Make your own flirt pole!
This is a super fun exercise to do with dogs and a positive way to release excess energy and prey drive!
Having a prey driven dog is not a bad thing, we can easily manipulate it to benefit us and make it a productive exercise for our pets.
Making an at home flirt pole is very easy. All you need is a leash and a toy! Preferably a toy such as a ball or a tug toy, anything you can attach a leash to fairly easily.
Simply attach the leash to the toy and move it in quick erratic movements to simulate a small animal moving. Do this to get them interested in the toy, then move to the movements demonstrated in the video. Allow your dog to tug on it and be possessive of the toy, come up gently and cradle them as exhibited in the video. This is “sharing” their toy with you. Your dog may resist at first but don’t allow them to move away, this allows them to be possessive but also allow you to be part of it.
If your dog is not reliable off leash do not attempt this without one!! If you have a longer leash it is preferable but a standard leash will work, your dog will try to run away with it! It’s natural for dogs to have a high value item and try to run away with it.
This exercise is one that’s fun for owner and dog alike and great for dog with high prey drive!
Ready to start your training journey? Contact me now! 226-236-3537 OR [email protected]
Ruger is doing distraction training at PetSmart. Ruger has been working on focusing under distraction, we started out with small distractions and have built upon his fundamentals to ensure he knows them perfectly. People, smells and different animals are very hard for dogs to ignore, being exciting with your dog and starting small is fundamental.
Want more info or would like to start your training adventure? Contact me today! 226-236-3537 or [email protected]
The one thing that I always get asked about as a trainer is reliable recall. Owners always want to know how to get their dogs to have a reliable recall. This video is of Ruger at the park working on his recall.
Working on recall takes a lot of time and a lot of consistency. For starting you only do on leash, preferably somewhere low distraction, such as your back yard. ALWAYS REWARD! For the first few weeks teach your dog or puppy recall you want to make sure you’re rewarding! Make it worth it for them to come back to you, be exciting and happy and give lots and lots of praise to your dog. Make sure you say it ONCE! This is why a leash is so important, if your dog doesn’t come to you, you can pull the leash and physically bring the dog to you, but again making sure we’re exciting and rewarding that behavior. We do NOT want to nag the dog to come by repeating the command, as this causes it to lose its effectiveness.
Eventually we move up the distractions and distance. Longer leashes or “long lines” are super helpful for this part. You still have a significant distance between you and your dog but you also still have control incase your dog decides something else is more interesting 😉
Above all recall takes TIME. If you’ve never taught recall it takes lots of training to accomplish and most times you still need a communication tool to ensure 100% recall.
NEVER LET YOUR DOG OFF LEASH IF IT DOES NOT HAVE A RECALL. This is by far the most important. If you do not have control over your dog when off leash it should remain on a leash or in a fenced in area where it cannot get loose!
Feel free to contact me for more info or to book a training session now!
Naked recalls on the farm 🤟🏼 having your dog understand that just because there are no training tools doesn’t mean you don’t listen!
