Easy enrichment! Does your dog enjoy licking the peanut butter jar clean? We finished filling Kongs last week and Peach was happy to help with the recycling! 🥜
#learningtailstraining #dogtraining #dogtrainingtips #dogenrichment #njdogtrainer #forcefree #fearfree #forcefreetraining #chesternj
Does your dog like to play with other dogs? Or are you lucky enough to be in a multi dog household where everyone gets along? My crew has been playing so well lately I can’t help but take video and enjoy watching them!
There are different types of play and while this group isn’t big on wrestling, they will chase and bitey face all around the yard. One thing I always look for in play is bouncy, inefficient movement. Think loose, goofy, rocking horse- and my DJ (pittie) is a great example of this. I love to watch him hop around (and throw a few spins in there) when he plays with his sisters.
Peach’s chase (she’s the brown cattle doggy one) can sometimes be a little flat for play standards *but* these 3 have a long history and know each other very well. If I put her with a new dog, behavior like that can come on a little strong and would be something I’d closely watch and intervene if necessary. But since this group is such great friends (with the occasional normal argument of course), DJ knows she’s playing and reacts accordingly.
And little Emma just likes to be part of the fun and run around with everyone. 😊
Does your crew play? What else do you see in this video? Play bows, play faces, happy dogs ❤️
#learningtailstraining #dogtraining #dogtrainingtips #njdogtrainer #forcefree #fearfree #forcefreetraining #dogplay #happydogs
SO many things! Let’s start with enrichment. Let’s face it, dogs in shelter and kennels get bored. They don’t have the same level of interaction as they would in a home and many times, these dogs love people! They crave interaction and training is a great way to meet that need.
Training also provides them with skills that they can bring into their new homes. Did you know that the more dogs train, even basic skills, the sharper they become at training overall? They start to learn the language, the marker words, and that these behaviors equal big cheesy payouts! Things like recall and leave it can be trained in a shelter or kennel setting and then nicely transferred over to their new families to help generalize these skills to life in their forever homes.
I encourage all rescues to commit to force-free training. These dogs have been through so much and the last thing they need is any fear, force, pain, or intimidation. I commend @njshpetrescue for following the science and making their dogs’ wellbeing the top priority!
PS I forgot my tripod so didn’t grab any training footage last week but please enjoy these happy faces in between training reps!
#learningtailstraining #dogtraining #rescuedogs #dogtrainingtips #njdogtrainer #forcefree #forecefreetraining #positivereinforcement
How do you feel about noisy dog play? Is it something that makes you a little nervous- maybe the lines are blurred between what is and isn’t appropriate? Or maybe you see this and think no big deal my dogs are even louder! I didn’t include a fun song for this video so you could hear what our house sounds like every day while I clean the horse stalls- these 3 have a blast and there’s always noise involved!
When we watch dogs play, there are a lot of things we look for. One of them is loose, bouncy, rocking horse type of movement. If you watch the video again, you’ll see relaxed bodies, Peach (brown) throwing a few play bows, and DJ (pittie in the fleece) is the best example of this goofy, inefficient movement. Do you also see their play faces? Even a few paw raises!
This group has a long history together so for them, it’s rare that they miss a beat or misconstrue a cue. Noise is normal, teeth are normal, especially for dogs that know each other well. Always monitor playdates with new friends and take frequent breaks to be sure everyone’s enjoying themselves! 🐾
#learningtailstraining #dogtraining #dogplay #dogtrainingtips #njdogtrainer #forcefree #forecefreetraining #positivereinforcement
How strong is your dog’s recall? When you’re out and about, would you bet $500 that your dog will come to you if you call them? If not, there could be a few reasons why.
Think about if you’re paying them with treats *every single time* you call them. Recall is very expensive behavior! We must pay accordingly. 🧀
Or how about this- are you calling them away from fun each time? If each time you ask your dog to come to you, it’s because the fun ends or it’s time to go inside, this could be a buzzkill for your pup.
When your dog does make their way to you, are they happy, excited, waggy and wiggly? Or are they showing more hesitant body language because they’ve been reprimanded in the past for not coming the first time they were asked? Our goal should always be option 1! We want recall to be fun, rewarding, and successful for you and your dog.
My crew loves to come out with me each morning to feed the horses. They explore, they sniff, they play, and they bark at things. In the middle of all of that when there’s still plenty of time to be outside, I like to call them. When they get to me, SO many snacks! 🍗🍗And then I let them go right back to what they were doing. I want them to know that coming to me is super exciting, valuable, and that it’s not time for the fun to end each time.
Recall is so much fun to teach and to work on. Reach out if this is on your to do list of things to practice this year!
#learningtailstraining #dogtraining #dogtrainingtips #njdogtrainer #forcefree #forcefreetraining #positivereinforcement #dogrecall
Can someone do this to me please 😅 I recently went on a new brush kick to find the right ones for each of their hair types. I bought this @furblissforpets for DJ’s short #pittie hair but Peach can’t get enough! It’s so gentle and gets a surprising amount of hair off of her even with her double coat. In the video when I stop and she opens her eyes and paws at me, that’s her asking me to keep going! We sat in the grass for a looong time like this ☺️
#learningtailstraining #dogtraining #dogtrainingtips #njdogtrainer #forcefree #positivereinforcement #snackleadernotpackleader
