This is what dog-centric, ethical behaviour work looks like. Nothing complicated, just safety, patience & understanding <3
When we think about training something like a recall, it should all begin with the relationship you have with your dog and the unconscious emotional response they have to your voice and their name. Here’s little Fish fast asleep and having even sweeter dreams when he hears his name and “good boy”. This response is what ‘bombproof’ recalls are made of - it’s about the emotions rather than simply the actions 🥰💕
The kong wobbler is Jack’s favourite feeding toy and he’s super confident with it, throwing it around and making it crash into everything. Fish has always been a little worried about it as it moves erratically and makes a loud noise so I haven’t given him it in the past. He’s obviously been watching Jack and building up his brave as today it was empty in the hallway and he pushed it over to try his luck. So I filled it up and filmed it . . . He’s quite reserved with it but not bad for a first try! See how I make it easy at first then a little more difficult. Sometimes if we make food puzzles too hard to start with, they can be too much of a challenge so it's best to build up to 'expert level' (like Jack!) 🥰
Keeping those brain cells ticking over into his retirement with a bit of scentwork today. It’s lovely to make time for some 1:1 outings and activities for the old boy 🥰
You’re never too old for a bit of ‘treat tree’ 😊
Happy weekend to everyone! I hope you all have a wonderful sunny time planned. Here’s a lovely video of the long but lazy Gru struggling to keep up with the stamina of small but mighty Fish 😍🥰
Does anyone else’s dog pick their own? 🥰
Yummy yoghurt for pudding, a lovely cold treat for a warm evening 🥰
Little Luna the spaniel was a super star yesterday with Gru and Storm. She was relaxed, able to cope with eye contact from both of them and recall away without a worry. It’s hard to believe she’s the same ‘reactive’ dog I met last year! 😍