that their dog will start to release the item as soon as their hand moves toward the object (and if the item hits the ground they lose points!)
This “early release” happens if we have inadvertently taught our dog that our hands reaching toward the item is the CUE for release.
To eliminate any concern that our dog may release the item as we reach for it, we need to go back and ensure that we separate out the two pieces:
1. Us reaching for or touching the item.
2. The verbal cue to release.
To do this we firstly ensure our dog knows how to take and hold an item.
Then we can cue a release for a treat using our marker word that means food will be delivered to you. (Or we could use a marker word that cues a switch to another toy, or a treat toss, etc.)
Separately we can start moving our hand/s towards the object, but ensuring the timing of our hands reaching towards the article rarely coincides with our release cue (marker).
If our dog drops the article as we reach towards it or touch it then we asked for too much, so repeat the exercise but with an even shorter reach. For some dogs we might need to start with only moving our hand an inch or two and build from there.
You will notice in the video that occasionally my hand is on the article when I give the release cue, and that sometimes it is my marker word “yes” but sometimes it is my actual release cue for in the ring “ta”.
The key is separating out the two pieces so that although sometimes our hands are holding the item when we cue a release, our hands are not the cue to release.
In the video you will see Vincent and Kane work with different articles including ANKC scent discrimination articles, seek back artic
For some low energy dogs a traditional game of fetch ends badly, because our dog works out bringing the ball back means you’re going to throw it again. (That’s super fun for a dog who loves running, not so much fun for a less high energy, high drive dog). So at some point they decide not to bring the ball back. In some cases they just take the ball away and chew on it instead. This can be frustrating for the human. Here is a ball game that a low energy dog can enjoy. You can see Vincent wagging his tail and staying keenly focused on the game. 💕🐩😊
Playing around with some heeling exercises with Jericho 💕🐩😊
Playing with your dog is an excellent way to build a stronger relationship, but not all dogs like to “play rough”, tug, etc. Vincent likes to play fairly gently, he only likes light touching, and he prefers it if I am always backing out of his space, rather than pushing into his area. Find the way your dog likes to play and then insert that at the beginning and end of training sessions (or anytime you want to have fun with your dog!)
Most of the dogs featured in dog training videos are High Energy, High Drive, Confident and Resilient dogs!!! But for many of us, that's not the type of dog we work with. In this webinar I discuss Low Energy dogs and Low Drive dogs, as well as situations where the training and/or the environment is contributing to the dog's lack of enthusiasm.
Join me for my next FDSA webinar - "Working with Dogs that Lack Enthusiasm". Live Q&A after the presentation - Thurs 3 June 6pm PT (that's Friday here in Australia). If you can't watch live that's ok, you will have access to the full recording for 12 months - so you can watch when convenient. Must be purchased prior to live airing though - Only USD$19.95
https://www.fenzidogsportsacademy.com/index.php/buy-webinar
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Some dogs just don’t appear to be enthusiastic about training. This may present as a lack of enthusiasm for all training related activities, or it may be specific to a certain sport or individual task (e.g. dumbbell retrieve). In some cases, the dog may even appear to lose interest in training after a period of what appeared to be enthusiastic, engaged work.
The observable behaviors may include:
* Responding slowly to cues, needing repeated cues, or stopping responding altogether.
* Leaving you or the training area during a session.
* Avoiding eye contact with you or the task.
* Engaging in displacement behaviors such as sniffing the ground during an active training session.
* Developing a reluctance to join you at the start of a training session.
In this webinar we discuss common reasons why these behaviors may occur, including:
* Feeling fearful, anxious, frustrated, or conflicted.
* Physical limitations.
* Low levels of mental stamina.
* Sensitivity to making mistakes.
* Sensitivity to changes in the environment.
* Impact of prior learning history.
Most importantly, we also discuss simple strategies to put the enthusiasm back into the training process, for both the dog and the h
Vincent learning the early stages of directed jumping.
