From the main obedience exercises like heelwork, retrieve, send away, stay and distance control/ position changes, the retrieve is one of my favourites with P. He loves the rush of getting the object and understands calm holds pretty well.
This was our first try on a moving TOY fish (it was definitely harmed making this video, the moving bit didn't survive Puppy's second grab :)).
Do you have a retrieve? What would be cool your dog to be able to pick up and give to you? Does your dog struggle with the calm hold?
X Eszter
Dogs will be dogs 😂
#bemoredog #happydogs #springador #malinois
I'm very excited to start my PhD research in Aberystwyth University. The doctoral program is to tackle all sorts of zoonotic diseases, my topic it's on reducing liver fluke transmission by finding the parasite's intermediate host, the mud snail with the help of detection dogs.
Relocating is never without struggles, but I'm so proud of my dogs. I decided to have Freya stay for my long travel days at her favourite person & place (thank you, Jane ❤️) to reduce possible stress. We've moved out nearly 6 weeks ago, living all over the place, with Puppy straining his wrist. So you can imagine how nice it is to see them so happy!
Dogs are truly so adaptable, they need to feel safe & have fun, which often just means being with you.
Eszter x
Does your dog require "paying" after every behaviour you cue?!
This is a common problem in pet dogs, and Poppy was definitely in this camp a few months ago! She'd be like "Umm, I've done it, now pay up!" after every single trick 😂
In Urban Freestyle the ultimate aim is to create routines, so we have a series of lessons on the concepts of building what dog trainers call "behaviour chains". It's all about how and when we reinforce, and how to build motivation in your dog as an individual.
In this video you can see Poppy get the idea- she has learned that the reward will come at some point, and she has also started to work for the fun of working, rather than getting stuck in a transactional relationship with her handler.
We are very proud of the hard work Sarah and Poppy have put in to improving their performance in this area! Well done team ❤
Hilarious cue suggestions please 🤣
I finally captured this adorable little paw action- she does it when we get home and she wants to be picked up and it's so ridiculously cute I wanted to put it on cue so I've been rewarding it for a few days and today added this hand signal but I want a funny verbal cue so over to you!
Have you captured any unique "tricks" which your dog just did naturally and now does on cue?!
Ellie x
It's the little noises for me 😂
PS: Obviously I don't normally let her practice this (especially barking at other dogs!) and if it wasn't Eszter training P it would not be happening anyway! 🙃 it was just funny in this moment 😆
#iwannaplay #thatsmyauntie #fomo #dogtraining #kelpie #malinois
When it's too hot for the people to work as well as the dogs 😂
#dayoff #toohottowalk #toohot #dogs #itiswhatitis
Summer Vibes 😎
#summervibes
#swimming #swimmingdogs #dogs #dogtraining #belgianmalinois #springador #lovemydog
Love this little combo from Charlie & Rudi 😍
Cockapoos are such capable, trainable and fun dogs to work with when they're given something to do!
#dogtraining #dogs #cockapoo #cockerpoo
10 years young and Freya still loves her training 💖
#urbanfreestyle #freya #springador #dogtraining #dogs #trainmydog #dogtricks #trick training
A few clips from Riddle & Norah's adventure this Sunday!
I am so spoilt where I live that we can walk for hours right from the doorstep and they can be off lead within a few minutes, but even so the same 3 walks still get boring!
I want my dogs to be happy to walk, play and train ANYWHERE and that means putting in the effort to get them to novel places as much as possible (see my recent blog post re holidays on our website!) so that new NEVER = scary.
Once you start looking for new places to take your dog, you'll find so many hidden gems, too.
When did your dog last go somewhere new?
#positiveexperience #dogtraining #dogs #kelpie #parsonrussellterrier
Solid Foundations are critical to all sports & activities, including Urban Freestyle.
Milo here is currently working through our Foundation Behaviours chapter, which ensures both human and dog have all the core skills needed to take on Weekly Challenges and build Routines.
Here Milo is learning a Down Stay, which is not only a core element in Urban Freestyle but also an essential exercise to teach the concept of stillness and building duration.
Nice work Milo & Fran! ❤️🔥
#bostonterrier #trickdog #downstay #dogtraining #onlinedogtraining
A few little clips from some of our members having a blast with their dogs
🤩😍
#dogtraining #dogs #cockapoo #jrt #goldenretriever #pointer #goldendoodle
Urban Freestyle Training Booster: Progressing on from luring…
Do you always have to have food in your hand for your dog to listen to you?
One reason for this is not progressing on from luring quickly enough.
Luring is the process of having food (or another reinforcer) in your hand and moving it so that the dog follows it and ends up performing the action we want.
For example, with a puppy, you may hold a treat near his nose, move your hand upwards and towards the puppy as he follows it and his bum hits the floor to create a Sit, or to teach a Spin we lure the pup in a circle like in this video.
This is a great way to start up a behaviour, but as dog trainers one of the most common problems we see is that people get “stuck” in this luring phase even with simple exercises.
This is a problem because the dog will see the food as the cue. This means that the dog will start to not respond unless the owner has food in their hands, meaning your verbal cues won’t work when you really need them!
Often, people are ready to remove the food from their hands but they feel like they still need it- it almost becomes a crutch.
In order to move forwards in the training process, we need to fade the lure quite quickly.
But how do we do this?
Lure the dog for a few reps, then remove the food but make the same motion with your hand to create a hand signal. This doesn’t mean we don’t reward the dog, it’s just that the food appears AFTER the behaviour is complete.
So in our example of the Sit, we lift our empty hand, the dog’s bum hits the ground then we reach into our pouch for the treat. The food should come after the dog has completed the task.
Once your dog reliably follows a hand signal, you can then add the verbal cue. Now, your dog will respond to your cues whether you have food in your hand or not!
You can even take this a step further by using “off-body rewards” but we will save that for another post!
Slightly too enthusiastic Puppy 😂
#whoops #belgianmalinois #dogtraining
