Sophie Recall on Long Line
In this video we are in the beginning stages of working with Sophie on coming when called. Sophie already knew the command but just decided when she wanted to do it and when she did not. So in order to help reinforce the "Come" command we put Sophie on a long line so that if she decided not to come we would have a way to enforce it. One of the things that can happen is if you have a dog that is doing well on a shorter leash we take off the leash and expect them to still do well. For most dogs however they need to have some practice with a longer leash that allows them to get further away from us but also allows us to control the situation and have the upper hand. Most people miss this step in training which can allow the dogs to learn that if they are far enough away from the humans they no longer have to listen.
Bernie Progression of Leave It
This video was taken later in the week after Laine had worked with Bernie a number of times on "Leave It" in different situations. As you can see Bernie is doing great at understanding the concept and walking away from the object he is not supposed to touch, even if it is food. Over time this command will become second nature and the owners will not have to worry about Bernie getting into anything that might harm him.
Bernie Learning Leave It
Here is Bernie learning the command "Leave It". This command is super important for all dogs but especially puppies that love to put everything in their mouths. These are the very beginning stages of rewarding any and all movement away from the object we have told them to leave alone. In a later video you will see some further progression of the work Laine has started here.
Gus Come with Chicken Distractions
Here is Gus working on coming when called with high levels of distractions. Like we talked about with Jimmi initially we start with very few distractions and work our way up to higher levels of distraction. I would say chickens running around the yard is a high level distraction for most dogs, especially those with play or prey drive. Gus is doing great however at turning off of them even in the middle of trying to engage with them. Nice work Gus!
Jimmi Nail Trim
The other thing we do here at Prodigy Pups for many of the dogs is work on learning grooming skills. Jimmi is a breed of dog that will need to go in for haircuts and all dogs need to have their nails trimmed at some point in their lives. Here is a video of Laine working with Jimmi on getting her nails trimmed. As you can see we take our time, give treats, and belly rubs as needed to make sure the puppies are not scared by the nail trim itself.
Jimmi Recall
Here Jimmi is working on her recall out in a park. We work the recalls in many different locations starting at home with very few distractions, then working in different environments with very few distractions, then working in different environments with lots of distractions. By increasing the amount of distractions slowly over time it helps the puppies be successful especially at this young age.
Hudson Working on Door Manner
Here we are working on door manners with Hudson. We have taught him "place" and "down" so that we now have control over the door area when someone comes. In this way if we had a large number of guest walking in or they needed to take off their coats, shoes, or other items this allows more space for them and prevents Hudson from jumping on them. In this beginning stage of training door manners it gives Hudson a clear picture of what is expected when the door bell rings and he is told to "place". Having clear black and white expectations for the dog will help them long term learn what you want faster and be more consistent.
Emmy Down Stay at Car Show
Here is Emmy towards the end of her training with a calm mind as she was in a down stay at the car show. We worked LOTS of down stays with Emmy and anytime she started to get too excited and a little out of control we would put her in a down. This over time slowly allowed her to self regulate and stop herself from getting too excited and too out of control. The more this is worked the more control she will have and the less we will have to help her out. Over the three weeks she was with us she made huge improvements from not being able to stay in a down for more than 15 seconds to hanging out for hours with lots of distractions. Nice work Emmy!
Mikey Advanced Door Manners
Here is Mikey working on the more advanced door manners. Mikey is working completely off leash and could have gotten off his place cot at any point in time, especially when Laine was not in the house. However Mikey did great not only ignoring all the distractions around him but staying on place when no one was around. By putting them on place it grounds them to one location and prevents them from wondering out the open door. If you are looking for more inforamation on how we could help you out with your dog's door manners please feel free to contact us at 320-316-3787 or email at [email protected]
Robin Door Manners
Here is Robin working on door manners in the beginning stages. We always have the dogs on leash to be able to control the situation and not let the dog make mistakes. We do repeat the commands we want at first, that is okay, as times goes on we no longer have to do that. As Robin progresses we will add more distractions, great duration of making him sit, and finally having him do it all off leash. Tune in for the next video which will be of Mikey working a much more advanced exercise with greater distractions and all off leash.
Bear Leave It
One of the commands we teach the pups is "Leave It". In this case Bear was working on leaving the Bully Stick and Rawhide alone instead of just playing with them. He does get to play with them but in this instance I wanted him to leave them alone. This is a great skill for puppies to have in case you drop something on the floor that could be dangerous to them. Having a solid "Leave It" command in situations like that can literally save your dogs life.
Bear at the Coffee Shop
One of the things we do with puppies is bring them out into public to socialize. However our socialization looks a lot different than what most people think it should be. For us socialization is being in the environment, calmly observing, and maybe up to half of the time getting to interact with people if they are there. Many people over socialize their dogs by allowing them to go see every person while they are young. This can create problems later in life where the dog is jumping on people for attention, barking or pulling at the end of the leash to see someone across the street, and so on. The best socialization is balanced between allowing the dogs to interact with people and not allowing them to interact but instead just observe. Here Bear is in a coffy shop just watching and listening to all the things going on around him.
