Spot working hard on his ball boy skills. This was very difficult to begin with! The kids have discovered that asking for a down first, sometimes releasing him to chase a (rogue) ball, and not making a big fuss if he steals one uninvited , means he is less likely to try to grab a ball not intended for him.
Though it's not a lot of actual running around, you can bet Spot is going to be tired after this! Working a dog's brain and exercising their self control can be much more effective than running them until their exhausted.
In case you're're wondering, YES! Spot is still looking for his forever home through @poundpawsrescue!
I had a great time visiting with @nebsworld.jpg this week to help her learn how to get along with her new feline sister Flanders 🐶😼
Integrating dogs and cats can be a bit stressful and challenging, especially when there is prey drive, a considerable size difference, and a tiny fluffy kitty!
Neb's family have made a great start by taking things slow and letting them get acclimatised in different rooms, and are now ready for more close proximity interactions.
Peaceful coexistence is the aim (anything extra is bonus), so we are starting with just noticing Flanders and practicing moving towards/away from her, using treats to reinforce good choices, (re)direct attention, and build positive (calm) associations. We are using a leash to help manage Neb's options, so she doesn't get up practice rushing or chasing.
With time and practice, it will get easier for Neb to settle with Flanders around and less active management will be required.
I was so impressed with Neb's ability to stay calm, even with a bold kitten creeping over for a closer look! Nice work team Neb! 🥳
Friends, my Christmas treat jar fundraiser was a bit of a bust 😭 I've been mulling over what to do about it and have decided to extend this into a NY fundraiser because I think we can do better 🥺🤞❤️.
Support @poundpawsrescue in their efforts helping dogs all over the South Island - they don't just rescue and rehome dogs but also help with desexing too!
All you have to do:
⭐️⭐️ Donate (at least) $1, guess how many and score this GIANT jar of almost $70 worth of treats AND a chance to win a free 60min online consult! ⭐️⭐️
Treats are all high quality and allergy-friendly:
Rabbit ears
Venison green tripe
Venison heart
Venison sticks
Tuna chunks
(I promise these will earn much love and cooperation from your doggos 😅)
How to enter?
1️⃣ Donate at least $1 into the Pound Paws bank account:
Pound Paws Rescue
06 0941 0528819 00
Reference: Treats
2️⃣ Comment below (or send me a message) with your guess for how many treats are in this jar.
3️⃣ Closest guess wins the whole jar! All entries go into a draw for a 60min online consult. 🤩🥳
**Due to the size/weight and breakability, shipping isn't feasible, so winners must be located in the wider Christchurch area.
Draw will be made on 10th of Jan, so get those entries in!
Finished the work year off with a lovely fun walk with two overexcited, sometimes frustrated, greeters, a stranger-reactive dog, and another still building his confidence (and Forte ❤️). Can you guess which is which? 😁
I love offering these regular "real life" hangouts for my clients! It's so wonderful seeing new and established skills in action, friendships being made, and being able to catch up with some of my favourite dogs and people ❤️. Looking forward to more next year!
Happy Holidays to you all! 🎄🎅 I hope you can all enjoy some happy and peaceful time with your loved ones, furry and not so furry. 🐶❤️
Spot and I are coming out of recovery (him from his neuter, and me from some poorly timed COVID 😩) and are feeling pretty good, all things considered 🙂.
As we wind up another year, I'm feeling thankful for the wonderful dogs and people I am very lucky to be able to spend my time with. Thank you to everyone who has supported my small business - I have so many amazing clients who are doing their best for their dogs everyday, even when it is hard (ESPECIALLY when it is hard!) I see you and I'm proud and appreciative of all that you do, and I'm so grateful to be a part of your journey.
There are still a few things happening at Adaptive Behaviour before the 2025 starts, so keep an eye out!
Meri Kirihimete, everyone!
One of those little moments of connection that I treasure so much! Building that relationship is such an important part of getting our dogs to pay attention and listen to us.
