Socialization Tip!
Socializing a puppy, or even re-socializing and adult dog that lacks confidence, is about so much more than just introducing him to as many people and dogs as possible. It’s about teach him to be a confident, calm, and happy dog in new environments and around new things.
This short clip is brought to you by our friends at Tomah Veterinary Clinic, and here you can see a short and fun socialization exercise in which this puppy is learning to be comfortable and confident on new surfaces.
The key to this kind of training exercise is to watch your puppy and make sure he is comfortable and happy the whole time!
=Agility sequence practice.
Like we said yesterday, agility is timed sport, so tonight, Stryker ran a variety of short agility sequences designed to practice turning while running at full speed.
We'll be holding agility classes again this fall, but the pre-requisite for agility, LifeSkills, is open for registration now:
http://mydogandmellc.com/group-classes/
A Frame practice
Agility is a fun and fast paced dog sport where you guide your dog through an obstacle course in a race against the clock! The a-frame is one of those obstacles. In this video Epic is learning to execute the a-frame safely by stopping at the bottom. Once he's more confident we'll add more speed!
We'll be holding agility classes again this fall, but the pre-requisite for agility, LifeSkills, is open for registration now:
http://mydogandmellc.com/group-classes/
Work to eat.
Mental exercise is at least as important as physical exercise when it comes to keeping our dogs calm and well behaved. Having our dogs work to eat is one of the easiest ways to add that mental exercise to their day.
See, dogs didn’t evolve to get their meals for free, they evolved to work for them. So why not let your dog work for his meal now?
There are lots of food dispensing toys you can buy, or here are a few ways you can have your dog work to eat with things you may alredy have. Just make sure to keep safety in mind, supervise your dog, and use your own common sense when it comes to working to eat. If you have a dog in your house that gaurds food make sure he or she works to eat separately and safely away from your other dogs.
Magic Hand
Magic hand is one of our favorite games for teaching dogs to focus around distractions, its fun, easy, and the dogs love it.
What you can't see in this video are all the dogs right off camera, this game is helping Lyric learn to focus on me even when there are other dogs training the room!
Day #2: Tug of War
Tug-of-war is surrounded by lots of myths, myths have have led lots of people to avoid playing this fantastic game. We LOVE this game and use it a lot in our training, BUT tug-of-war needs to have rules.
To play safely and avoid injury:
1. Keep your dog's feet on the ground.
2. Only tug side to side, never up and down.
3. Be especially gentle with teething and growing puppies.
The first thing to do is teach your dog to drop the toy when you ask. In this video Lambeau is being reinforced for dropping the toy by being allowed to play with a second, but identical, toy.
Notice in the beginning I make sure he can just switch between the toys before adding a "let go" cue.
Once Lambeau knows all the rules we'll be albe to use this game to teach all kinds of important skills and behaviors.
Recalls!
Teaching your dog to come when called is super important for all kinds of things, including safety. We see people fail to get their dogs to come reliably for two main reasons:
1. They don't practice enough
2. They don't reinforce enough
Coming when called is a pretty hard behavior, especially if there are other exciting things happening in the environment (squirell chasers anyone?).
That means the you need to practice everyday, even if it's just in your living room. It also means that you need to PAY your dog approtiately for the diffiuclty of what your asking. Dogs know a good deal when they see one. If your dog comes when you call him away from a squirrel and you hand him a piece of kibble and pat him on the head do you think your dog got a good deal? When your dog comes when called throw a party.
Practice often and pay well. (and make sure to practice in dog safe locations only)
Visit our website to see the new group class schedule:
http://mydogandmellc.com/group-classes/
Huge win for Moose and Tanner today! This video isn’t very good, but his moment had to be documented. Today was the first time they have successfully walked past another dog without barking and lunging! Awesome job guys!!
[Calmness Series] Tip #1: Mental exercise is at least as important as physical exercise when it comes to keeping our dogs calm and working to eat is one of the easiest ways do this. We mentioned contra free loading a couple of weeks ago, and this is just another way to take advantage of that concept. Plus, if we want our dogs to be calm in the house, we need to give them opportunities to use up their extra brainpower.
See, dogs didn’t evolve to get their meals for free, they evolved to work for them. So why not let your dog work for his meal now?
Most work to eat toys are as easy to fill as a bowl but they take your dog up to 20 minutes to eat! Slowly invest in a variety of food dispensing toys and ditch the bowl completely!
Polaris also LOVES learning to come when called!
Teaching your dog to come when called should be fun! Just ask Baloo, he had a blast with this beginner recall game
Murphy did great at the park today. He walked on a leash, came when called, and practiced his leave its. Keep up the good work team Murphy!
Muzzles can be a necessary safety tool for all kinds of reasons, but teaching you dog to wear a muzzle doesn't have to be stressful!
Keeping your dog's brain busy is imperative if you want him to be calm and well mannered in the house. Teaching your dog to find hidden treats in the house is an excellent example. Bart plays this game everyday, how often does your dog play?
Gemma took her polite walking skills on the road during her Friday lesson. She's as smart as she is cute!
Check out Petey and his owner working on their Polite Leash Walking. This is only Petey's second week in our Dream Dog Program, and his first time walking with his owner. Don't they look great?
Having a little fun today working with Baloo and his owner on foundation recall games.
