Sits for fetch with Tillie
Finn was to my right lying down pacifying himself on a snoop while Tillie played with me, offering sits to get me to toss the toys. She showed off her talent of retrieving multiple stuffies. 🙂
Tillie sits for fetch
We had an unplanned play session that morphed into a fun little training session. Tillie decided she was ready to play some fetch so I waited for her to offer a sit first. I caught a bit of it on video then, par for the course, I didn’t make sure I hit record for the really good stuff where I began adding the cue. Sigh.
Somebody’s feeling extra. 😄
Tillie place training/auto down
She’s getting there. Slowly and inconsistently but she’s getting the idea. Tillie is very easily distracted, she’s very sensitive and seems unsure about making choices. I’ve found her a really easy keep but a challenge to train since there’s not much she’s super enthusiastic about. Except Leon. She’s very enthusiastic about Leon. 😂
Intro to hand targeting
I introduced hand targeting/touch with Tillie this morning. This is a great skill to teach particularly to dogs who have a habit of using their mouths and teeth when they shouldn’t. Basically we teach the dog to boop their nose to your hand. It’s very useful for recall, luring into positions, heelwork, teaching potty bells or service dog tasks and giving a dog an alternate way to interact without an open mouth. I also love this for scaredy dogs or dogs who tend to avoid being reached for.
Place practice with Tillie
This morning Tillie practiced place and releases. She’s still tentative but she was able to hop up without me putting food on the cot a couple of times. She was quite distracted this morning so we kept our sessions short and easy. Practice is often most beneficial if you just get in reps rather than try to make forward progress each session. Always work with the dog in front of you.
Auto down in place with Tillie
I think a lightbulb has gone off. 💡
First auto down in place with Tillie
Tillie offers her first auto down on the mat. 🙌 She understands to come to the mat so I’ve added the cue of ‘place’ but now waiting for her to lie down instead of just sit.
Place practice with distraction
Within our session we added in a few releases (permission to get off the cot) and encouraging her to her back on it. Tillie did a great job and is gaining confidence.
Place training with distraction
Brought out the big guns (Finn) to help with Tillie’s place session and I’m really happy with her behavior. I really expected more excitement and attempts to interact with Finn but this kid keeps surprising me. We got in some great practice! Overall this session was about twelve minutes.
Targeting the mat with Tillie
Tillie is surprising me with her lack of energy during these sessions. 😂 Instead of trying to push it with the cot right now we moved on to targeting the mat. Sometimes when you add in a chasey game and mark one simple behavior you can increase interest. Clearly not the case here. 🫠
Tillie vs the cot
In this morning’s edition of what shenanigans Tillie comes up with. She’s decided to take the bit of food off the cot and go off to chew it elsewhere. 🤦♀️
Mat training with Tillie
Tonight Tillie and I had a little mat training session, keeping it simple. The husband was in the background giving us some real life distraction noise but Tillie did quite well. I’m hoping for more enthusiasm as we continue and I’m sure it’ll come but for now she’s giving me what she can.
Intro to mat training with Tillie pt. 2
Another clip from our first session introducing the mat to Tillie. She’s not very enthusiastic but she’s still acclimating to being here so I’m sure that’ll change soon.
Intro to mat training with Tillie
Tillie’s very first introduction to mat training. It’s very simple with no pressure. We kept this fairly short and she was particular about what she was willing to eat. She turned down string cheese, freeze-dried salmon, a few different training treats but decided freeze-dried beef liver was the winner.
Stay in place practice with Maggie
Maggie practicing stay in place as I walk out the back door and then to open the garage door. Good girl.
Moving leave it with Maggie
Maggie practices a moving leave it, moving towards food on the floor. This is difficult for dogs but she really understands the assignment. 🙂
Shaping head down with Maggie
Another shaping game this time focusing on ‘head down’ aka: chin rest with Maggie.
Resource guarding prevention/modification
Maggie hasn’t shown concerning resource guarding and I don’t bother dogs when they’re eating or chewing anyway. But I have noticed a couple of things. One, she freezes if approached when she is eating or chewing. Two, she doesn’t look at me in those moments. Neither of those are overly concerning but I am hyper aware of the early signs which may escalate if there’s no effort.
So when she’s eating or chewing something I approach and toss her a few bits of goodies then leave her alone. This will help her learn that someone coming towards her when she has something means good things.
Today I filmed a brief mild resource guarding exercise to demonstrate how you can change the way your dog feels when approached when they’re eating.
Rule one: leave a dog alone to eat in peace. Petting them, taking their food away and giving it back or sticking your hand in their bowl do nothing to eliminate resource guarding, if anything it teaches your dog they should guard.
If your dog shows no or mild resource guarding this is a great exercise to implement every few days. If your dog shows more serious resource guarding, reach out for help from a qualified dog behavior consultant. You DO NOT resolve guarding with the use of corrections or punishment.
Shaping game with Maggie and the cot
Keeping skills fun and easy make overall training more reliable. Progression shouldn’t be linear. It never is even if you try. Shake it up sometimes, always go back to basics. Always go back and practice bits and pieces of foundations.