This week Freya and Forte went on a stroll through the forest and we got to practice exploring with more freedom, walking past people, kids on bikes and dogs with ease!
I'm thrilled with the skills, communication and cooperation Freya's humans have built with her over the last 5 months. They've gone from struggling to control Freya as she would ignore them and lunge at ALL! THE! THINGS!, to now being able to walk in some pretty busy areas (e.g. Hagley Park on a weekend) on a loose leash. Freya and her family can now enjoy more adventures and time around other dogs with a lot less stress! 🥳🤩
Way to go Team Freya - I'm so happy for this sweet girl.
I've recruited the kids to help me prepare for
@thebalanceddognz 's dog-friendly Xmas event tomorrow at St Paul's Anglican Church from 10-3. There will be a group walk, carols and market to enjoy - fun! 🐩🎅🎄🎁🎶
I'll be there after lunch and I'm looking forward to seeing you all. Come down for a visit - I'll have a draw for a free 60min online consult and you can donate to @poundpawsrescue and 🤞🤞🤞enter to win this giant jar of (venison, rabbit and tuna) treats!! 🐶🦴
Spot vs basketball update! 🐶🏀
Here's some unedited video of a recent ball session. We are mixing up reinforcers now, and asking for some other behaviours (with varying success). 🤓
Does he do what I ask immediately and 100% of the time? Nope 😅! But he also makes some really good choices on his own (which i would generally prefer to having to manage him constantly)..
I could have cut out the less impressive parts of the video but I think it's helpful to see all the great and not so great things that go on when training.🫣👀
Sometimes we can get stuck on the idea of obedience and making sure our dogs listen all the time and though that is very important in a lot of situations, it's not critical in all. Dogs aren't robots and sometimes what we choose for them is not the best option (for them); they also can choose functional or even preferable alternatives to our suggestions (like playing with his own basketball instead of stealing mine). Also sometimes the puppy is just done and it's not worth the effort/stress trying to enforce a cue (that won't make much difference in the long run) and you can just stop 😁.
P.S. Spot is still up for adoption through @poundpawsrescue !!! (no I am not planning on keeping him 😅😂) and would be very happy to fill any current vacancies for defensive guard/ball dog (feel free to enquire about his extensive list of other skills too 😉).
Herding dogs have a strong, instinctive drive to chase and control movement, that has been bred and selected for over many generations. Useful if you are a farm dog with sheep to move, not so useful if you are trying to herd children, vacuums and rubbish bins!
Some may find these tendencies inconsequential or even amusing, but often they are accompanied by unhealthy levels of arousal and can (d)evolve into reactive, unsafe behaviours.
Spot exhibits many collie traits and basketballs are one thing that brings out the herder in him. This makes him very good at playing defense, but makes the game less fun for everyone else!
Luckily I have been proactively working on his impulse control, specifically:
😌Managing his arousal with active relaxation (on his mat)
👇Lying down in the middle of exciting games
👀 Watching but not chasing things that move
🦴 Leaving things when asked
⚽Waiting until released to get (moving) things he wants
This made it fairly easy to establish boundaries so everyone can have a good time when the balls are out. Here, we are using Premack's principle to reinforce a low probability behaviour (lying down*) with a high probability behaviour (chasing and stopping the ball 🏀).
*Lying down is often easier for herders to offer/do in these contexts than a sit or stand as it is a natural part of the eye-stalk-chase sequence (i.e. predatory motor pattern) that is exaggerated in this breed group.
No treats were used because basketballs are way too exciting and much better than food. As Spot gets better at this game, it should get easier to swap in treats or other reinforcers.
These videos were taken over the first 3 days of working on this, so it isn't perfect, but we are getting there!
Note: there may be some situations where we don't want our dogs to ever get the thing - then we can instead release to something from us that they can chase instead (e.g. ball, tug, us) so we can still safely meet that need and fulfil the original's
