Construction time
No training, lots of management! We have barriers in place and are spending most of the day upstairs or outside. Fisher is coping about as well as he can with a lot of loud, unfamiliar noise as our bathroom is being redone. Hopefully the next few days will have quieter tasks.
Why is Howard the rock famous? Who knows, but they have their own page! Howard may be a good looking rock, however I think being seen with Fisher should elevate Howard’s status even more 😆 #doglover #dogtrainer #vadogtrainers #dogtravels #garrettcountymd
Before and after our “assessment observation” as we work towards therapy dog certification. The before picture is while we waited in the lobby for our observer. The after is sound asleep in front of the fan after we got home.
We took advantage of slightly lower temperatures with less humidity to do a sniff walk along the creeks this morning.
After refusing to walk yesterday, Fisher had definite plans for where he wanted to go today. This is along a creek that we don’t get to as often. We may soon lose access to as there is about to be a major stream restoration project. Likely much of the path will be fenced off until they finish. How do you exercise your dog when it’s so hot during the day?
#dogtraining #dogsofsummer #dogtrainer #dogenrichment #vadogtrainer
This is a helpful way to get the leash back out in front if your dog walks over it. He knew the cue of giving me a paw if I put my hand out in front of his leg. We practiced that with the leash on, added the "Fix" cue and now he will lift the paw on the side that I am on when I give the "Fix" cue.
Follow for more useful skills! #dogtrainingadvice #dogtrainer #dogtraining #dogtrainingtips #puppytrainingtips #virginiadogtrainer #usefuldogtricks
Fisher and I have been visiting a school once a week since January where we meet with a couple of students individually (with a staff member). You can see their expressions change as they walk through the door into the room we are in, immediately becoming more relaxed. It usually doesn’t take long to get the first smile, something that apparently doesn’t happen too frequently during the school day otherwise.
One of them is a Pokémon fan and likes to call Fisher “Charizard” so I have started doing the name game occasionally to try and get Fisher to respond to that on our visits.
#dogtrainer #dogtraining #doglover #doglove
Can you guess what our rainy day activity was?
A destruction box! Cardboard and paper to shred, toys and strips of fabric to pull out, treats to find. A great way to burn off some energy!
I supervise to make sure the shredding doesn’t become eating, and am ready to toss some treats away from the area if I need to remove anything. #dogtraining #dog #dogtrainingtips #dogtrainingadvice #rainydayfun
The pollen has been extremely high recently. There’s a coating on the porch that we have not washed off yet. I set out a nice clean sheet for Fisher to lay on so he could be out on the porch while we mulched. Not sure why I bothered…#doglover #dogtrainer #dog
Another fun game for loose leash walking.
This is also helpful for keeping connected when you are in a distracting environment - no dots needed once your dog understands the game!
Follow me for more ideas for building skills for both you and your dog!
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Our goofy guy struggles with the sounds of trimmers and yard blowers. This is how he waited for a treat to get tossed to him while the yard crew was working. You may wonder why we do this and think it just makes him think he’ll get a ton of treats every time someone in the neighborhood has their lawn mowed. This picture is far preferable to what we used to get: pacing, whining, barking and howling. He’s no longer bothered by the sound if it’s a yard away and today he was able to quietly watch the lawnmower as it went by our back door without barking. Given how early in the lawn mowing season it is, I am quite happy with tossing treats when they bring the equipment up next to the house!
#dogtrainer #dogtraining #dogtrainingtips #dogtrainingadvice #treattosser #soundsensitivity
Dogs may be more comfortable with noise that they create. Adding height and additional elements made the sound different and louder. You can see he needed to check it out the first time he knocked it over before he was ready to take a treat. Second time was less of a deal and he could go right for looking for a treat. Tossing the treat does a couple of helpful things here: 1) Allows him to move away from the noisy things so he doesn’t need to feel stuck if he was concerned 2) Gives me an opportunity to reset the elements.
The water bottle has some bolts and a random large metal ball in it for more noise making.
#dogtrainer #dogtraining #dogtrainingtips #dogtrainingadvice
Super Bowls is a great game to help your dog understand that walking with you and checking in is a good thing to do. In this game, you mark and then move to place the reward in the next bowl. You need 5-10 objects that you can put a treat in or on and lay them out in a line. Once your dog figures this game out, you can increase the distance between the bowls or take this out to more distracting environments. #dogtrainingadvice #dogtrainer #dogtraining #dogtrainingtips #puppytraining #puppytrainingtips
Fisher was only confused by the fact that there was cardboard in the yard that he wasn’t allowed to shred. He got a chew and happily hung out with us in the yard like we do frequently in nice weather. It was so interesting how the light changed which you can’t really tell in the photos. #dog #dogtrainer #eclipse
We got warm while doing yard work. Should have known better than to put the sweatshirt in easy reach of Fisher! He clearly thought we were not paying him enough attention, and I neglected to give him a more constructive activity. #dog #dogtrainer #dogtrainingfail
Fisher loves this homemade treat stash/ dissection toy. 👉 I have cut an old shirt into strips. Fleece is probably better but I am using what I have. Roll some treats up in each strip. I used mostly lower value along with a few high value here and there. Stuff the ball with the rolls. I put some crunchy chicken sticks in too, between some of the rolls. Fisher needs to work up to challenges so I made sure that each strip end was outside the ball. Dogs who are able to be more persistent in their problem solving can probably figure out getting the strips out with some of the ends not being all the way outside.
The strips can be washed between uses. Monitor your dog with toys like this to make sure they don’t eat the strips. #dog #dogtraining #doglife #dogtrainingtips #dogtrainingadvice #dogtrainer
Getting a fast recall takes time. Getting your dog to think coming to you is better than chewing a stick takes many, many (and more) repetitions of being rewarded for easier recalls. You want your dog to believe that coming to you is the most exciting and fun thing they could possibly do. So play games, be silly and enjoy yourself! I don’t usually call him away from things he is enjoying. If I do, it’s usually to reward him and then send him back to what he was doing. That’s a win-win!
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