It has been a lovely warm weekend, and we have spent most of it in our garden playing with our dogs😋
This video is all about Molly enjoying some time with Rocket, but it shows how things can go wrong if I wasn't keeping an eye on Molly.
They had been running around for a few minutes and both were getting a little bit over excited.
Molly did what any child would do (and many adults). She rushed towards Rockets face, but this can be a bit scary, confrontational, and even taken as a challenge by any dog.
I have explained this to Molly many times, but she is only 4 years old, and that is why I am always watching her when she plays or interacts with my dogs.
The only way that I can educate her and keep her safe and happy is by supervising her until she can control her own emotions better.
I see so much debate about different ways to train a dog.
Some people are happy to use tools that cause pain and discomfort. And some people are happy to use a reward based training method using food and/or toys to teach their dog.
I am not trying to cause a big debate, my personal views are that I can teach and help my dogs by understanding what it is they are worried about, giving them the space they need when worried and using food/toys to reward them for giving me the correct answer.
I am sure that some people will tell me that I have easy dogs. But Cooper spent a couple of years to walk nicely on a lead due to the bad start he had to life before being taken by the RSPCA.
He has a rib sticking out that was obviously broken when he was younger and not treated. He was terrified of a broom, so he was potentially hit by his previous owner.
But, by using food to reward a new behaviour, Cooper can walk along the street on a normal flat collar next to me without pulling 🎉
It took a lot of time to get to this stage, but there are no quick fixes when training a dog.
And as for the broom...I now lift up his paws to sweep under the them because I have taught him that the broom isn't scary anymore.
I was out with Rocket today and he was enjoying some off lead freedom in the sun😃
As I watched him, I thought to myself how much more relaxed I am to let him off a lead now. He isn't perfect off lead, but after months of continuous training, Rocket is so much more reliable.
He will check in with me regularly. He doesn't want to just run off all the time, and most importantly, he comes back when I call him🎉
Although he is very good, I am still doing a lot of his walks in quiet places so that he learns to come back, rather than run off to another dog or distraction 😉
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Rocket struggles to hold back his excitement when he is off lead and free to run with Delta🙈
So today I slowed it down for them all by scattering bits of cocktail sausage in the grass.
Cooper and Delta love sniffing around to find food, but Rocket needs a bit of educating😄
It did have the desired effect because Rocket went from crazy young dog wanting to chase Delta. To calmer young dog who was able to leave her alone for a few minutes🎉
He did end up running with Delta again, but it was a mutual decision...and I think that Delta initiated the play😄
I was asked last week if it is easier to teach Rocket a good recall by using Delta on our walks.
At first, I did use Delta because Rocket loves to be with her. But he wasn't actually learning a reliable recall.
I now use Delta on our walks as a huge distraction for Rocket. If I can call him away from Delta, then I know we are going in the right direction 🎉
Sometimes Rocket takes a couple of seconds to decide if he wants to come back, but he is only a year old and he always makes the correct choice.
Get in touch if you have a dog who needs a bit of help coming back😃
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www.delta-agility.com
Foundations are so vital when teaching dogs anything.
It doesn't matter if you're teaching your dog to come back when called, or teaching them something new like agility. All dogs need a solid foundation to help them be the best that they can be.
Rocket has always found it difficult when Delta is running. I have not been able to do any training with Delta when Rocket is in the building. He normally runs towards her. If I put him in a crate he would bark and if I tied him to something, he would probably lunge and damage his neck. (I have never tied him up).
I will normally put him in my van so that he can rest and reduce unwanted behaviours, such as barking.
Over the past few months, I have been building up Rockets ability to stay whilst Delta runs. This began on one jump and no movement from me.
Today, we put it to the test and Delta ran a short sequence...and Rocket stayed🍾🍾🍾
He had a toy with him and this helped him stay. I am happy for him to have a toy because I will use this at competitions when it is really exciting.
This isn't the most exciting video to watch, but for me I think it is great because it shows how far we have come over the past few months.
The journey continues...
When I ask people if their dog likes to play with a toy, I am normally told that they like a ball.
When I ask if their dog brings the ball back to them or drops it near by. I am always told that they will bring it close enough to be picked up again 🙈
When I am using a toy with my dogs, they know that the game can start again if they give me the toy.
I love using a tuggy toy to reinforce so many behaviours, most commonly used for recall training.
In this video, I gave Rocket the toy, he had a big field to run around in, but he was too busy nagging me to play with him 😄😄
I have used a toy in busier areas to keep Rocket engaged and focus on me. After the first few months where I have kept distractions low, and success very high, it is now time to build in more distractions and then we will have a successful recall and much more freedom on walks🎉
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Teaching a dog to get around an agility course is so much fun. I love watching each dog that I see every week enjoying themselves and getting better.
As part of the agility journey it is also important to help the dogs concentrate when distracted.
Some of the dogs that I see will never compete, they are only training because it is for a bit of fun and to learn a new skill.
Many of the dogs are competing, or about to start this year😀
Kes is one of those dogs who will begin his agility competition journey this year. But the biggest challenge could be keeping him focused.
After talking about this and what he finds difficult, I set up a little challenge for him😄 I was sat next to a jump, he had to run towards me and I was sat with an open packet of cocktail sausages and a packet of crisps 😄😄.
Kes was brilliant 🎉🎉 he was looking at me, but he carried on doing agility 🍾
Many people forget about how hard competing is for their dog. Most want to concentrate on the fun stuff and then when they are at a competition their dog runs around the ring.
Thankfully Kes is well looked after and it was high on the list of things to sort out😀
Training day at my venue today with the brilliant Iain Patz.
Rocket did so well on a very difficult course. He is still full of power, but he loves his agility and he already looks amazing and is so much fun.
It was an early birthday present because he will be a year old on Monday 🎂
Recall training is going well with Rocket.
In the woods today Rocket was very good. He came back every time I called him, but they were easy recalls.
When teaching recall we need to help our dogs give the correct answer. We can do this by only calling when they are either about to come back, or are not completely distracted by something.
In this video I called Rocket when he was casually walking away from me and he turned and came back.
The second time I called him, he had found something very nice to sniff. I called him, but he carried on sniffing.
The most important part from me was that I didn't keep on calling his name because that would dilute the importance of a recall cue👍
Remember to set your dog up for success when teaching recall, and go to places with lower distractions.
I started off in a field and Rocket was on a long line, and now at nearly a year old, he is enjoying off lead walks in the woods🎉
It has been a busy weekend teaching. Saturday morning was spent watching 7 brilliant dogs running a couple of beginner steeplechase courses. (Rocket also had a go, see video😀).
Sunday morning was spent with 5 dogs learning some new jump skills and beginning to get them in to short sequences 👌
The next steeplechase course running is on Saturday 1st March. And I will be adding some new handling and, as requested, another weave workshop soon😀
Delta had that Friday feeling today😄 she was even more excited because she has had a break from agility since before Christmas, and she tells me that she is ready to start training again🎉
